Jessica Kolditz / Scroll
For the first two of weeks while on the South Beach Diet the dieter can only eat vegetables, cheese, eggs or nuts.

Choosing how to lose the holiday season weight

Kadie Sharp SHA04007@BYUI.EDU Lifestyle Asst. Editor

The holiday season has come and gone, along with huge turkey dinners, cake, sweets and pies. Now is the time to make that annual New Year’s resolution — to lose those 10 pounds gained from all the sweets.

Dieting is one way to make pants looser. Because self-image has become increasingly important and obesity causes more health problems every year, there are now many different diet programs to choose from.

“My dad tried the Atkins diet and cut out all the carbs and added more protein and vegetables and then exercised more,” said Ashley Carleton, a senior from San Antonio, Texas. “His doctor recommended it and he lost about 35 pounds doing it.”

Besides the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet and the Zone diet are two other examples of the many weight loss plans.

In the South Beach Diet, the dieter cannot eat any bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods or fruit for the first two weeks. There is also no candy, cake, cookies or sugar period. However, feel free to pig out on any vegetables, cheese, eggs or nuts, but only moderate helpings of meat and seafood.

If the dieter survives the first two weeks, they are allowed to slowly add in some sweets and carbohydrates. The South Beach Diet teaches what carbs are good for the body and how to achieve the right carb balance per day.

How long the diet takes depends on what the target weight loss is, but once the goal is reached the South Beach Diet promises to teach the dieter how to keep the weight off, according to www.agoramedia.com.

Introduced in 1995, the Zone diet plan stresses eating at times throughout the day when it is easier to balance blood sugar.

The Zone diet includes three meals and two snacks daily that are balanced in low-fat protein, carbs and natural fats not created by food processing. The diet also includes exercise advice, daily fish oil supplements which are believed to prevent heart disorders and techniques to manage stress.

While dieting may help people lose weight, many don’t want to follow a meticulous diet plan. Luckily, there are other weight loss options such as exercise, watching food portions or just eating less fatty foods.

“You can try as many diets as you want, but it’s a lifestyle change that will make the difference,” Carleton said. “It’s the little things like parking your car farther away so you have to walk more.”

Dr. Bill Gavin, a cardiologist from Washington, gives three basic rules to weight loss in his book, No White at Night. His first rule is to eat three meals a day. Breakfast is the most important meal to help the body burn calories instead of storing them.

Eating protein at every meal helps the body remain full and decreases the urge to snack between meals. Gavin suggests eating protein such as meat, fish, chicken, string cheese, natural peanut butter, etc.

The last tip is to not eat “white at night.” This means no high-carb foods such as rice, potatoes, bread or a favorite dessert.

“You have to take some calories out of your diet to lose weight. I take out these starch calories,” Gavin said. “They’re high carbohydrates that are basically converted to sugar and have no real nutritional value.”