Atkins, Zone, South Beach, Oh My!

Finding The Diet Plan That’s Right for You

By Damian Bonazzoli

December 2005 – Trying to get that lean, fit look but not sure exactly how to go about it? There are so many trendy diets out there today that it’s hard to know which one might be a perfect fit for you. There’s The Atkins Diet, The Zone diet (also known as 40/30/30), The South Beach diet, The Ornish diet…The list goes on and on. So let’s take a look at some facts and figure out what makes each of these diets tick…

First, it’s a good idea to have a basic understanding of the three sources of calories: Carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Bear in mind that all of these sources of calories are important to your overall health. Fat helps maintain healthy skin and hair (among other things), protein helps

build muscle, and carbs are your primary source of energy. One gram of fat contains about 9 calories, while a gram of protein or carbs each contains about 4 calories.

The differences amongst the most popular diets lie in the ratio of carbs, protein, and fat they “allow” you to consume. For example, the Atkins diet advocates a high protein, high fat diet with very few carbohydrates. The theory is that if you deprive your body of carbs (your first source of energy), your body will turn to stored body fat for its energy needs.

The Atkins diet’s cousin, the South Beach diet, also suggests a diet relatively high in fat and protein and lower in carbs. I prefer South Beach to Atkins, as South Beach does a better job of discriminating between “good” fat and “bad” fat. It also allows for greater consumption of carbs, but insists – wisely – that the carbs be “complex” (such as those found in whole grains) as opposed to “simple” (such as white bread, table sugar, and the like).

At the other end of the spectrum is the Ornish diet, a vegetarian diet that suggests that only 10% of your diet come from fat, emphasizing a large intake of complex carbohydrates combined with a modest amount of protein.

Then we have the Zone diet, which advocates taking in about 40% of your daily calories from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. The Zone frowns upon carbs derived from grains and instead suggests that fruits and vegetables are the better means for obtaining carbs.

So which diet is right for you, since each seems to have benefits as well as flaws? Is it the Zone, with sensible proportions but without the grains that might be able to reduce the risk of heart disease? The Ornish, which cuts the fat but might deprive you of muscle-building protein? Or the high-fat South Beach that cuts carbs way down but might not give your body enough fruits and vegetables?

The whole question of what makes a successful diet choice should really come down to long term thinking. Any of these diets can offer short term weight loss, but are you really ready to become a vegetarian, or avoid breads, or live on only bacon for the rest of your life? The better choice is to find out how many calories your body needs based on your gender, build, height, activity level, and age. There are plenty of calculators on line to help you find this number, and your doctor should be able to lend a hand, too. Next, do a little math (see, it really does come in handy) to find out how many grams of each type of calorie you need per day. (I’d go with 50% of your calories from carbs, 25% from fat, and 25% from protein.) Then just find good foods you like that have the types of calories you need ~ protein from fish and lean (skinless) chicken, complex carbs from whole grains and vegetables like broccoli, and good (“unsaturated”) fats from olive oil and salmon (staying away from the “bad” fats like butter, whole milk, and red meat).

If you’re in it for the long haul, and you’re willing to do a little research and a little adjustment to your grocery list (and willing to put down that candy bar!), you can figure out a personal diet that will give you good results with a minimum of sacrifice ~ good news, isn’t it, with all those yummy holiday meals right around the corner?!