Among the many weight loss diet plans, you’ve probably heard a few things about the Atkins Diet, for good or for ill. Basically, the Atkins Diet cuts out carbohydrates to 20 grams per day, allowing only non-starchy vegetables. Over the course of the diet, you can increase your carb intake by 5 grams per week until you stop losing weight (usually between 25 – 50 grams). On one hand, supporters of this weight loss program say it’s great because they can eat as much steak, eggs and cheese as they want and still lose weight. Many participants reported losing a lot of weight quickly, especially when incorporating some exercise. Atkins offers some prepackaged foods, energy bars and cookbooks, and you can also find Atkins-friendly foods on TGI Fridays menus. However, dieticians do not recommend this diet because many dieters take it as a free pass to eat an overabundance of fatty foods, which can lead to high cholesterol, kidney disease, heart disease or diabetes. Furthermore, an insufficient amount of carbohydrates is unhealthy for the body. Constipation, muscle cramps, diarrhea, weakness and loss of energy are commonly reported side effects of the Atkins Diet.

Another one of the fad weight loss diets you’ve probably heard about is the Cabbage Soup Diet, which is one of the more dangerous choices. Participants report losing between seven and eleven pounds in just one week by strictly sticking to brown rice, bananas, fruit, milk and — as you guessed — cabbage soup. People are drawn to this diet because it is cheap to follow, specific in what foods are allowed, requires just one recipe and lasts a short amount of time. Those who were eating too much sugar and refined foods will at least benefit from switching to fruits, vegetables, brown rice, dairy and lean meat. On the downside, this do it yourself natural weight loss is not sustainable. If you think of it, losing ten pounds in one week is really not plausible, since you would need to cut 35,000 calories in one week! Dieticians say that the weight lost on the diet is water weight, which is not healthy to lose. Also, they say this soup is high in sodium and may work against active dieters who see a reduced basal metabolic rate and muscle reduction on this natural diet. Many people on this diet report weakness, flatulence, headaches and poor health because they are not getting the proper nutrition.