Popular Diets and Weight Loss Management

By J. A. Young

Diet trends and fads have come a long way from your Grandmother’s “Grapefruit Diet” of past decades. Doctors advocate their weight loss plans in best-selling books like The South Beach Diet and celebrities from Suzanne Somers to Princess Fergie launch their diets with an enthusiastic calorie-counting fervor. Even television’s popular Dr. Phil has taken the diet problem in hand with his Ultimate Weight Loss Solution. Naturally, if one diet worked for all there would not be such a plethora of diet solutions needed. The subsequent article explores some of the more popular diets of recent years.

Atkins for Life by Dr. Robert Atkins has had a phenomenal effect on the American public. For a while there the bunless burger topped the menu in many households. Controlling carbohydrate intake is at the core of the Atkins program. He may have single-handedly put the wrap on the map of healthy cuisine. Perhaps more than a diet, Atkin’s plan is a changed lifestyle. Participating in the Atkins plan means lots of meat and vegetables and as few starches and carbohydrates as possible. Low-carb meals are the weigh of life for Atkins dieters.

Another extremely popular weight-loss plan is The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatson, M.D. Agatson’s diet calls for healthy carbs as well as balanced meals comprised of meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, nuts and healthy oils. Agatson initially applied his diet to cardiac patients who had great success following his low-fat plan. South Beachers eat regular portions of meat, fish and poultry and learn to avoid bad carbs contained in white flour, white sugar, baked potatoes, etc…

If those two leave you pining for another plan, try the Somersize solution with Suzanne Somer’s Fast & Easy. Many celebrities have tried to impart their diet wisdom in past years, but Somers has helped more than three million lose weight with her meal plans. She has now written several books geared toward healthy eating and weight loss. Yet Somers, too, advocates a diet low in carbohydrates. She is quite adamant in her stance against sugar, but she suggests a variety of flavorful foods that can help tackle the obesity problem and allow the whole family a healthier eating lifestyle.

The official Readers Digest Diet launched their book Change One with a twelve week eating plan designed to help people lose weight with stability. Their book demonstrates how to eat healthy to keep weight off for good. Rather than specific restrictions of food, this plan calls for controlling the size of portions for the greatest effect. By incorporating nutrition into meals without calorie counting, this plan promises sustainable weight loss with a realistic approach that does not prevent you from tossing that loaf of bread into your grocery cart.

The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution by Dr. Phil McGraw will help you to lose that tummy by addressing your mind—will power and decision-making are part of his plan for a positive eating lifestyle. McGraw provides many interesting observations about our eating behaviors and suggests many little tips geared to help us control our eating habits. For instance, chewing sugar free gum while cooking may help with the urge to sample the meal before it’s on the plate. He gives logical advice about portions as well as emotions—tackling the problem of why many over-eat and eat when they are not even hungry.

Others approach weight management with time management solutions like Jorge Cruise’s The 3-Hour Diet that was recently featured on the Today Show. Cruise’s plan calls for more meals throughout the day with smaller portions to keep your metabolism humming along and burning calories all day long. Cruise is against low-carb diets, but instead, suggests well-balanced meals and healthy snacks eaten at timely intervals. The 6-Day Body Makeover by Michael Thurmond is a diet plan for someone who needs to drop a dress size fast! Thurmond’s plan is about customizing eating plans to fit your body and metabolism type. His advice is geared for fast fat loss and he offers recipes and exercise tips to make that dress-size dream a reality in no time flat.

Speaking of types, a very interesting eating plan launched in the last several years involves customizing a meal plan adapted to your blood type. It seems slightly flaky—but the text is quite riveting in Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo as it explains the evolution and eating practices of various groups of people throughout history. If you want an incredibly interesting angle to base your diet around, this plan is surprisingly good.

Other plans take on a regional hue as in the South Beach diet. Want to look like that ideal someone from Sonoma? Then try the Sonoma Diet by Connie Gutterson. This plan will help you trim that tummy in ten days. Portion size and good food combinations have given this diet plenty of appeal for prospective dieters. If Sonoma won’t do the trick, perhaps the magic of the Shangri-La Diet by Seth Roberts will make those pounds disappear. Roberts explores why and when people feel hungry and approaches the diet problem with solutions to keep hunger feelings at bay. Controlling the appetite is at the core of the Shangri-La plan.

These diets are essentially for individuals to do on their own. There are plenty more out there such as Bob Greene’s Get With the Program and The Zone by Barry Sears. For people who require personal help with a personal touch, centers such as Weight Watchers, Jennie Craig and L.A. Weight Loss all tout plans that can be tailored to fit your dieting and eating lifestyle needs.

Of course, before taking any or all the advice of these diet gurus, check with your healthcare provider before attempting to diet. Your bill of health may dictate a specific course of eating that only a qualified doctor or dietician can prescribe. If the doctor okays you to try a popular diet, do some research on several in order to choose one that is right for your lifestyle and your family’s too.

© DoItyourself.com 2006