Ive tried every diet under the sun. I am now on Atkins, for the second time. Here's a quick analysis of my experiences:

Anorexia: First two years of college I was anorexic. I no longer exercised, but I also didn't eat. I was down to 115 pounds (5'7") and when my boyfriend started making me eat I didn't just go back to my normal weight, I skyrocketed 90 pounds in two years.

Metabolife: Believe it or not, my first dieting experience. Quickly lost 30 pounds, I ate literally whatever I wanted but stopped eating due to no hunger.. I was in perma-PMS. Stop taking the pills and went through 3 weeks of caffeine and ephedra withdrawl migraines, puking included. I had always prided myself on being drug free...this I can no longer say. Promptly gained back 50 pounds.

Slimfast: Hahaha, this didn't even last a day. I was STARVING.

Jenny Craig: I was spending 112 dollars per week on prepackaged food and another 40 bucks on grocery food. At the same time, I joined a kickboxing class for 2 hours a day 6 days a week. I lost 40 pounds. Got tired of so much exercise and so much money for JC. Quit JC, gained back all the weight. Went on JC AGAIN, but exercised much less, lost very little and very slowly. I think honestly it was all the intense exercise and of course calorie starvation but I'd NEVER be able to maintain this diet long term.

Wieght Watchers: I did this program online. It's only 15 dollars per month and has a "system" where you count points instead of calories. For some people this system is great-it really tries to balance low fat with high complex carbs etc. At 15 bucks, it's a great price and has a LOT of support for users. However, I followed the diet to-the-letter and gained 15 pounds before giving up. I think personally I need high meat/protein and lower carbs. Unfortunately on WW you cannot eat copious amounts of ANY meat, no matter how lean it is, because meat contains so many points. I was filling up on starchy vegetables which ended up making me all that more hungry. For people who can lose on low fat diets, I recommend WW all the way.

The Zone: This is a good way of eating. You can really balance good nutrients, fats, proteins, and carbs within your food. Like Atkins, you only need the book. You generally feel better, although I was constantly hungry. I didn't lose or gain weight on this diet, but it's a nice way of eating if you're maintaining a healthy weight, I'm guessing because it truly advocates moderation and balance for the long haul.

The Body Type: Another book diet-This sort of made sense...but I equate it with reading my horoscope. I'm type O...so I should do well with high intese exercise (true) but be lactose intolerant (not true)...yada yada yada. When I wanted to believe in the diet, I focused on all the stuff that was true for me. ie. "Yeah! That's SO true! The book must be right" while not giving enough credit to the stuff that wasn't. This is just a weird way of eating in my opinion. And I lost zero pounds.

Yoga for Food: This book was really cool, although I only started reading it and heard an interview with the author. The basic idea is...listen to your body tell you what is good for it and what isn't. If you learn to hear your body, you will realize that a piece of chocolately cake just isn't as good as you think it tastes. He wasn't advocating Atkins in any form, but all the food I'm eating on Atkins is SCRUMPTIOUS...and I'm listening to my body's hunger/dehydration/fatigue signs much better, lol. So...in a way I'm doing yoga for food, hehe.

Atkins: When I first did Atkins the book was MUCH different than it is now. Unfortunately, it really is true that the Atkins diet follows any other mass marketing technique to make money. Originally you didn't have to "count" carbs in any form, you just had a list of food to eat or not eat. Cheese, bacon, sausage and all the other things that contain carbs were unlimited foodstuffs. And there were no "frakenfoods" for people who just truly love a dinner roll. (which was the first item I broke my diet with). Every once in a while I really want a muffin...now I can have one without breaking diet. This makes it much easier. I lost 15 pounds, but I just couldn't maintain a no vegie no fruit no wheat no sugar diet.

This time, though, there are phases and fiber is really stressed. There are not only limits to how many processed meats you can eat (bacon, lunchmeat, etc) but also cheese. Bad views of trans fats have been introduced, as well as bad sugar substitutes. I feel REALLY good about Atkins this time around because not only is it low carb...it's low processed/unatural foods. I think we're all going to be healthier simply because there is a diet that tastes wonderful, fills you up, and is generally healthy for you. I am obsessing about food less, I have more energy, I dont take naps, exercise is easier, my pocketbook is happy-and the weight is dropping. What more could we ask for?

-Lizzie