I always hate the word "diet," because even though it's also a medical term, it's usually used by people looking for a quick fix. We all know that losing weight and getting in shape is a life long change in lifestyle. I'm especially reminded of that since I just got back from my yearly physical and...well...I don't want to tell you what my weight is.

Having said that, I think all diets have at least something that we can take away from them and use, and Yahoo's Buzz log has the top 20 diets being searched on Yahoo right now. They include old standbys like Atkins, The Zone, and Weight Watchers, and a few newcomers, such as the Master Cleanse Diet and The Hallelujah Diet, which is "biblically based." I have no idea what that means, but it probably means walking in a desert for a really long time.

When science journalist Gary Taubes wrote an article for The New York Times magazine in 2002 arguing that (and I'm summarizing a lot here) that it's the excessive consumption of calories from refined carbs and starches that causes weight problems and not the excessive consumption of calories consumed from fat, he was attacked by everyone. Now Taubes has a new book out that expands on the topic, Good Calories, Bad Calories. And he's still being attacked.

I haven't picked up the book yet, but it seems like an interesting read. Unlike other diet and health books that talk about their diets in rather basic terms, this is a thick tome that really goes in-depth about the body, weight, and health, quoting various studies that have been conducted over the years. I think one of his theories even questions how much exercise a human needs.

Has anyone read it yet?

I was surfing around the new and improved AOL Food today, and I came across this A to Z Guide To Diets. It doesn't have every single diet, of course (how could they when there's a new diet book out every week?), but it has the one that you're probably on or are thinking of trying, including The 3 Hour Diet, The Abs Diet, Atkins, Blood Type Diet, Bob Greene, Cabbage Soup, Dr. Phil's Diet, Fat Flush, Fat Smash, Grapefruit Diet, L.A. Weight Loss Diet, NutriSystem, Sonoma, Ultimate New York Diet, Ultrametabolism, Weight Watchers, and The Zone.

The only plan I've tried is The Abs Diet, because it's not only sensible and realistic, it promotes a lot of exercise and not starving yourself or cutting out a ton of foods you like to eat. But I cringe at the word "diet." It just screams "temporary fix," and keeping the weight off and your body healthy is a life-long plan.

I don't know about you, but even though I love every sunny, poolside moment of summer, I secretly rejoice when the days start to get shorter and the air a little chillier. The end of summer means the beginning of fall, and that means I get to drop kick my bathing suit and body-baring shorts and tanktops. I don't have to be so conscious of what I'm eating. And not eating.

But "dieting" isn't a seasonal activity. People watch what they eat year-round. According to Forbes, "Americans spent an estimated $46 billion on diet products and self-help books in 2004." If that's the case, why is obesity such a problem in the US? Because, as a government review has found, two-thirds of dieters on "diet regimes" will regain all the weight that they lost within a year. Give them five years, and almost everyone will gain it back.

People gain the weight back for a number of reasons, but one of them is that the popular diet programs are very expensive, especially since many health and nutrition experts believe that they are ineffective to begin with. Forbes examined the weekly menus of the ten most popular diets to find out just how expensive they really are. The results are listed below. The first dollar amount is how much the program costs per week for any associated book, membership fees, and food costs, and the second percentage is how much more that is than the average $55.44 a normal person spends on food.

• Jenny Craig - $137.65, 152.8%
• NutriSytem - $113.52, 108.5%
• Atkins - $100.52, 84.6%
• Weight Watchers - $96.64, 77.5%
• Zone Diet - $92.84, 70.5%
• Ornish - $78.75, 44.6%
• South Beach - $78.76, 44.4%
• SlimFast - $77.73, 42.8%
• Sugar Busters - $69.62, 27.9%
• Subway - $68.80, 26%

Whatever happened to good old fashioned "eat less, exercise more?" I think that's free.

Last week's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published some findings about the effects of long-term weight loss with a low fat diet. The study was done in the context of the popularity of low-carb diet regimens (Atkins, South Beach), which are not necessarily low in fat. Supporters of the low-carb diets have suggested that it is low-fat, high-carb diets that have contributed to the US's obesity problem. The JAMA's conclusion? From the abstract, "A low-fat eating pattern does not result in weight gain."

No. Effin'. Way.

I am not poking fun at the JAMA, because, like, they're doctors and stuff. However, I am poking fun at everyone who 1) finds this information the least bit surprising, and 2) will twist the information and use it as license to reach for a dozen doughnuts with utter abandon.

No, no o ye of little restraint.