THE Atkins and Slim-Fast diets have been rated among the least effective in a study of British weight-obsessed women.
Those polled voted WeightWatchers’ plan the most successful way to shed pounds.

The Cabbage Soup diet was regarded as the biggest flop, while Atkins – a high protein/fat, low carbohydrate diet – was branded “useless”.

The research, carried out by Superdrug, revealed that the average female spends 88 DAYS a year dieting.

In the survey, more than half preferred diets which left them feeling full after a meal, and 43 per cent chose those which were a slight compromise on their existing eating plan.

Forty-one per cent tried to lose weight whenever their favourite clothes did not fit. Four in ten slimmed down just before a holiday and 14 per cent tried to eat more healthy after a big weekend of eating and drinking.

Superdrug’s superintendent pharmacist Martin Crisp said: “Everyone is different, but the fact that the majority of girls we polled agree on a sensible approach to weight loss was very telling.

“Women recognise that those which restrict the intake of certain food groups have a negative effect in the long run.

“Indeed, women favour diets which allow them to have a little bit of everything – still eating foods they enjoy like chocolate and bread, but eating less than usual.”

TOPS: 1 WeightWatchers; 2 Calorie Counting; 3 Slimming World; 4 Rosemary Conley. 5 Kellogg’s Special K.

FLOPS: 1 Cabbage Soup; 2 Atkins; 3 Grapefruit; 4 Slim-Fast; 5 Coconut

LOVE YOUR FAT BUM AND THIGHS SAYS RESEARCHER

Having a bigger bum, hips and thighs can be good for your health, protecting against heart problems, according to scientists.

Carrying fat around the backside and thighs reduces the effect of harmful proteins which cause inflammation and artery clogging, they claim.

The researchers found that a larger rear is preferable to extra fat around the stomach which gives no such protection, reports the Daily Mail.

Gluteofemoral fat around the lower body is harder to break down than upper body fat around the stomach which is designed to be quickly generated and then easily metabolized.

But the breakdown of these fat cells releases a lot of pro-inflammatory cytokines which have been linked to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes.

Slower-burning hip fat also makes more of a hormone that protects the arteries and promotes better blood sugar control and fat burning.

Study leader Dr Konstantinos Manolopoulos, of OxfordUniversity, said: “The fat around our thighs and hips is different to the fat we accumulate around our tummy.

“There is ‘good’ fat and ‘bad’ fat – just like there is good and bad cholesterol.

“The cells in lower body fat work differently from the cells in upper body fat – so it could be said that celebrities like J-Lo are better role models for women’s health than supermodels who have much less lower body fat.”

Future uses of the study could include deliberately increasing hip and bottom fat to reduce cardiovascular and metabolic problems.

Hollywood actress Sharon Stone says she doesn’t diet but does a lot of physical work that keeps her in shape.

“I have to watch not getting too skinny. I am a mover. I am not one of those people who can survive on salad. I love a big steak dinner and I am obsessed with finding the perfect hamburger,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Stone as saying.

“I do pilates. I bike, I walk. I try to take the stairs more than the elevator and I chase my children. May be because of this, I lose too much of weight, she added.
“I have had zero, nothing done to myself: no lifting, no Botox, no injectables. I did try something once and I saw myself in a movie and didn’t like the way I looked. I thought I looked like I had a giant balloon head, and I felt it wasn’t for me.

“I think everyone here (in Los Angeles) looks like everyone else. It’s goldfish number one, two and three, and I didn’t want to be goldfish number four. I’m not saying I might not do a little something later on but it’s just not me now.

“(I prefer to maintain my looks) the old-fashioned way – to go to the gym and take care of your internal life. I’m not one of those ladies who won’t say their age. I’m very grateful for it. We get different faces as we go through our lives. If you try to hang on to the face you had when you were younger, you end up desperate. I’m happy with the way I am now, with this 51-year-old person

Portion control

Eating the same sized meal as your other half?

Then you need to look at your portion sizes.

Take a leaf out of actress Jessica Biel’s book – when she orders meals in restaurants she always sends half back. Her mantra is “Eat things you like, but eat them in smaller portions.”

Halle Berry always keeps a watchful eye on how much she’s eating, while Heroes star Hayden Panettiere goes one step further by eating a quarter of a portion and waiting to see if she’s full. “Portion control is going to be the big buzz word for the next few years,” says dietitian Nigel Denby.

“By having too big a portion at each meal you could be taking in as much as 7,000 extra calories each week.

“One way is to eat half of your portion, but I recommend eating a smaller portion, then waiting 10 minutes. If you feel full, stop eating. If you’re still not satisfied have just a bit more. It can also help to use a smaller plate.”

Blood group diet

Actually star Martine McCutcheon is believed to have slimmed to a size 10 on this regime. The theory is our blood type affects how the body absorbs nutrients.

The diet’s creator Dr Peter D’Adamo believes if we stick to suggested foods suitable for different blood types the body will digest food more effectively, resulting in weight loss. Blood Group Os should eat meat, group As should be veggie, Bs and ABs can eat a varied diet.