Two types of diet plans which are usually confused with each other are the low calorie diet and the very low calorie diet (VLCD). VLCD should only be undertaken under the strict supervision of a physician. You should not go for this diet to just lose a few pounds. Its specifically designed for people who are severely overweight to the point of causing obesity related ailments.

A VLCD diet is planned in such a way that the dieter consumes not more than 800 calories per day as opposed to the daily human need of 2200 calories per day. Because of its rigorous nature this diet should never be undertaken for more than 3 to 6 months.

Being on this diet for long durations can have drastic health implications. Pregnant women and youngsters below the age of twenty including children should particularly stay away from this diet. It aims at shedding 5 to 6 pound per day. The final goal is to lose alomost 50 pounds in the very short duration of 12 weeks.

This diet is specially designed by physicians for people whose Body Mass Index exceeds 30. It is designed keeping in mind the dieters pre existing health conditions if any, the amount of weight to be lost and the impact of this sudden weight loss on the dieters body.

The normal procedure in this diet is to avoid normal dietary products and replace them with nutritional supplements which give the body its daily requirement of vitamins and minerals. Regular and dilligent physical activity is also a part of this regimen. Apart from this most doctors will recommend psychological interventions such as Cognitive behavioral therapy and self image improvement.

The body usually takes some time to get used to this new diet. Most dieters complain of fatigue, a feeling of weakness, persistent constipation, nausea and diarrhea in the initial stages of the diet. In severe cases the rapid weight loss may also result in the fomation of gallstones.

A condition which should be monitored closely.
However if you are just looking at losing a few pounds you can go for the low calorie diet. This diet restricts the intake of certain high calorie foods. It aims at bringing down the daily calorie consumption to between 1500 and 1800. If coupled with daily exercise it can give visible results in a few weeks with practically no side effects.

We are subjected to an alarming quantity of chemicals everyday. The chemical pesticides and fertilizers used to increase crop production, the chemicals used as commercial water purifiers, the smoke we inhale everyday and the pollution are all contributors to our chemical intake. These chemicals inevitably harm our system. A good way to flush these chemicals out of our bodies is to follow a detox diet.

The detox diets aids the body’s natural detoxification system which includes our skin, liver and lungs to function more efficiently. This diet can be used alone but works better when used with other holistic approaches such as yoga, hrdrotherapy and natural nutritional supplements.

The effect of toxins in our body manifests itself into physical symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, insomnia and mild bodily pain.

However, given the rigorous nature of most detox diet plans it’s always safe to consult your physician before starting one.

People afflicted by terminal ailments like cancer, heart diseases, and kidney ailments should not go for a detox diet. Even if you have symptoms like fatigue and pain which closely resemble the effects of toxins in the body it is still safe to first consult a physician to determine the cause of these problems. Sometimes a more severe health issue maybe at the root of these seemingly trivial problems.

People going through health issues and who are under medication to treat them must realize that a detox diet is certainly not a substitute for medication. Their health issues will not disappear due to the detox diet, so discontinuing medication is simply not an option.

Most Detox diet patrons believe that a healthy individual should go through a detox diet at least twice a year to flush out the toxins that accumulate in the body.

At the heart of a detox diet lies the principle of consumption of healthy organic foods like fruits , vegetables, fish, rice, oil and green tea. The restricted food items include dairy products, coffee and caffeine filled beverages, wheat products, eggs, preservatives, chocolates, gluten , yeast and other foods with high fat content.

The emphasis is on eating healthy raw food as far as possible with at least 8 glasses of water to wash out the toxins through the skin and kidneys.

It is imperative to not follow this diet for extended periods of time though. Many people have complained of side effects such as fatigue and nausea while going through a detox diets. Most physicians believe that this is due to the extremely limited number of calories consumed during a detox diet.

Noticeable weight loss is an obvious result of the detox diet. However if you intend to keep the weight off you should maintain some of the habits that you followed while going through the detox plans. Reverting to your old dietary habits will pile the pounds back on.

You need to be strong willed and have a lot of self control to follow a detox diet. But in the end when you see the amazing results it will all seem worth the trouble.

Two types of diet plans which are usually confused with each other are the low calorie diet and the very low calorie diet (VLCD). VLCD should only be undertaken under the strict supervision of a physician. This is also not a diet that you should go for just to loose a few pounds. Its specifically designed for people who are severely overweight to the point of causing obesity related ailments.

A VLCD diet is planned in such a way that the dieter consumes not more than 800 calories per day as opposed to the daily human need of 2200 calories per day. Because of its rigorous nature this diet should never be undertaken for more than 3 to 6 months. Being on this diet for long durations can have drastic health implications. Pregnant women and youngsters below the age of twenty including children should particularly stay away from this diet. It aims at shedding 5 to 6 pound per day. The final goal is to loose almost 50 pounds in the very short duration of 12 weeks.

This diet is specially designed by physicians for people whose Body Mass Index exceeds 30. It is designed keeping in mind the dieters pre existing health conditions if any, the amount of weight to be lost and the impact of this sudden wight loss on the dieters body. The normal procedure in this diet is to avoid normal dietary products and replace them with nutritional supplements which give the body its daily requirement of vitamins and minerals. Regular and delligent physical activity is also a part of this regimen. Apart from this most doctors will recommend psychological interventions such as Cognitive behavioral therapy and self image improvement.

The body usually takes some time to get used to this new diet. Most dieters complain of fatigue, a feeling of weakness, persistent constipation, nausea and diarrhea in the initial stages of the diet. In severe cases the rapid weight loss may also result in the fomation of gallstones. A condition which should be monitored closely.

However if you are just looking at loosing a few pounds you can go for the low calorie diet. This diet restricts the intake of certain high calorie foods. Its aims at bringing down the daily calorie consumption to between 1500 and 1800. If coupled with daily exercise it can give visible results in a few weeks with practically no side effects.