TRENDY diets come and go - one minute the grapefruit diet was in, then it was the cabbage soup diet, now it’s the world-famous Atkins diet and basically anything that bans carbohydrates. But despite these fads and fleeting flash-in-the-pans, there are a number of diet programmes that have stood the test of time.
Weightwatchers, still a favourite 40 years after it began, relies on a points system for foods, with group support and regular weigh-ins. Generally, the higher the fat or calories, the more points assigned. Low-point foods include fruit, vegetables,
low-fat dairy, poultry, seafood, lean meats and grains. High-calorie, high-fat foods and large servings have to be avoided.
In the 1960s, two doctors collaborated to develop the perfect formula diet, which became the Cambridge diet. What they wanted was a formula food with the excellent weight-loss properties of starvation, but no undesirable side effects. The Cambridge diet was launched commercially in the USA in 1980 and has been available in the UK since 1984.
The most talked about, and arguably one of the most successful, diets to have regained popularity was launched in 1972 by Robert Atkins. The young cardiologist developed the now famous Atkins diet, when he read about a new low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, which allowed you to eat eggs, meat and cheese, but no breads, rice or pasta.
Dr Atkins’ Diet Revolution, published in 1972, sold 50 million copies, and with celebrity endorsement from the likes of Jennifer Anniston and Renee Zellwegger, the updated version in the Nineties sold another ten million. Critics of the diet say that, long term, this sort of diet is likely to cause heart and kidney problems.
The Scarsdale diet, brought out in 1978 by Herman Tarnower, was a 14-day diet plan using artificial sweeteners and herbal appetite suppressants. The strict diet programme allowed fruit, vegetables and lean animal fats, but no snacking. The Scarsdale diet was one of the first low-carbohydrate, low-calorie diets, and any weight loss was the result of the low calorie intake, about 1,000 calories, and not the supposed "chemical reactions" as claimed.
In 1981, diet counsellor and avid dieter Judy Mazel published The Beverly Hills Diet. Championed by Jodie Foster, it claims you can lose 10-15lb in 35 days, by following rules on eating specific foods at the same time or in a certain order each day. It recommends eating fruit by itself and never eating protein with carbohydrates, in order for food to be properly digested and not stored as fat.
The "cabbage soup" diet may have proved popular with Sarah-Michelle Gellar, but less popular with work-mates or family of those following it. The idea was that by eating as much cabbage soup as you could stomach, you could lose 10-15lb in a week.
Most recently, Slimming World is now offering dieters the choice of "red" days or "green" days. On red days you can eat unlimited meat and fish but have to limit carbohydrates like potatoes, rice and pasta. Green days mean you can eat pasta, rice and potatoes but limit meat and fish. You can eat as much fruit and vegetables as you like and are awarded two "healthy extras" a day. You can also have ten to 15 "sins" a day. Foods have "sin" values and you can use these on treats, such as chocolate or alcohol.
Confused? No wonder - you probably need a degree in nutritional studies to understand any of them.
