Most people probably want to know which diet is the best, after they have decided, again, to cut some of their daily food intake. Eventhough we are all different, we all share the same goal: wanting a diet that can make us thinner in no time at all. We all want some kind of miracle pill or eating program that makes fat go away and never ever return. That’s actually the second part of the big dream: how to make the weight that was lost by dieting, stay lost through the years going forward.
The more diets that are 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 into shape. The ever increasing number of overweight and obese people has turned weight loss into a lucrative industry like never before and the market is still 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 attention by proposing some sort of weird diet, despite the lack of professional expertise in this field. That just goes to show you how many people think about dieting. What the number 1 New Year’s resolution that people make every year? Take a wild guess. Thats right: to lose weight!

So let’s start with one of the latest fads of the dieting world: the Atkins diet. Pretty much everybody’s 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 biggest thing in favor of this diet is that it lets you eat high fat dairy products, like cheese and butter. 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 a larger number of followers now complain of diarrhea, weakness, muscle cramps and rashes. The debate over the scientific fundamentals of this diet is still raging.

Next comes the Zone diet; another well-known eating plan. This diet is the brainchild of Barry Sears and it’s all about eating the right mix of foods in order to reach the proper hormonal balance. This state of balance, which is called the “Zone”, lets the body take in calories and use them throughout the day without putting anything aside as fat. Unfortunately, this diet does some serious discrimination among foods without any scientific basis. Starchy vegetables, whole grains and beans are banned, although these foods are not in conflict with the principles of a healthy diet. The American Heart Association says the Zone diet lacks essential nutrients while promoting high-protein foods.

The Jenny Craig diet is next on the list. 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. Then you have to add 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.

From sunny Florida comes the South Beach diet. This one has the right idea and the 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? Sticking to any diet is a pretty important part of your success, wouldn’t you agree? The first phase of this diet will eliminate most foods containing carbohydrates from your daily consumption. Fortunately, this phase lasts two weeks. Unfortunately, the 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.

And who can leave out the old veterans of dieting, 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.

There are many more diets out there, of course. Too many to be able to cover in this short review but you can get an idea of what youre going to find. The greatest suggestion I can give you is to do your homework and research as much as you can about what diet offers what. You can start here at the Achieve Fitness website. See what people who tried it have to say. Then see what doctors and dietitians have to say about any diet your interested in. Between those singing praises and those trying to prove the diet wrong you can probably get to the truth yourself. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. Through it all, pay special attention to what the doctors have to say. Go see your own doctor. If they tell you a that certain diet will put your body at risk then think twice before trying it. Here’s to successful dieting.

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