One of the main attractions of the high-protein/low ­carbohydrate diets is that you can eat all you want, calories be damned. On the other end of the spectrum are very low-calorie diets and, at the most extreme, fasting.

Very low-calorie diets typically restrict you to 1,000 calories a day or less. Aside from the fact that such diets are agony to stay on for more than a few days, they are less effective than you would imagine. The trouble is that your body very soon gets the idea that it’s famine time and drops into low gear. We were talking about metabolic changes? The body’s natural response to reduced calories is to adjust metabolism to reduced need.

The result is that the lower your caloric intake, the lower your energy. People on very low-calorie diets feel light-headed and weak. Just about all they can manage is to lie around thinking about their next meager meal. Too bad they don’t realize that they could be losing more weight, and feeling a lot better, if they ate more and got some exercise.

Do not, under any circumstances, undertake a fast or a very low-calorie diet without medical supervision.

Very low-calorie diets may be appropriate for a short time for severely obese people, who are usually monitored in a hospital setting. For anyone else, they can be dangerous.

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