Losing weight should be simple right? The number of calories out should exceed the number of calories in. Putting it down on paper like that makes it seem so simple. But many of us endure a lifelong battle with our weight. Trying various methods, diets and exercise regimes just to end up right back where we started.  It can be incredibly frustrating, upsetting and exhausting. For some of us, losing weight just doesn’t click. But what can be done about it?

Popular Diets

Weight loss is always in the media. Whether it’s about this celebrity dropping 6 dress sizes using this diet or about a local woman from Cornwall coming close to death through dangerous dieting. Whatever it is, we can’t avoid it.  Let’s take a look at some of the recent popular diets.

• Atkins- This diet restricts your carbohydrate intake. Originally cutting out carbs completely, it was discovered to be dangerous. The new safer version allows you to consume 15g of carbs a day through vegetables.

• The maple syrup diet- When on this diet you may only drink a mixture of cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water. No food.

• Six small meals a day- This diet involves breaking up your usual three meals a day into six small healthy meals.

• Hypnotherapy- Using hypnosis to change the way you think

The ‘Typical’ Results

These three diets listed above have proven popular with celebrities and so the public usually follows. The maple syrup diet was made popular by Beyonce, who used the liquid diet for two weeks before a big red carpet event. These are the typical results people find through carrying out these diets-

• Atkins- Hard to stick to, Atkins dieters find they become very tired while the body learns to run off fat instead of carbohydrates. The average length users have managed to stick to this diet is 2 weeks. Your body switches straight back to burning carbs as soon as you start to consume them again and subsequently the weight goes back on.
• The maple syrup diet- The high intake of sugar is enough for your body to run off but causes you to have crashes as your body runs out of energy. A quick fix diet this is not appropriate for those who want long term results.

• Six small meals- This can actually be very effective. Eating six small meals a day keeps your metabolism going, so you are constantly burning calories. Some people do use this as an excuse to eat more though and it can have opposite effects.

• Hypnotherapy- The method that proves to be the most effective in the long term. This is the option for those wanting to make a lifelong change. Don’t be fooled though, this method can also have very quick results and so can be very satisfying

There are hundreds of diets out there. But the one that stands out is hypnotherapy as an excellent all rounder. Hypnotherapy helps you break bad habits. The most important thing is finding the diet that works for you, whether it’s for a short term fix or a life time change.

Eilidh MacRae is a writer and health and diet enthusiast. She would highly reccomend fix my mind for hypnotherapy and weight loss advice.