Intermittent Fasting: If you are looking for a way to reduce your body fat, going low carb is one of the popular diet choices. There a number of different versions of low carb diets , from the famous Atkins diet to The South Beach Diet. Low Carb Diets are not new, the concept was not invented by Dr Robert Atkins as many people seem to think. Low Carb diets even precede other US diet doctors such as Herman Tarnower and Herman Taller. Dieting Plans allowing you to eat meat, some dairy foods, salad and non-starchy vegetables,while restricting or banning foods containing sugar or starch were first promoted in the early 19th century by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. To this day the debate continues among Doctors and Nutritionists as to what is the best diet for us to follow and lose weight.

There is certainly evidence to show that initial weight loss while following a low carb diet does reduce body fat. In a recent study of popular diets ( Gardner CD, Kiazand A, Alhassan S, et al. Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight. And related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial. JAMA 2007;297:969-77) The Atkins diet showed the best weight loss results over both a 2 month and a 6 month period. This is the information you seen mentioned in the media on a regular basis. However over a 12 month period the Atkins diet results were not so impressive. And was no more effective than the other diets in the study.

My own view based on my experience of trying low carb dieting is though effective in the short term. Diets such as Atkins are not practical to follow in the long term. In my opinion, to lose body fat and control weight. The way we eat has to be possible to follow for the long term, not just for a few weeks. I have in the past done Atkins, The South Beach Diet, and Fat Flush. Have taken things from all of these diet plans, I use them as part of lifestyle today. I also have a greater understanding of the effect refined carbohydrates have on my body. But the simple fact remains I could not follow these plans as a long term lifestyle change.