The History of Dieting Has Its Funny Points:

Since 2010 marks the 923rd year of recorded dieting by humans, there have been many quirky attempts to rid ourselves of extra fat for either beauty or practical purposes. And as you can imagine, there will be a lot of silly diets ahead of us.

The first recorded diet, was way back in 1087, when unable to ride his favorite horse because he was too chubby, William the Conqueror, had crafted the beer-only diet. (Personally, one of my favs). Needless to say the diet program didn't work. Instead the guy fell off his struggling horse and died, leaving his loved ones scurrying about trying to find a big enough coffin.

Back in the 1820's, a Presbyterian preacher concerned about obesity and masturbation, pushed the Graham diet, which included coffee, veggies, and the "Graham" cracker. The diet was a hit with school officials which would force the diet on young men. Needless to say, the young men rebelled.

Many years later a new diet would appear on the scene. "Of all the parasites that affect humanity I do not know of, nor can I imagine, any more distressing than that of Obesity," writes William Banting in his Letter on Corpulance back in 1869. The book goes on to push the low-carb diet regimen in order to lose weight. It had a pretty good showing selling tens of thousands of copies. In fact it was so popular in England that the word "banting" became synonymous for dieting.

Sometime after, a self-taught nutrition guru, who went by the name of Mr. Horace Fletcher, pushed the idea that people should chew their food exactly 32 times and then, before swollowing, spit it all out. That diet didn't last too long.

On the Inuit diet (Inuit being Eskimos) back in the late 1920s, people were told that they should either eat the meat or the fat so they could lose weight. That diet didn't last too long either.

It only gets better....a doc by the name of Herman Taller, preached that you can eat as much as you want as long as you follow it up with a shot of vegetable oil. Not to be outdone, another doctor by the name of Harrop, professed a bananas and skim milk regimen to be strictly followed to lose weight. The Harrop banana and skim milk diet, doesn't sound so bad, when you compare it to the modern day diet craze - which is the lemon juice, maple syrup, and red pepper diet. This diet has caught on, even by educated well versed nutrition experts.

So, it doesn't seem so strange that the Atkins Diet, which was written back in 1972, would be successful. In fact, the simplicity of the diet (a modern day Banting diet, if you will) and its success has spurred a dozen imitators.

The thing is, a low carb diet has actually been shown to reduce weight and promote less sugary and empty calorie foods. And so, while other fads have come and gone, consuming less carbs and eating greater amounts of protein, has taken the cake. Go Figure.