Weight Loss Diets Examined

Fad Diets & Dieting Fads: Do they work?

The Zone Diet- How It Compare to Atkins.

Some years ago, whenever someone rapidly lost a lot of weight, they were usually asked if it was “the Zone or Atkins?” Both of these diets started gaining public attention around the same time. Both were equally controversial.

The Zone, Dr. Barry Sear’s revolutionary diet, follows a 1-2-3 system to lose weight. It works like this: for each gram of good fat you eat, you have to eat twice as many grams of protein and three times as many grams of carbohydrates. For example females are expected to consume ten grams of fat, twenty grams of protein and thirty grams of carbohydrates at each meal. The 1-2-3 method is designed to prevent hunger and turn on your metabolism.

Considered a low carb lifestyle like Atkins, the two plans are very different. The Zone diet allows you to have carbs . However, only 140 grams daily and they must be good carbs. With Atkins you not eat carbs until you are into the final stages of the program when you get to eat 50 grams. Another difference is, on the Zone diet you do not have any phases or stages that you progress through as on Atkins.

The greatest plus factor about the Zone diet is that it is not as restrictive as Atkins. Some nutritionists argue against the Zone diet, alledgeing it's low calorie meals will not be able to satisfy your hunger. Others argue that the balanced meals included in the plan promote moderation and that each meal will bring you into a state of mind where your body can perform at peak level.

Atkins is very restrictive the first two weeks and you do need vitamins and mineral supplements. Atkins' induction phase can be harmful to your kidneys and colon if you stay on this phase too long. In fairness, though, once you progress on towards the other phases, Atkins does increase energy while losing weight, as so many report.

Both Atkins and the Zone are regarded as new ways to live and not quick fixes to your weight problem. Nevertheless, many users report that it is hard to follow either program for their entire lives. The Zone is a bit more manageable for the long term and the chances of keep the weight off is greater than with Atkins.