Diets come in all varieties, from liquid and three-day regimes to low-fat, high-protein diet nutrition options. With so many books and different advocates out there, it can be hard to disseminate fact from fiction and decide what plan works best. Deep down, we suspect that healthy eating is more than just a short-term plan to knock off a few pounds.

Yet, with busy schedules and limited time to plan meals or exercise routines, our health objectives often fall by the wayside. Perhaps if we can get started on some program, we’ll stick with it this time. Here are a few of the popular approaches to weight loss to consider.

For people who are severely overweight, it sometimes takes a special weight loss program to keep them disciplined and motivated. After all, when you’re used to living a certain way your whole life, the switch to fewer calories and a more varied diet, without the fat, can be overwhelming.

One of these popular plans is the Weight Watchers program, which is $20 to join and costs about $9/week. The diet nutrition plan emphasizes strict calorie control, flexibility in food choices, exercise and a positive attitude.

Proponents of Weight Watchers attend group meetings and weigh-ins and are not mandated to buy prepackaged food. Instead, they learn about what choices they can make based on a “points system,” as outlined in the Weight Watchers manual.

Some critics say the points system does not necessarily lead to healthy eating, but the diet has fared well in clinical studies. Additionally, because it is cost-effective and flexible, participants are more likely to stick with it.

Atkins is another one of the dietary weight loss programs you’ve probably heard about. Perhaps your neighbor dropped twenty pounds on it or a woman at the bookstore looked over your shoulder and recommended Dr. Atkins’ “New Diet Revolution.”

What doesn’t sound good about gorging on steak with Bearnaise sauce, eggs, bacon and cheddar cheese, without being required to move an inch? While it may not sound healthy at first, Atkins claims that participants can burn fat and drop weight quickly if they drastically reduce carbohydrates down to 20 to 40 grams a day.


You’ll be loading up on fat and protein, while cutting out refined sugar, milk, white rice, white flour, white bread, white potatoes and pasta. While this diet has been championed by overweight dieters who have witnessed the pounds dropping off, experts are concerned about the overall effect of advocating fat over fruit.

“Our worries over the Atkins diet go way past the question of whether it is effective for losing weight or even for keeping weight off. We worry that the diet promotes heart disease,” Robert H. Eckel, MD of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, says. “We have concerns over whether this is a healthy diet for preventing heart disease, stroke and cancer. There is also the potential for loss of bone, and the potential for people with liver and kidney problems to have trouble with the high amounts of protein in these diets.”

One of the best diets you can be on is not really a diet at all; it’s a lifestyle change that leads to weight loss. In exercise physiologist Bob Greene’s book “The Best Life Diet,” you’re encouraged to reduce your calories to 1,500 to 2,500 (depending on your size and fitness level), eat a wide variety of foods, manage your portion size and increase your physical activity.

The changes are presented in three gradual phases to help you get acclimated to this new way of living and it’s a diet you never quit. Over time, you’ll begin saying goodbye to fried foods, trans fat laden dishes, white bread, sugary soft drinks, white pasta and high-fat dairy, while welcoming more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy.

“Once a person decides to lose weight, they want it gone immediately,” says Cathy Nonas of the American Dietetic Association. “And unfortunately, they choose fad diets [and] lose weight quickly only to regain it back instead of choosing a program like Best Life Diet that tackles changing eating behaviors.”

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