10 Reasons Why We Are So Fond of Quick Weight Loss Diets

Quick weight loss diets are everywhere and many of us have tried our share of them. But have you heard about the habanera chili diet? Consume six raw habanera chilies prior to any meal and then you can eat all you want. Shed 30 pounds in just 10 days guaranteed!

Now, in case you haven't figured it out yet...I am pulling your leg to make a point. Did you, even for a moment, consider that just maybe such a diet might be the real deal? Uh, huh. Gotcha!

Have you searched the web yet for the cabbage soup diet? My son told me the other day that he was on...the banana diet. That one had eluded me. Apparently eating a banana with each meal helps you to burn it off. So they say.

Years ago I gave the grapefruit diet a try despite the fact that I don't really like grapefruit. I'll bet most of those cabbage soup dieters aren't so very fond of cabbage either.

To be fair there are some crash diet plans that allow you to eat food you really like. Back in the 70's I took a chance on the Atkins diet. Stayed on it for 6 months to the day and lost 75 pounds. For a half year I loaded up on all the meat, butter, cream, cheese, and eggs I wanted.

When the weight came back in the 6 months that followed I again reverted back to the Atkins Diet. More fat laden meat, butter, etc. Lost another 70 pounds. And then...I gained it back again.

I recall, prior to taking on the Atkins Diet the first time, that there were numerous warnings about the dangers of a fat laden diet. But...that didn't seem to matter. Neither did the fact that after a few months I had grown tired of eating the same stuff over and over. More important to me than anything else was losing weight.

My first ever diet came as a teenager. That's when my grandmother took me to the doctor who put me on a 1000 calorie diet. I still recall all the counting, measuring, weighing, and denial of my favorite foods. Even on that diet I lost weight but it still came back.

After high school I went into the Navy. Immediately following boot camp I had opportunity to spend a week at home. On the first morning back I pulled some of my old clothes out of the closet and a most amazing thing happened. My pants were so big I couldn't wear them. Without even trying I had lost a bunch of weight. And for the next 4 years the weight stayed off.

There are lessons to be learned from my diet pilgrimage. In fact, I believe that my experience is common to most of us who have had deal with a weight problem.

The reason we are so fond of quick weight loss diets is because we have come to hate dieting. Even if you only have a few pounds to shed in a hurry you have discovered that dieting is bad news. Since we have come to believe that all diets are unpleasant then it just seems to make better sense to go on diets that are brief and provide a high return on investment.

Following are 10 reasons why we are so fond of quick weight loss diets:

We have to deny ourselves what we like.
We have to eat things we don't like.
Our choices are too limited.
We are often hungry on a diet.
Diet food tastes like cardboard.
Temptation is all around (food ads on TV are brutal).
Can't share in the social aspects of eating fun food with friends.
Unpleasant previous experiences with dieting.
Required disciplines that upset our routine. We don't like change.
The weight we lost comes right back...and more.

We live in a stressful world. They don't call it comfort food for nothing. I don't know about you...but a bowl of chocolate ice cream is far more comforting than a carrot.

But then there is that lesson that I learned in the Navy when I lost weight and kept it off without trying. That was all about lifestyle change...which really is the only thing that will ultimately work.

It took me a long time to realize that. The only right weight loss program is a healthy diet combined with a consistent fitness routine.

Look down the road to the way you want to be later in life. None of us wants to be in failing health and unable to enjoy life. So isn't the routine of a healthy lifetime diet more desirable than debilitating disease? In my mind, all diets are unpleasant. So you might as well choose the one that promotes health and wellness. Choose your pain. Now....or later.

Richard Weirich co-hosts the internationally popular Health at Last Radio and has written numerous publications on weight loss, health, and wellness. To find out more about quick weight loss you can visit the author's website here.