South Beach Diet & Other Weight Loss

Robert Baird asked:


Obesity is a growing menace in the recent times and the only effective means of countering it is by securing considerable weight loss. Otherwise one is greatly at risk of contracting various ailments like heart diseases and cancer and diabetes. While a huge number of weight loss supplements are available in the market, one of the most prevalent means of losing weight is by adopting an effective dieting regimen. It has been preached by experts that carbohydrates and fats are the major causes of excess fat accumulation within the body and therefore one’s diet should comprise of moderate proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and low on fats. However, while this is a general view, over the years different practitioners have conducted different experiments in order to reveal newer channels of dealing with obesity. The Atkins diet was formulated by Dr. Robert Atkins and it has emerged as one of the most popular and famous of the various diet programs and is a low-carbohydrate diet program. The idea of the diet was conceived by Dr. Atkins upon his reading of the Journal of the American Medical Association in the 1960s. This was followed by huge popularity of the Atkins diet program and in 1972 Dr. Atkins published a book based on his unique and effective diet program named Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution.

The Atkins diet refers t o low carbohydrate diet and according to Dr. Atkins one of the major causes of obesity among the western population was due to the intake of refined carbohydrates like flour, sugar etc and he was also instrumental in pointing out that not all saturated fats were responsible for obesity; rather he suggested that trans fats which are obtained form hydrogenated oil sources are the ones which need to be avoided. He formulated the curbing of carbohydrate intake and thereby aiding the body’s metabolism to indulge in the burning of stored body fat rather than the burning of glucose. This is known as lipolysis which follows the process of ketosis. As a result of this process it was possible to burn pout much more fat and this according to Dr. Atkins provided the body with a ‘metabolic advantage’. He also prevented the consumption of ‘net carbs’ which are believed to effect blood sugar. The Atkins diet comprises of four phases inducing weight loss. These are induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. While the Atkins diet has achieved much popularity, it has also been plagued by controversies but that has not reduced its fame by any means.

Robert Baird asked:


Obesity is a growing menace in the recent times and the only effective means of countering it is by securing considerable weight loss. Otherwise one is greatly at risk of contracting various ailments like heart diseases and cancer and diabetes. While a huge number of weight loss supplements are available in the market, one of the most prevalent means of losing weight is by adopting an effective dieting regimen. It has been preached by experts that carbohydrates and fats are the major causes of excess fat accumulation within the body and therefore one’s diet should comprise of moderate proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and low on fats. However, while this is a general view, over the years different practitioners have conducted different experiments in order to reveal newer channels of dealing with obesity. The Atkins diet was formulated by Dr. Robert Atkins and it has emerged as one of the most popular and famous of the various diet programs and is a low-carbohydrate diet program. The idea of the diet was conceived by Dr. Atkins upon his reading of the Journal of the American Medical Association in the 1960s. This was followed by huge popularity of the Atkins diet program and in 1972 Dr. Atkins published a book based on his unique and effective diet program named Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution.

The Atkins diet refers t o low carbohydrate diet and according to Dr. Atkins one of the major causes of obesity among the western population was due to the intake of refined carbohydrates like flour, sugar etc and he was also instrumental in pointing out that not all saturated fats were responsible for obesity; rather he suggested that trans fats which are obtained form hydrogenated oil sources are the ones which need to be avoided. He formulated the curbing of carbohydrate intake and thereby aiding the body’s metabolism to indulge in the burning of stored body fat rather than the burning of glucose. This is known as lipolysis which follows the process of ketosis. As a result of this process it was possible to burn pout much more fat and this according to Dr. Atkins provided the body with a ‘metabolic advantage’. He also prevented the consumption of ‘net carbs’ which are believed to effect blood sugar. The Atkins diet comprises of four phases inducing weight loss. These are induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. While the Atkins diet has achieved much popularity, it has also been plagued by controversies but that has not reduced its fame by any means.

Mansi Gupta asked:


Who does not desire to have a fit and shaped up body? Perhaps we all do. Overweight is the biggest enemy of our health. But factors such as sedentary work, lack of time to exercise and the availability of delectable fast food have made it extremely difficult to have stabilized weight.

It is not only a person’s appearance that is badly affected by being overweight but also his fitness. Usually obese people keep on confronting one or the other health problem. There are times when excess of weight becomes a mental torture and leads to depression.

It is quite an easy task to gain weight but immensely difficult to reduce it. Though there are various remedies prescribed to shed weight, all can’t to followed or trusted. One old and quite effective way to become light is the use of Atkin’s Diet.

Dr. Robert Atkins (1930-2003) was the father of Atkin’s Diet. In 1972 he popularized the diet in his famous series of books. In practical application also the diet turned out to be quiet successful. Thus it became more and more popular with time.

Dr. Atkin believed that carbohydrate is the primary reason behind gaining weight. This is because carbohydrates are composed of energy providing items such as sugar, starch, cellulose and gums. So if a person reduces the intake of carbohydrates (carbs) he or she can greatly get rid of many pounds. Thus people should avoid potatoes and other starchy vegetables along with sugar, grains, pastas and fruits for these are the major sources of carbs. In the opinion of Dr. Atkins doing this will translate a carbohydrate-burning metabolism to a fat burning one. Atkin’s diet is critical of carbs related but not of fatty and protein rich stuff. In fact it recommends its users to eat food that provides them fats and proteins. In the case of proteins it particularly emphasizes the consumption of animal protein.

Though atkin’s diet has done wonders in many cases, it has many shortcomings. If this diet is quite popular with one set of people, some others are enormously critical of it. this is because of several reasons. Firstly Atkins meals are not only low in carbs but contain negligible amount of essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients. Secondly atkin’s diet is flourishing with cholesterol boosting fats that can be very troublesome. Thirdly since atkin’s diet promulgates animal protein, vegetarians find it difficult to adopt it. In the fourth place according to the American Heart Association (AHA), a high protein diet is not adequate to lose weight. So diets such as Atkin’s can cause nutritional deficiency and other cholesterol related problems (cardiac arrests) in the long run. Finally critics believe that eating meat and other high protein products can lead to osteoporosis, colon cancer, heart diseases and renal diseases.

However the best way to reduce weight is to avoid excess as well as complete elimination of anything. A person should take a diet rich in essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteins, fibers etc.), stay away from fatty foods as much as possible. Also carbs such as sugar should be consumed in a regulated manner.