3 Diets Compared-Atkins, South Beach And The Zone

For a person who has weight issues there is no escape from diets. If you watch television, listen to the radio go in the internet, go to the supermarket, there is no way to avoid this national obsession. This obsession has always had fad diets that claim to be “the only diet you’ll ever need!”

Over the past few decades a number of diets came and went. Some were dangerous enough to make the FDA issue warnings others caused weight loss and then weight gain. There were diets from the seventies that required a person to cut out proteins and focus on carbohydrates while others recommended the opposite method.

Currently, there are three diets that stand out. The Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet and the Zone diet. All three of these have been under attack for assuming that one can lose weight eating all the protein and high fat foods they want which goes against medical studies

Well which diet works and how do each work? Are they dangerous and can they really be stuck to for a lifetime? If you just look at the diets on a superficial level you might conclude that each assumes that carbohydrates are bad and proteins are good therefore to lose weight you just need to avoid the carbohydrates but the truth is answer to these questions above are they can work and yes they can be a basis for a lifetime change.

So how do these diets agree with the recommended diet low in fats and proteins with up to sixty percent of daily calorie intake from carbohydrates, and a focus on whole grain and vegetables? Here are examples of meals under the three diets including one based on the USDA recommendations.

Meal based on USDA recommendations

2 cups spinach and grapefruit salad
I table spoon of olive oil dressing
I oz whole grain/wheat bread slice
3 oz lean fish (brushed with olive oil broiled with garlic)

This meal is approximately 350 calories
15 g protein
20g carbohydrates
14 g fat

South Beach Diet Dinner Menu:

Sugar-free jelly with low-fat topping
Poached salmon with a Greek salad.

This meal is approximately 300 calories

3 g. carbohydrates
17 g. protein
14 g. fat (olive oil in Greek dressing)

Atkins Diet Dinner Menu:

A Spring Salad
A Green Goddess Dressing
A portion of Maple-Mustard Glazed Baked Ham
A Baked Artichoke-Parsley Cheese Squares
Some Roasted Asparagus
A slice of Atkins Coconut Layer Cake

This meal is approximately 400 calories
8 g. fat
18 g. protein
17g carbohydrates

The Zone Dinner Menu:

Baked salmon with Fruit salsa (kiwi, apple, and blackberries)

This meal is approximately 435 calories
10 g. carbohydrates
17 g. protein
5g fat

You will see that regardless of how the ingredients are added up be it carbs, exchanges, food blocks or calories it ends up being the same. If you want to lose weight, you must have a diet with a proper balance of carbohydrate, proteins and fat and with a focus on complex carbohydrates and lean meats.

Choose the diet the works best for you and use it to become healthier and slimmer.

Rachel Gillespe is a staff writer at Diet Gazette and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including Women's Digest.

Article Source: http://www.wellnessarticlelibrary.com

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