Current Popular Diets

Every day you hear of passengers who have to pay double because they can’t fit into just one airplane seat and you hear of people getting gastric bypass surgery to help them lose weight. With everyone getting fatter, it’s no wonder why there are so many diets out there. There are so many, in fact, that most overweight people have tried at least one or more of them. When trying to lose weight, people will do anything to drop those pounds; including trying every diet available. The most popular one right now include the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet as well as the Paleo diet. Whether or not these work depends on the person, how consistent they are, as well as how their body responds to the diet they’re currently attempting.

The Atkins Diet

Dr. Robert Atkins created this one after reading about a similar diet in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Atkins first published a book, also called the Atkins Nutritional Approach in 1972. This diet is the one that’s responsible for creating the ‘low carb’ craze. The company has had its troubles, with Dr. Atkins filing bankruptcy right before his death. Yet still today you can see foods, books and other products with the Atkins logo on it. While this diet has helped people lose weight, the weight tends to come back for most. It is also the subject of controversy where some claim the diet causes cardiovascular problems, kidney damage as well as a host of other ailments.

The South Beach Diet

This was created by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist, and dietician Marie Almon. It was originally intended to prevent heart disease but soon gained popularity in the early 2000s as a way to drop pounds. It’s mantra is simple: replace bad fats with good fats and bad carbs with good carbs. The diet comes in three stages, with each stage allowing the dieter to eat a variety of different foods. It is still extremely popular today, but people seem to gain the weight back; just like with the Atkins diet.

The Paleo Diet

The Paleo diet, or the Paleolithic diet, is also referred to as the Caveman diet or Warrior Diet. It’s based on the idea that our bodies aren’t meant to digest certain foods, more specifically those that came into being after about ten thousand years ago. The diet focuses on foods such as meat, fish, nuts and roots; the foods cavemen ate so very long ago. The diet eliminates dairy, grains, refined sugar, salt and more. People have also lost weight on this diet but some dieticians and anthropologists dismiss the diet and some call it a fad diet.

The bottom line is that there are many popular diets out there. The thing they all have in common is the controversy and naysayers surrounding them. However, as long as you’re consistent and you’re realistic with your goals, you can lose weight on any diet and keep it off. It all depends on you and how badly you want to be thin once more.

Graeme Thompson writes for the Paleolithic Diet online community.

 

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