Laguna Beach Bikini

Sometimes actors have to gain or loose weight for a role. For instance Robert Dinero put on about 50 pounds for the part of boxer Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull. Of course gaining weight is the easy part, but what about loosing the weight afterwards?

What many actors turn to is some variation on the low-carb diet. There several popular low-carb diets that were described in best-selling books: The Aktins Diet, The South Beach Diet and others. They are all based on the idea that carbohydrates make you put on fat.

Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet is a low-carb diet created by the late Dr. Robert Atkins. It was developed from a diet in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The diet was popularized in a book Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution published in 1972. There were several revisions of his book, the latest being Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. Dr. Atkins passed away in 2003.

The main idea behind the Atkins Diet is that refined carbohydrates, especially sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, lead to obesity.

For more information about the Atkins Diet start with Atkins Diet Wikipedia Entry or visit the Atkins Diet Weight Loss Program. Probably the easiest way to get started with Atkins is to go to the library and find a copy of one of Dr. Atkins books and start reading. Then come up with a plan and implement it.

The South Beach Diet
Some authorities don’t like the Atkins diet because it does not eliminate saturated fats. For instance, bacon, beefsteak and hamburgers are all allowed under Atkins. The South Beach diet plan overcomes these criticisms by eliminating most saturated fats. The diet was developed by a cardiologist, Arthur Agatson, and a dietician, Marie Almon. South Beach is also a low-carb alternative to to low-fat diets promoted by the American Heart Association.

In simpler terms, the South Beach diet divides food into good and bad carbs and good and bad fats. Naturally, the goal is to eliminate the bad carbs and bad fats and replace it with the good. A true triumph of good over evil worthy of an epic screenplay. For more information about the South Beach Diet read the wiki Entry.

It is said that you cannot be too thin or too rich. Many actors have had success with these diets when they needed to get down to fighting weight.

LA County had a fair
E I E I O
No low-carb diets anywhere
E I E I O
Cotton Candy here and a corndog there
Calories goin’ to your derriere
LA County had a fair
E I E I O
–jingle for the LA County Fair