Another year, another diet

It’s that time of year once again. The holidays have come and gone, and as we begin this new year, a majority of women have one thing on their minds: weight loss. But this year Americans may attempt tackling their No. 1 New Year’s resolution without the help of the No. 1 diet. Experts say the low-carb diet is on its way out.

A study by the NPD Group, an independent marketing-information company, found the number of carb-counters in 2004 dropped from 9.1 percent in February to only 4.9 percent in November. Also, the study stated that only one in four people surveyed was significantly cutting carbs, and “virtually none” reduced carbs to the extent that their diets recommended.

Americans have become burdened with the difficulty of sticking to strict diet guidelines and are bored with the monotony of eating the same things day after day. It would probably be unfair to call the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets a “craze,” since they were introduced more than 30 years ago. However, it seems in America every diet has a shelf life, and these diets are reaching the end of theirs.

But what does that mean for the American dieter? One would hope that after decades of failed diet pills, nutritional shakes and the like, we would realize that the only effective and healthy way to lose and maintain our weight is by moderation, a healthy diet and good-old-fashioned exercise: in other words, hard work.

However, we are always looking for the magic bullet, and surely another product promising to make you “lose weight quick” is waiting in the wings, ready to entice dieters when the low-carb trend finally fizzles.