Popular Diet Comparisons
Ever
since obesity has been termed as an epidemic, it has attracted
attention throughout the world.
The air is thick with discussions and counter-discussions about various
diet plans being proposed by various people. Although we
are
all different beings, we all share the same goal: a diet that can make
us thin in no time at all. Some sort of miracle pill or eating plan
that makes fat go away and never ever return. That’s actually
the
second part of the big wish: how to make sure that all the weight lost
through dieting stays lost through the years.
 The
more diets published in magazines and on the Internet, the more people
are confused about what dieting really means and about the right way of
bringing your body back in shape. The growing number of overweight
people has turned weight loss into an industry like never before and
the market is growing every year. It seems that nowadays all
one needs
is a fashionable idea and a flair for marketing in order to make a lot
of money or garner a lot of popularity by proposing some sort of weird
diet, despite the lack of professional expertise in this field.
And there is a LOT of diets out there. We’re going to go here
only through the best-known diets, since a review of all the diets
floating around the industry would be beyond the scope of this article.
Atkins Diet.
Almost everyone has heard of the Atkins diet, largely due
to
the flood of articles praising the extraordinary results, not to
mention the loads of good mail from satisfied customers. The basic idea
behind this diet is that cutting down on the carbohydrates, while
allowing people to eat high-fat food is going to work. One of the best
things in favor of the Atkins diet was the fact that it allowed people
to eat eggs and cheese and steaks. It sounds like a dream diet
actually. However, the Atkins diet has fallen
from its lofty perch over suspicions of increasing the risk of heart
diseases, not to mention the proved fact that bigger number of
followers complain of diarrhea, muscle cramps and rashes. Dizziness and
general weakness are also to be expected as the body goes into
starvation mode when denied carbohydrates.The
debate over the scientific fundamentals of this diet is still raging.
Zone Diet
The Zone Diet is built around the classic mix of low-far foods, such as
chicken and fish, low-fat cheese, small amounts of fruits and
vegetables and some olive oil. The Zone itself is a fancy term for
achieving a state of hormonal balance (especially in insulin and
glucagon) that allows the body to expend the energy intake in an
efficient manner and to avoid storing calories as fat. Therefore,
dieters are encouraged to eat a lot of non-starchy raw vegetables, a
small amount of protein, a smaller amount of carbohydrates and enough
monosaturated oils to keep the feeling of hunger away. The good side of
the diet is the restriction of refined carbohydrates, which are low in
nutrition, and the focus on low-starch vegetables and fruits.
Nevertheless, the American Heart Association does not recommend the
Zone Diet because of the lack of essential nutrients, high-protein
content and the general lack of information about its long-term
effects. Since the diet is quite low on the daily intake of calories,
it does not seem to be designed for the long term, but rather as a
quick fix. Exercising is pretty much out of the question with such a
low amount of calories.Another problem that dieters are bound to face,
except for those who pay for food deliveries, is that meals have to be
calculated to include the exact amount of fat, protein and
carbohydrates required by the diet. This is not always easy for the
average dieter and it has every chance of becoming a bigger problem
over extended periods of time. Also, dieters have traditionally found
it hard to stay on a diet that is very low in carbohydrates because the
feeling of hunger is almost always present.
Jenny Craig Diet
One of the longest running diets, Jenny Craig started this business in
the early 1980s and it’s still around. The basic idea of this
diet is a trade off: you don’t have to choose recipes, do the
shopping and the cooking, but you have to buy the Jenny Craig
prepackaged food. And that runs to some $100 per week. Plus the
membership costs. Plus the vegetables and fruits which are not included
in the prepackaged food. If you can afford it and if you can stick to
it, the diet is pretty good. However, similar low-calorie foods can be
bought at the grocery store and you don’t have to discuss
this
with a Jenny Craig expert that insists on your eating the prepackaged
food because he gets a percentage of the sale price.
South Beach Diet.
South Beach diet plan was initially evolved by Dr. Agatston for his
heart patients and its launch for weight loss was only as a spin-off.
This plan emphasizes the consumption of "good carbohydrates"
and "good fats". "Good carbohydrates" are high in
fiber and
they are digested and absorbed slowly. "Good fats" are
polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, especially those with omega-3
fatty acids. Saturated and trans fats are bad fats. South Beach Diet
has the right idea and wrong approach combination down pat.
Don’t get me wrong, a lot of people have managed to lose
weight
with this diet and it actually works. But the question is: can you
really stick to it? The first phase of the diet will eliminate most
foods containing carbohydrates from your daily consumption.
Fortunately, this phase lasts two weeks. Unfortunately, second phase
focuses on a half-hearted return of whole grains and fruits and
lasts… as long as necessary. If reaching the desired weight
takes you one year, then that’s exactly how long this phase
is
going to last. And if you don’t like the foods allowed by
this
diet then you’re out of luck. There are no alternatives.
Weight Watchers.
This is actually one of the best diets around because it puts all the
management tools in the hands of the user. If you are really committed
to losing weight, you have all the information you need to do it. And a
lot of people who are going through the same thing are going to be
there to help you. If having company during difficult times helps your
willpower, then you are probably going to lose all that extra weight.
If, on the other hand, you don’t like the idea of being
constantly under peer pressure, then this diet is not for you.
As you
can see from this short review, there are a lot of diets out there,
dozens more than we’ve been able to cover here. The best
thing to
do when choosing a diet is to do as much research about it as possible.
See what people who tried it have to say. Then see what doctors and
dietitians have to say about it. Between those singing praises and
those trying to prove the diet wrong you can probably get the truth
yourself. Still, pay special attention to what the doctors have to say.
If they tell you a certain diet will put your body to risk then think
twice before trying it.
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