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Free Diet Menu Plan

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Free diet menu plans abound on the Internet. While several of them promise rapid, lasting weight loss, the truth is that many free diet menu plans are little more than fad diets.

To discover a good free diet menu plan, first discover what it claims to do. Any free diet menu plan that makes a claim too good to be true usually is. Dropping over 20 pounds in two weeks is a good warning sign. Any free diet menu plan that is worthwhile will provide realistic goals, such as gradual weight loss.

A free diet menu plan that is worth doing also does not promise the prospective dieter the ability to eat anything he or she wants. Since the human body needs only 2,000 calories per day, any free menu diet plan will focus on a variety of foods, served in limited portions. Many free diet plans offer up the idea of whole foods-foods that have not been processed. Foods such as wheat and rice, which are processed, have many of their nutrients stripped from them. Even though many food companies realize this and attempt to "enrich" the foods through spraying vitamins onto them, they are still less healthy than whole grains.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are always recommended by effective free diet menu plans. Cooking fruits and vegetables can leach out many of the vitamins and minerals that make them so healthful to begin with. The exception to this is steaming. In addition, fruits and vegetables should be eaten with their skins intact. The skins of fruits and vegetables have most of the nutrition of the fruits, and should not be removed.

Exercise is another important part of free diet menu plans. Aerobic exercise has been proven to increase the body's base metabolic rate, which increases the rate of calorie consumption, thus improving the free diet menu plan's effectiveness. Anaerobic exercise may also be important, especially since the body may consume muscle tissue in order to obtain glycogen in order to feed the brain.

One thing free diet menu plans do not cover is the psychological impact of dieting. Since many people either eat habitually or emotionally, allowances must be made for periodic snacks and "cheat foods."

Always check with your doctor or physician before starting any nutrition or diet plan.