Unhealthy Ways to Lose Weight Fast

"Fast" is the key word here. Almost any diet that promises ultra-quick results is probably unhealthy, and the benefits won't last very long. Losing weight requires life changes, not quick fixes.

All-Whatever Diets

Any diet that tells you to eat or drink only one or two foods isn't healthy (think the cabbage diet, coffee diet or juice diet). You need a well-balanced diet for your body to work properly and your weight loss to last.

Celebrity Diets

Many diets touted in tabloids probably don't make the "healthy" cut either. It seems celebrities are forever dropping 10 pounds overnight through strange blender concoctions or by replacing meals with Red Bull. None of these routes are healthy; you need to eat the right amount of calories from a good mix of healthy foods.

Slashing Calories

Cutting your calories way back isn't the smart, or healthy, way to lose weight. You need to ensure you are taking in adequate calories based on your height, gender and age. Slashing calories too much can actually slow metabolism and put your body in starvation mode, potentially causing a host of health problems such as gallstones or abnormal heart rhythms.

Exercise

Exercise is important for weight loss and health, but too much exercise for the wrong reasons isn't healthy. Don't binge while promising yourself to burn it off with an extra two hours at the gym.

Potential

Aim to lose about a pound a week, a healthy amount that will lead to weight loss you can maintain. The Mayo Clinic provides an online calculator to help determine how many calories you must take in daily to maintain your weight. To lose a pound a week, subtract 500 from this number for a loss of 3,500 calories per week. The 500 "lost" calories per day can come from exercise, eating less or a combination of both. A combination is best.