Those in a hurry to lose weight quickly can follow one of the many crash diets that are available these days. Following crash diets to lose weight fast can be cumbersome due to restricted calorie intake. However, today crash diets have gained immense popularity, as one can achieve rapid weight loss. Crash diets seem to be the solution for people wanting to reduce weight in a short time. This weight loss method has been adopted by many Hollywood actresses to bring their body in proper shape, in a very less period of time. Crash Diets to Speed Up Weight Loss Do crash diets work? Well, they do take away excess weight fast, but crash diets should never be followed for a long duration of time. Crash diet should optimally last only for a few days (3-14 days). Crash diets cannot come under the list of long-term diet plans as they can cause severe health problems. For many people, following crash diets that actually work, are painful because calorie intake reduces considerably. Also, those put on crash diets find it difficult to control hunger pangs. Nevertheless, crash diets do provide a way to successfully shed extra pounds in a relatively short period. One can always consult a dietitian to get some crash diet tips. Some of the crash diets that work fast to lose weight are given below: The Lemonade Diet: Did you know that this diet was followed by none other than the famous actress Beyonce Knowles. She took the help of lemonade diet and lost around 20 pounds in a time span of 8-10 days. The actress had to lose weight to bag the role of a slim girl in the Oscar Award-winning movie 'Dreamgirls'. The lemonade diet plan, besides losing weight, is very helpful to cleanse the body thoroughly. Implementing the strict regimen of this diet plan in the daily routine will help to eliminate toxins from the body. People who wish to follow this weight loss diet plan literally have to live without food at least 10 days. Also referred to as a forced starvation diet plan, this weight loss technique involves consuming only 6-12 glasses of lemonade mixture in a day. This may sound weird but studies have revealed that followers of lemonade diet plan generally lose 7-8 pounds in a period of 10 days. The Cabbage Soup Diet: Are you finding it difficult to drop those 7 pounds in a week despite following a rigorous exercise routine? If yes, go for cabbage soup diet and rest assured you are sure to achieve the desired weight loss. As the name suggests, this is a 7 day diet plan that essentially focuses on having plenty of cabbage soup. Thus, during this period of 7 days, you can have servings of cabbage soup as many times as you want, to your heart's content. The vegetable, cabbage increases metabolic rate, which in turn helps to lose fat fast. Hence, consuming cabbage soup serves the purpose of losing weight rapidly. Drinking a minimum of 4 glasses of water daily is also equally important to make this diet effective in losing weight. Other food items that can be included in this weeklong diet are given below:

• Day 1: Have fruits throughout the day. Leaving aside banana (as it is high in calories), one can consume any fruit. Besides cabbage soup, you can also have other beverages like cranberry juice, tea (no sugar) and of course plenty of water.
• Day 2: Well, on day 2 of cabbage soup diet, you got to stay away from fruits. Help yourself with fresh vegetables that are taken in either cooked or raw form. When it comes to preparing food, make sure you employ healthy cooking methods that include baking, steaming, broiling and grilling. Your last meal of the day should consists of big baked potato with some amount of butter.
• Day 3: You can consume both fruits and vegetables during any meal of the day. As usual, avoid eating banana and baked potato.
• Day 4: So long you were advised to keep away from bananas but on this day you can feast on bananas (not more than 8). Along with bananas, you can have skimmed milk as much as possible (no restrictions).
• Day 5: Meat is introduced into cabbage soup diet on this day. You can include as much as 10 ounces of lean cuts of beef in your diet today. Apart from beef, you can eat not more than 6 fresh tomatoes. If beef is not your cup of tea, you can have skinless broiled chicken. Don't forget to drink water in adequate amounts in order to detoxify the body.
• Day 6: Day 6 is a combination of vegetables and beef. Eat 2 lean steaks of beef but more importantly, have ample of green leafy vegetables in the form of salads. Although vegetables are permitted, one should avoid eating baked potato.
• Day 7: Day 7 is a mix of brown rice, vegetables and fresh fruit juices (no added sugar). Have as many servings as you want but make sure you employ healthy cooking methods while making food.

Chicken Soup Diet: Weight loss with chicken soup requires a great deal of mental discipline. This is because, one needs to have only breakfast throughout the day. To boost fluid intake, one can take chicken soup as many times as one wants. The breakfast in the chicken soup diet can vary from fruit salad and non-fat yogurt, to cooked wheat cereals and non-fat milk. This diet plan is used for a very short period (3-5 days). The sharp reduction in the number of calories is the hallmark of this diet plan, that works to lose weight rapidly. The Scarsdale Diet: This low-calorie diet has shown excellent results when it comes to losing weight. Followers of this diet have reported 7-15 lb loss in weight in a matter of 2 weeks. This 14-day diet plan focuses more on eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and salads. These foods are an integral part of this diet plan. For snacks one can have celery, carrots, or low sodium vegetables. One can also have breakfast everyday, that generally includes one half grapefruit, coffee, tea, or a slice of protein bread. Remember, crash diets are like a shock to the human body and hence should be followed only for a short duration. The above crash diet ideas can be very effective if they are followed properly. However, taking advice from a doctor is essential to know the diet plan that suits individual needs.