The prospect of a lose weight fast diet is enticing, but not effective or healthy. The products and names of these plans come and go. But, the theory is the same - instant weight loss solutions. Can you count how many lose weight fast diets you have tried during your lifetime? I can't - there are just too many! Why don't fast diets work? Have you ever stopped to consider the reasons?

Let's look at some of the reasons why the fast weight loss diet will simply not work in the long term. First, they are monotonous. In most of these fast diet plans, you are required to consume the same things day in and day out. They lack the variety that is needed to maintain a lifestyle of healthy and optimal weight. We get bored and crave the things that are not allowed.

We need variety in our diets. Not only for nutrient value, but to decrease the risk of boredom and therefore binging on the foods that are considered "no-no's"!  A plate that includes a variety of healthy, colorful foods is more enticing and much more satisfying. It is difficult to imagine consuming the same foods every day, for every meal, forever! This is simply why these diets fail.

Most fast diets do not include exercise in their programs. A complete lifestyle change, which includes regular exercise, will help you lose weight more quickly and keep it off. Diet or exercise alone, are not as effective.

Quite often in a fast weight loss diet, the quick results we see are from the loss of water in our bodies, not fat. Fats are burned via exercise. That is one of the reasons that exercise is so important. Managing our weight is not easy. But it is possible and it can be quite satisfying.

No pill or food shake will permanently shed weight quickly and permanently. The fact that fast diets are strict and simply too difficult to maintain causes us to cheat and long for the foods that are forbidden. Our enthusiasm fads and the diet fails.

A much better idea is to prepare small snacks like dried fruit, fresh fruit and unsalted nuts to munch on throughout the day when you get hungry. Try these snacks instead of fatty cookies, cakes and chips. They are healthier and taste great and will help to maintain a healthy weight.

We each need to find the right balance. A lifestyle plan that might work for you may not work for someone else. Individualize your weight loss plan. Find a healthy balance that will work for you. Behavior modification is key to keeping weight off.

It is also important to take a whole-body approach. Be sure to include in your lifestyle modification plan the right foods (that means cutting out the crap and junk foods), exercise, stress management and proper sleep. Finding the right balance is so important. But, once you have found it you will see that the weight will come off and you will feel great.