Diet, anyone?

So, what diet are you in?
“ I need to lose weight, “ is a common phrase that is heard from those who are either overweight or from those who would plainly want to look thinner for pure aesthetic purposes. For some years now, diet plans and diet programs have gained popularity and earned media attention. Restaurant owners have increased their product lines to serve the needs of those who are on strict diets. A show titled as The World's Biggest Loser that deals with obesity and weight loss was produced.
To effectively lose weight, doctors agree that exercise and rigid adherence to diet plans are needed. With the variety of diet plans for the weight conscious, choosing one to follow may be difficult. Perhaps it's time to look at what researchers and doctors say about two of the popular diet programs we often hear of, South Beach and Atkins.
Atkins diet was developed in 1973 by a medical doctor named Robert Atkins. Atkins diet is founded on the basic premise that severe restriction of carbohydrates in your daily food intake will allow your body to go into ketosis since a human's body gets its energy from either fats or carbohydrates. Ketosis is the point where the fats are burned to become fuel. Weight is reduced as fats get burned.
There are phases in the Atkins diet. Phase one bans almost all kinds of carbohydrates except for broccoli, some salad greens and Zucchini. In lieu of carbohydrates, red meat, fish, poultry and fatty food can be taken. In phase two, small amounts of nutrient-based carbohydrates such as quarter cup of blueberries are added back to the diet. Once desired weight is achieved, whole grains can be taken.
One of the studies show that Atkins diet resulted to greater weight loss as compared to the low calorie diet. However, researchers also point out that Atkins diet is effective only in the short term, and may be harmful in the long run. Nutritionists are particularly concerned with the high-fat diet that Atkins encourages since this might be bad for the heart. The lack of fiber that might lead to colon related disease also causes other medical practitioners to worry.
South Beach diet on the other hand, was conceived by Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist from Florida. It is also known as “ Atkins lite”. In South Beach, saturated fats that are found in butter and red meat which are allowed in Atkins are prohibited. This diet is also liberal with the amount of carbohydrates that can be taken in as long as these carbohydrates are those that are longer to digest.
Just like with Atkins, phase one bans consumption of all kinds of carbohydrates. After the initial phase, carbohydrates can be taken as long as they are the “good carbs” or those food with low ratings on the glycemic index. Glycemic index is used to measure how much a particular food increases blood sugar as compared to a similar quantity of white bread.
South Beach diet is said to be an improvement of Atkins since it allows intake of a healthier variety of food. However, as with Atkins and other kinds of diet,losing weight is easy, but maintaining the weight lost may prove to be more difficult.