Swimsuit season is right around the corner. You pull out your spring clothes from storage and try on your swimwear from last year. Shockingly, it’s too tight. So what do you do to fit back into those clothes?

Facing rapid weight-loss goals in short amounts of time, people turn to the quick fix. Fad diets of all kinds have been popular since the early 1800s (see sidebar).

March marks National Nutrition Month, and the theme for this year is “100% Fad Free.” FYI will be dissecting a different fad diet each week during the month. Low-carbohydrate diets are the first program that will go under the microscope.

Low-carb diets have been popular because the formula for the plan almost seems too good to be true. Fatty foods are allowed in any quantity, but carbohydrates are avoided. Common staples of low-carb diets are meats, cheeses, eggs and nuts. Judy Trumpy, registered dietitian at Thielen Student Health Center, said the severe restriction of carbohydrates can leave diets deficient of important food groups.

“When you restrict carbohydrates, [then] fruits, vegetables and whole grains are cut out,” Trumpy said. “The dieter cannot get the vitamins, minerals and fiber that these foods provide. Since milk has carbohydrates, dairy is also avoided, and the decrease in calcium intake can cause weakening of the bones.”

Supporters of low-carb diets cite the recent increase in obesity rates as proof that their diet works. They propose that, historically, protein and plants have been the main sources of energy for humans. Carbohydrates, then, must be to blame for the bulging waistlines today.

Conversely, Rick Sharp, professor of health and human performance, said carbohydrates are necessary during exercise to provide energy and power to the muscles. He said studies have repeatedly shown that a diet of less than 50 percent of calories from carbohydrates impairs endurance performance.

“If there is not enough carbohydrate, muscle is forced to rely more on fat and protein for energy provision than usual,” Sharp said. “Unfortunately, for peak exercise performance, one has to consume more oxygen to yield the same amount of energy from fat and protein than when using predominantly carbohydrate. This makes it physiologically more difficult to perform the same exercise.”

Mary Tidwell, senior in dietetics and student representative for National Nutrition Month activities, admits that cutting carbohydrates from the diet does often provide quick weight loss, but may cause problems down the road.

“Research supports that low-carb diets cause short-term weight loss, but this kind of diet increases the risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer over time,” Tidwell said. “It is not a balanced diet.”

Trumpy also admits low-carb dieters do sometimes lose weight, but said carbohydrates do not make individuals fat.

“Low-carb diets work primarily because they restrict the variety of foods you are allowed to have,” Trumpy said. “This tends to lower overall intake because you get bored with the foods you are allowed to eat.”

She said biochemically, it takes four grams of water to move one gram of carbohydrate. If weight gain is noticed with carbohydrate intake, it may be water weight.

Robert Atkins brought back the low-carb craze in 1992, and later in 2001, after the diet first emerged in 1825. Trumpy believes low-carb diets have had so many resurrections because they are easy to formulate.

“Developers make small tweaks to low-carb plans from the past, and they become popular again,” Trumpy said. “It’s a lot easier to tell people what not to eat than what to eat.”

The Atkins plan recommends that during the first phase of the diet, participants consume 20 grams of carbohydrates each day. The recommended daily allowance, set by National Academy of Sciences, is 300 grams for people who eat 2,000 calories each day. With this severe reduction in carbohydrate intake, the diet was still very popular at the start of this decade.

When explaining this phenomenon, Trumpy said, “People always look for the magic pill or magic bullet. They don’t want to wait for weight loss.” She said cutting carbs sometimes leads to quick weight loss, but many dieters put the weight back on when they reintroduce foods that supply carbohydrates.

Tidwell thinks low-carb diets have become popular because “people see results really quickly, which is reinforcing, but a lot of this loss occurs because they are cutting out foods that have a lot of water in them. Foods that are typically labeled as ‘bad’ are allowed, and it feels good to be told it is okay to eat them.”

From personal observations, Tidwell said she believes most people are typically not on a specific low-carb diet plan, but still think carbohydrates are bad. Individuals avoid carbohydrates without knowing why, she adds.

However, both Tidwell and Trumpy believe there are some beneficial lessons to take from low-carb diets. Cutting simple carbohydrates such as those found in donuts, candy and soda can be a positive step. They recommend keeping complex carbohydrates in the diet, since they are good sources of energy and fiber.

Sharp believes that for athletes, there is really no redeeming value for low-carb dieting.

“I always suggest higher carbohydrate diets of more than 60 percent of calories from carbohydrates for athletes,” Sharp said. “This helps them recover more quickly between training sessions.”

According to the American Heart Association, real weight loss is achieved through consuming fewer calories than you burn. People will notice the pounds falling off if they move more, whether they eat is protein, fats or carbohydrates.

“People forget that weight takes a while to put on, so it will take a while to get it off,” Trumpy said.

10 diet fads from over the years

• 1825: Low Carbohydrate Diet. First known suggestion of reducing starches.
• 1903: “Retcherizing.” Food should be chewed 32 times before swallowing.
• 1925: Cigarette Diet. Slogan: “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet.”
• 1928: Inuit Meat-and-Fat Diet. Whale blubber, raw seafood and caribou are staples.
• 1934: Bananas and Skim Milk Diet. The United Fruit Company was attempting to increase sales by backing this plan.
• 1950: Cabbage Soup Diet. Main side effect: flatulence.
• 1964: Drinking Man’s Diet. Meat and alcohol are the main components of this low-carb relative.
• 1970: Sleeping Beauty Diet. You don’t eat when you’re not awake!
• 1992: High Protein Low Carb Diet. “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution” hits the bookshelves after the diet was first introduced in 1972.
• 2006: Maple Syrup Diet: Wash down a big bite of nothing with a mix of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and syrup. No food is eaten during this detoxification diet.

(courtesy of Eatright.org)