Atkins Destroys The Competition

Nutritionists agree, today's dieters can lose weight on many of the popular diets prevalent throughout the diet industry. The trick to dieting success is keeping the weight off once the dieting part of the plan has ended. Figures from the CDC show that the percentage of dieters who able to maintain their weight loss for five years after accomplishing their goal weight is a very disheartening 5%. Some research shows the figure to be less than this. So the greatest challenge for the nutritional community is not the actual weight loss, but the maintenance of weight loss once the initial loss has been accomplished.

During the main weight loss period dieters stray from their diets to varying degrees, but the most successful dieters are the ones who are able to get back on their program after a stumble. This is very similar to the maintenance problem most dieters face. If one is told that they will never be able to enjoy a specific treat for the rest of their lives the likelihood that they will be able to sustain a program is significantly reduced. Both the dieter and maintainer face similar obstacles in fulfilling successful programs.

This is where low carbohydrate diets have a significant advantage over their counter parts. If the dieter has just gone through a rough patch, such as the holidays, or a vacation, the low carb diet knows that in order to get back on the program they can start with a nice gigantic steak and eggs breakfast, followed by a roasted chicken for lunch and salmon drowned in a nice rich dill cream sauce for dinner. The choice for the other dieters is no where near as inviting. Half of a scrumptious grape fruit and a bowl of delicious cottage cheese followed by whole wheat bread with tuna mixed with diet dressing for lunch and a couple slices of dry turkey breast with brussels sprouts and low-fat vanilla yogurt for dinner. These are common choices for the dieting public.

The number one most significant factor in the successful completion of a diet is overwhelmingly answered by the low carb diet. Getting back on the program once you have stumbled. The appeal of the foods offered clearly favors low carb dieter. Although some find Special K to be a most attractive choice, most would choose the green pepper, onion, cheese omelet option.

The bias against low carb diets is rarely answered empirically. Long held conventions in any discipline are hard to overcome, especially in the field of health. Finding a health professional with an open mind can be one of the hardest tasks for the health conscious consumer today.