Intermittent Fasting or the Fast Diet is based around skipping meals. The idea is that if you give the body enough time off without available energy to burn, it will burn fat instead of just the food in your stomach. Stop counting calories under the theory that it is when you eat, rather than how much or what you eat, that counts. The idea is catching on, particularly in the UK, so let's see how the Brits weigh in...in about five years.
The Paleo Diet is just like what it sounds: A Caveman Diet. Cavemen didn't eat bagels and cream cheese and three meals a day; they ate whatever they could find, when they could find it and when it was in season. It actually sounds a bit like the increasingly popular way of eating that trendy NYC Locavore restaurants are embracing. The diet consists of fish, meats, vegetables, nuts and seeds. You eat only when hungry which gives you flexibility with your food and caloric intake. Critics say it is too high in fat and cholesterol and some people simply can't part with dairy and grains. Still this diet is gaining fans who claim it helps them lose fat and gain muscle without feeling hungry.
The Cold Diet, aka The Ice Diet is less about what to eat than the need to shiver. The premise is that our bodies are meant to be at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and if we are colder than that we will burn more calories to stay warm. Methods of this plan include ice packs in the shower, cold baths and basically anything that makes you uncomfortably cold. Former Nasa scientist Ray Cronise claims he lost 30 pounds with this method. But exercise physiologist Dr. Stacey Ingraham says this is a myth because cold slows down the metabolism and that the dangers of lowering your core body temperature outweigh the possible benefits. Brrr. Anyway, have you ever seen a slender Polar Bear?
No time to cook? Love the drive-thru? The Fast Food Diet may be for you. Cardiologist Dr. Stephen Sinatra's plan allows for three meals and two snacks a day all purchased from fast food restaurants or convenience stores. He says if you eat correctly from these sources 80 percent of the time then splurging 20 percent of the time is fine. The strategy is to uncover which foods are or aren't in the healthy category, as Dr. Oz set out to do in a segment. The six week diet does not even include exercise, which sounds too good to be true. So, what about the actual ingredients of so called "healthy" fast foods? Subway traditionally tops healthy fast food lists, but has recently been called into question for putting a chemical in its bread that is used to make rubber. Those who don't wish to eat unpronounceable chemicals such as Azobiacarbonamide will likely give this diet a miss.
The Tapeworm Diet, almost so disgusting you'll lose your appetite already, is just what it sounds like: ingesting a foreign parasite into your intestines to help you absorb the calories you eat. But it can absorb the vitamins you need as well. Importing and selling tapeworms is illegal in the US, but in the UK, BBC science presenter Michael Mosley acted as the human host for an experiment with this diet. Interestingly he gained 2 pounds and found that the Intermittent Fasting Diet was a more effective way of losing body fat. Thank goodness.
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