Liquid Diets

Liquid Diets. Information on a Liquid Diet.

Consider this! 34 million Americans are estimated to be obese. Those who want to fight obesity go for a diet program and/or enroll for an exercise regimen. There is various diet programs that are hugely popular and have successfully helped thousands lose those unwanted pounds. Recently, liquid diets have also regained their popularity after their fall out of the late 1970's .According to estimates, out of the twenty million dieters, about one billion dollars will be spent this year on either medically sponsored liquid diets or over-the-counter liquid diet products.

Liquid diets can be broadly classified in to the following two categories:

Low calorie liquid diets: This is a medically supervised liquid meal replacement plan, which includes 500-800 calories per day. This plan also includes a certain amount of solid food. This type of liquid diet is usually meant for seriously obese people who need to lose a lot of weight quickly. This is a short-term plan.

Commercial liquid diets: These plans are more popular where the dieter in place of one or two regular daily meals consumes liquid meal replacements. Apart from the liquid food intake, whatever the dieter takes, contains very low fat and is calorie-controlled. Such plans are popularly advertised as a way of achieving fast weight loss. Advertisements using celebrities to promote liquid diets have been widely used in the past few years. Today however, they are losing their popularity.

Medically supervised liquid diets containing protein and carbohydrates are gaining popularity. Such diets are also supplemented with vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. With careful supervision, weight loss can be accomplished safely with liquid diets.

Disadvantages of liquid diets: Such diets that also are low on calories usually offer too little fiber and lack important antioxidants that are found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. This can lead to lower resistance to diseases. Also, because of the low calorie intake, such diet plans may become unsafe, if not prescribed and supervised by a medical professional. Studies have shown that weight loss achieved while following a low calorie liquid diet plan can rarely be sustained. 75% of the lost weight is regained within 3 years.

Advantages of liquid diet plans: Very convenient. All you have to do is open a can, grab a glass and add milk. Plus of course, these drinks taste wonderful as well.

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