With more people finding themselves overweight, whether by only 20 pounds or some that are over 100 pounds, it has become very important for people to find the right diet solution to meet their weight loss needs. For some, a very low calorie diet may be the right route to take. But this option is not always the way to proceed with your new diet. It will take a lot out of you. Are you ready?

If you are wanting to lose weight this way, you must get a very detailed diet and plan it out in order for your body to get the nutrients it needs to balance itself on a daily basis. Because a very low calorie diet is so restricting, the first thing you must do is talk with your doctor about it. Your doctor will

* Give you specifics that you can use for this type of diet.

o Will include the foods to eat and not to eat

o Give you the right amount of water you must consume

o Suggest a good multi-vitamin

o Suggest a good meal replacement product that is safe

* Tell you if you are healthy enough to manage on this diet.

This is a VERY important step! Please do not skip it!

The first thing to realize is just how restricting this type of diet is. Realize at the beginning that you will not

* Be able to eat some of your favorite foods

* You will only be able to consume much less than 1200 to 1500 calories per day.

o A very low calorie diet is 800 to 1200 calories per day.

This very low calorie diet which restricts drastically the amount of calories you can consume a day is enough to cause anyone a little (or a lot) of concern. You will practically be staring your body.

For this type of diet to work, you will be required to:

* Eat a very small amount of food.

* Be provided with a substitute meal such as a drink that is mixed with water or milk

o One or two of your meals will be this meal substitute.

o Make sure that you can adjust to drinking it before going on the diet.

* Every type of food that you consume will need to be monitored for nutrients and calories

* Since your body burns calories to power everything you do from very simple tasks to major, challenging tasks, the foods that you do consume on this diet must be designed to provide for optimum nutrients and health.

This type of diet is appropriate for those that have a body mass index (BMI) that is over 30. With this type of BMI you would be moderately to severely obese (needing to lose from 75 pounds or more). With that in mind, you should make take your decision if this diet is right for you. Most patients will lose between 40 and 50 pounds over a three month period (some peak at 30 pounds). Yet, there is evidence that you will still have to work very hard to maintain that lose with a good regulated diet and moderate exercise.

Some patients have experience these symptoms:

* Fatigue

* Constipation

* Moodiness

* Stiff muscles or cramps (lack of nutrients)

* Desire for binging

The main benefit of a very low calorie diet is that it allows for fast weight loss that can improve the health conditions of someone tremendously over-weight.

Check list for the New Low Calorie Diet:

The New Diet Image

Has your doctor agreed upon the new diet?

Have you set appointments every two weeks for your doctor to monitor your progress and check your blood results?

Have you rid your house of all binging foods?

Do you know how much water you need to consume everyday?

Do you have a journal to write down everything you eat or drink each day?

Do you have the will-power to pull off this diet?

Are you ready for the sacrifices you are going to have to make?

You still need 35 - 45 grams of fiber daily - is that planned into your diet?

Do you have a multi-vitamin to take along with this diet?

Do you have the support of friends and family?

What if you plateau? Are you ready for that possibility?

If you answered no to any of these questions, be prepared to fail. You will need all of the support you can get as these are hard diets to keep day after day. Denying yourself food is a very hard thing and will require the will power of a saint. You must above all not let yourself get dehydrated, that will lower your metabolism by 20% or more. If you do not get the right amount of fiber, you will have digestion problems that could lead to more problems down the road.

There are more sensible, fun ways to lose weight than a low calorie diet. Sure you need to cut the calories, but you also need to promote exercise in your diet efforts. It took you longer than a month to gain this weight - why do you think you can lose it all safely in a month?

Look around for better, easier alternatives. After all, isn't keeping the weight off the most important factor?