Over the years, one of the most effective ways to lose weight has been high-protein eating. Lately, it has been popularized by diets such as Atkins and The Zone, but it’s actually a much older approach to weight loss, having been around for at least twenty years or more.

High protein eating is a bit controversial, because some critics claim that it can be too high in saturated fat and cholesterol. This can be true, depending on how you approach the program. It is possible to lose weight on Atkins even if you eat a lot of bacon, butter and eggs, but if there’s a history of heart disease in your family, that’s not advisable. The standard Atkins diet is not nearly as high in fat – it stresses healthier sources or protein such as chicken or fish.

A high protein diet limits your consumption of carbohydrates, such as bread, rice and pasta. Most of us eat too much of these foods anyway; in fact, some experts argue that some of us are even addicted to them. It’s true that when you get used to eating these foods, it can be hard to give them up. The Atkins diet forces you to do so during the early stages of the diet. In fact, even fruits and vegetables are limited. In the later stages of following the diet, fruits and vegetables are added back in, so you don’t end up deprived of vitamins and minerals. Another frequent criticism of the Atkins diet is that it deprives you of fruits and vegetables (which everyone agrees are healthy), but this just isn’t true in the long term.

Why does eating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet make you lose weight? The reasons are complex, and related to individual body chemistry. The fact is that eating a lot of processed carbohydrates is a big problem for many of us, because they raise the body’s glycemic index. Cutting out or limiting carbohydrates reverses this process, switching your body in a different gear – it turns into a fat-burning machine. The fact is that the high protein approach is one way in which many people have lost large amounts of weight. Some of these are individuals who have been unable to lose weight using any other diet or weight loss program.

The Zone is a gentler approach to high protein eating, but it is based on the same principle. Unlike Atkins, the Zone allows you to eat a balanced diet of protein and ‘good’ carbohydrates at every stage. Like Atkins, it limits or eliminates processed carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and baked goods. Over time, the Zone is probably as effective as Atkins, though Atkins can have some rapid, spectacular results when you first start following the diet.

Both of these approaches to weight loss should be lifelong changes, rather than diets that you ‘go on’ for a short period of time. Atkins has a ‘maintenance’ phase that allows you to eat a balanced diet, but maintain the eating habits that you have learned so that you don’t gain the weight back. Some experts recommend that if you start to notice your eating habits slipping and pounds creeping back on, you should go back to the first stages of Atkins for a while, and a eat a more restricted diet until you get back on track. Most experts encourage you to forget the old-fashioned idea of ‘going on a diet’ for a short period of time, and then going back to your old habits. That usually doesn’t work in the long term.

Exercise is also a very important part of this and any weight loss program. You can do any type of exercise you like. The best thing seems to be walking, if you do enough of it. In fact, walking for an hour every day might be a better way to lose weight than running two or three times a week. If you make exercise a part of your life, day in and day out, you have the best chances of controlling your weight for a lifetime.

High protein eating plans are not for everyone, but the fact is that they have worked for thousands of people in the past, even those with extreme or stubborn weight problems. Try Atkins or the Zone, or read about them online, to learn the basics and decide whether this diet is for you.