More than 1.5 billion adults worldwide are overweight or obese, the World Health Organization reports. Low-carb diets can help you eat less and lose weight quickly, MayoClinic.com states. Check with your physician before embarking on a low-carb diet to ensure that it's safe for you. Once you get the OK from your doctor, evaluate the various low-carb diets to find one that's right for you.
Paleolithic Diet
The Paleolithic Diet -- also known as the caveman diet -- is an eating plan that bans modern-day carb-rich foods, such as grains, dairy and sugar. Paleolithic dieters eat an abundance of low-carb foods, like vegetables, meat and eggs. Choosing the Paleolithic Diet can result in significant weight loss, reports a paper in the June 2009 issue of "Cardiovascular Diabetology." Researchers found that a group of obese paleolithic dieters lost an average of 6 lbs. of weight over a three-month dieting period.
Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet strictly limits carb-heavy foods, like breads, cereals, sugary treats and fruits. What makes Atkins so popular is that it allows almost unlimited quantities of meat. The Atkins diet works better than a standard low-fat diet for long-term weight loss, reports research in the May 2007 issue of "JAMA." Researchers discovered that subjects on the Atkins Diet lost twice as much weight than those on the low-fat Ornish Diet.
The Zone Diet
The Zone Diet is a low-carb diet that allows slightly more carbohydrates than the Atkins Diet. The "JAMA" research study found that volunteers that followed The Zone Diet lost an average of 3.5 lbs. over a one-year period -- significantly less than low-fat dieters.
South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is the brainchild of a cardiologist and a registered dietitian. The diet is split into three phases. Phase 1 is low in carbs and is designed to stop cravings for sugar and starchy foods. The second phase introduces healthy carbohydrates, like fruits and legumes, and it intended to promote significant weight loss. Phase 3 is designed to last for the rest of your life and is more liberal about moderate- to high-carb food choices.
References
- World Health Organization; Obesity and Overweight; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Low-Carb Diet; May 1, 2010
- "Cardiovascular Diabetology": Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study
- "JAMA"; Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women; Tommy Jonsson, et al.; Mar. 7, 2007
- South Beach Diet: How The South Beach Diet Works
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