As a registered dietician, one of the questions I often get asked are what are my diet don’ts. And I have some, because as you can imagine, trying to win the battle of bulge is not easy and there are the tried-and-true we know, cut your calories exercise more. There are so that are maybe a little ill guided yet won’t do you any harm and then there are those that are downright risky behaviors. So I have five diet don’ts that fall into that risky behavior category. Number one, starvation fasting diets, these are not recommended. The lowest you should go in calories is 1200 calories for women and probably closer to 1500 calories for men. But when you get below that, your body thinks it’s on a dessert island, it turns down the metabolism, and it’s not a healthy way to lose weight and then as soon as you go back to eating normally, you regain all of that weight so stay clear of all those starvation diets. Secondly, weight loss supplements. Be cautious about what they promise because they don’t often deliver. So buyer beware when it comes to weight loss supplements. I say spend your money on fruits and vegetables that’s a better use of those dollars. My third one is avoid obsessive exercising. It might look good on reality television shows but in reality it’s very hard to keep up and you risk injuries and then setbacks so better to find exercise that works in your lifestyle that you can do on a regular basis. Far more effective than going over the edge. My fourth one, illegal drugs. I hate to even mention it, but it’s true there are lots of individuals who go for illegal drugs to help them lose weight and because they’re illegal, they’re obviously not recommended. And then my last diet don’t is the use of tobacco for weight loss. Some people take up smoking and smoking is so bad for your health on so many levels and it’s the last thing you want to is start smoking and risk other health issues so please, please don’t use tobacco as a means to lose weight. Go for the tried and true, cut your calories, exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, that’s what’s going to win. Slow and steady wins the weight loss race. It might take a little longer to lose the weight, but when you do it the right way, that’s the kind of weight loss that tends to be permanent, so go get ‘em.