Fad Diets Have Always Been Around

Weight loss fad diets have been around for a long time. There was a time when a woman who was "voluptuous" was considered attractive, but today it seems like the thinner the better.

Millions and millions of dollars are spent by both men and women to lose weight. But most of the fad diets don't work. There is no wonder pill that will let you eat whatever you want and still lose weight.

If you look at the ads for these wonder pills, you will notice that in the very fine print at the bottom of the ad it says: "with diet and exercise program." That's the way that you lose weight. It's the diet and exercise that does it, not the pill.

You have to restrict the number of calories that you take in and exercise every day to lose those pounds and keep them off. Losing weight quickly is usually just water weight and when you drink some water the weight goes right back on.

The best way to lose weight consistently and keep it off is to eat a well-balanced diet of mostly plants. Stay away from fat, sugar, and corn syrup. The best type of exercise is one that is non-aerobic. If you exercise to the point of being out of breath then you are burning glucose instead of fat. According to the St. Louis Post dispatch:

"Before there was Dr. Atkins, there was William Banting. He invented the low-carb diet of 1863. Even then Americans were trying out advice that urged fish, mutton or "any meat except pork" for breakfast, lunch and dinner '" hold the potatoes, please."

They may have had a different name for obesity, corpulence, but the recommendations were pretty much still the same. Consider Banting's "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public," It advocated the avoidance of all carbohydrates and increased the amount of protein.

This may take off a few pounds, but like Atkin's diet, you run the risk of going into ketosis. This is a condition, common in diabetics, where the body begins to digest muscle tissue instead of fat. The toxic byproducts of this digestion can build up in your system and make you sick.

Back then having a few extra pounds was a sign of prosperity. But at least people did more physical work than they do today. Working on a farm loading hay burns more calories than sitting at a desk eating a bag of donuts.

Though some of the claims that certain diet products make today are pretty outrageous, what about the steam closets of old? You were encased in a big box that was heated with steam. It made you lose a lot of water, so if you stayed in there long enough, you definitely came out thinner. Of course, it didn't last very long.

If all else failed, then you could always lather up with La Parle Obesity Soap from 1903. It was certified to "wash away your fat."

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/article_77a5caf2-ada7-5463-ab81-c2631025be11.html