What is a diet? Does a diet really help you lose weight? Are they healthy? People today get confused when they hear the word "diet". They usually think that it always applies to some special plan of eating which is intended to help people lose weight.

Doctors prepare lists of foods intended to accomplish some goal other than weight loss, and the word would be applied to that list of foods. Today the word has come to mean a special list of foods you can or cannot eat if you wish to lose weight. Many of these have achieved almost mystical status and many have their own followings. Just witness how far the Atkins and South Beach Diets have extended themselves in our society. I am sure you remember such exciting diets as those centered on specific foods which practically guaranteed weight loss success - You could eat grapefruit, cabbage soup, or you could enjoy the promised effects of the negative calorie diet. Most have these have faded away for three basic reasons:

1-People got tired of eating the same thing meal after meal.

2-They were unrealistic in their expectations. How could you get cabbage soup when on vacation, or at a business luncheon.

3-Most of the time, they simply didn't work.

While "going on a diet" for a short period may produce a small loss for some people, dieting is simply not the answer to a lifelong weight loss problem. If you are just a few pounds overweight and want to drop a few dress sizes by the wedding in two weeks, a diet just might do the trick, and, for that short time, you will probably be able to stick with it as long as you keep your goal in sight.

The downside of a diet is threefold:

·The effects are not permanent or life changing

·It does not contribute to health and vitality

·It may actually contribute to weight gain

·True, permanent weight loss for health and fitness hinges on three central points:

·Regular physical activity

·Periods of rest

·A sensible diet

When you diet realize that for your health and for permanent weight loss, you must do more. If you do choose to go on a diet, please take a daily multivitamin to help replace the nutrients you are missing.