Watching Your Waistline

Find a diet that will help you shed the pounds — and keep them off.

Summer tends to bring out the insecure in us. We can’t it especially when we start seeing swimsuits in shopping display windows. So we do the next best thing: we crash diet. But losing weight shouldn’t mean losing judgment on what’s right and what’s not. Here are the pros and cons of three popular diets.

South Beach Diet

How does it work: The diet has three phases, and the first one aims to reverse insulin resistance, reduce cravings, and let you lose weight fast by banning starchy and carbohydrate-laden food. Phase 1 will ask you to avoid dairy, fruits including fruit juices, bread, and other baked goodies.

Foods to enjoy: All types of beans, asparagus, artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplants, leafy greens, lean proteins like lean cuts tenderloin, skinless chicken, all types of fish and shellfish, peanut butter, pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil.

Pro: You can lose weight without counting calories, weighing food portions and missing any meal. It even allows snacks! And in the first two weeks you lose 8 to 13 pounds, mostly from your belly.

Con: Because you lose weight fast, you can gain it back just as fast if you don’t adhere strictly to the rules. Besides, the ideal weight loss per week is about 2 pounds to avoid any potential health hazards. It also doesn’t address dieters who have problems with dairy. You also need to be concerned about muscle loss. Consult your doctor as well if you have kidney problems.

Atkins Diet

How does it work: Before South Beach, there was Atkins, and both diets work the same way. The difference is Atkins has practically zero carbohydrate. If there’s carbohydrate in your chewing gum, you can’t have it.

Foods to enjoy: Eggs, meat, poultry, fish, processed meats in unlimited quantities.

Pro: Atkins can change your metabolism so it burns fat efficiently and curbs your hunger pangs. It also affects overall health; you suffer less from fatigue, body aches and depression.

Con: The recommended daily consumption of carbohydrate should be 300 grams. Atkins only prescribes a consumption of as low as 20 grams. If you’re into long distance running or any high-energy activity, this just won’t do. Also, there’s a limit to the fat intake you can have, and that poses a danger to cholesterol levels.

Vegan Diet

How does it work: This is perhaps the best diet you can do because it obtains less fat and cholesterol and includes more fiber.

Foods to enjoy: If you’re on a strict vegan diet, you can only eat plant-based foods and none from those that has been sourced from animals. Meat alternatives can be tofu, soy burgers and other kinds of veggie meat.

Pro: You’re less prone to cardiovascular diseases, and the fiber helps promote good bowel movement.

Con: Unless you’re careful, you may find yourself lacking in iron and B complex vitamins that are found in red meat. You may also be prone to anemia. Most vegans are also underweight.

According to experts, eat more frequently but in smaller amounts to keep your metabolism running. Have five to six meals a day with an interval of two to three hours.