Different images come to different people when they hear the word "diet." I"m sure each and every one of you pictures something different. I bet that not everyone will believe me when I say you are all on diets. Diet is just another word to say what a person normally takes in as food and drink. As we watch TV or go out to dinner at different restaurants, we see all around us different diets; it is impossible to get away from them. Today, I"m going to tell you about the 2 most popular "diets" and the 1 tried-and-true "diet.".
The first and most popular diet would be the Atkins diet. Everywhere you look, there are "Atkins friendly" meals; Subway and TGIFriday's being the most common places to see these items. The late Dr. Atkins developed a diet based on something called the "Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing" or the CCLL. His theory is that if you reduce the amount of carbs you eat, your body will burn the fat to gain energy instead of the carbs.
There are 4 phases to his "Nutritional Approach." The first phase is called "induction." During this phase you are asked to restrict your carbohydrate consumption to just 20 grams per day. The second is called "ongoing weight loss." During this phase you increase your intake of carbs by 5 grams a week until your weight loss stops. Once this happens you are to reduce your intake by 5 grams so you that you continue a sustained, moderate weight loss. Phase 3 is called "pre-maintenance." You transition from weight loss to weight maintenance by increasing your daily carb intake so that a very gradual weight loss in maintained. And the last phase is "lifetime maintenance." Here you are controlling your carb intake to ensure weight maintenance and a sense of well-being.
Another diet very similar to this one is the ever popular South Beach Diet. This was developed by a doctor in south Florida by the name of Arthur Agatston. He is a cardiologist and developed this for his chronically overweight heart patients.