When debating whether to have an extra bagel with breakfast or a serving of fettuccine for lunch, of late you may have found yourself considering the amount of carbohydrates you?ll be consuming rather than worrying about the fat or calorie content in your favourite foods.

If so, you may have been bitten by the low-carb diet craze, which has revolutionised the way people diet.

The ultra-fantastic frames of carbo-conscious Hollywood celebrities, such as Jennifer Aniston and Catherine Zeta Jones, have helped to popularise low-carb diet trends that have been all the rage in America of late.

And despite the difficulty encountered by many ?carboholics? attempting to reduce their consumption of bread, rice, pasta, cereal, and soda, many who have managed to kick the carb habit report amazing results in terms of weight loss.

A number of diets which suggest altered carbohydrate consumption, most notably Dr. Robert Atkins? ?New Diet Revolution? and Dr. Arthur Agatston?s ?South Beach Diet?, have changed the way an entire generation thinks about weight loss.

In the United States, ?Atkins-friendly? menu tags have shown up in many fast-food chains which now offer low-carb meals.

Even Burger King now offers a bunless Whopper ? the ?Angus fire-grilled steakburger lettuce wrap.? Fast food king McDonald?s also advertises a slew of low-carb menu options.

Although Bermudian eateries have not yet caught on to the low-carb trend with the same enthusiasm as their Stateside counterparts (with diet foods still emphasising ?low-fat? content), a few more low-carb products are becoming available in local supermarkets and restaurants.

Dannon ?Light ?n? Fit? yoghurt, for example, now appears in a ?Carb Control? version which boasts only three grams of carbs per four-ounce serving ? a significant difference from their usual variety which has 17 grams of carbs per six-ounce serving.

And some Bermudian restaurants have begun catering to demands for this diet fad. The Lemon Tree Cafe, for example, offers a daily South Beach Diet special menu.

However, despite statistics such as the common 14-pound weight loss in two weeks, these diets are not without their sceptics. There is a question about long-term effectiveness as well as possible long-term health risks.

In fact, according to the American Dietetic Association, Preventative Medicine Research Institute founder Dean Ornish recently stated ?I would love to be able to tell you (high-fat animal protein food such as bacon, sausage and butter) are health foods, but they are not. Telling people what they want to believe is part of the reason that the ?Atkins Diet? has become so popular.?

Some critics have satirically begun to refer to the Atkins diet as ?the Fatkins diet.?

The main difference between the ?Atkins Diet? and the ?South Beach Diet? is that the ?South Beach Diet? eliminates carbs for only a limited period of time before introducing more whole grains into the diet.

And the ?South Beach Diet? encourages the consumption of healthier meats than the Atkins diet, which isn?t less concerned about fat consumption.

?South Beach Diet? founder Arthur Agatston claims on his website that his primary concern as a cardiologist was to develop a diet that prevents health disease.

He claims, ?The ?South Beach Diet? is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. Instead, it teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats ? the good ones ? so you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, and get rid of cravings without feeling hungry.?

However, sceptics of both the South Beach and Atkins diets tend to be concerned about increased consumption of meat and animal protein.

Janet Burull, a registered dietician in private practise on Island, says it?s been known for 50 to 60 years that a high protein, low carb diet helps people lose weight, and that the ?Atkins Diet? has only popularised this idea.

However, she and other dieticians remain concerned about the long term effects of low carb diets.

Unlike an animal such as a dog, Mrs. Burull explains, a human being does not thrive on a diet comprised primarily of meat. The proof of this is that a dog will gain weight when fed a high-protein diet, whereas humans lose weight if they only eat meat.

When human beings do not consume carbs, their bodies are not able to absorb as much energy or as many nutrients.

Without carbs, the body also loses a lot of water. As a result, some of the rapid weight loss during the initial stages of a low carb diet is actually the result of water loss which can sometimes result in dehydration.

The Atkins diet is based primarily on this principle, resulting in quick weight loss ? although not necessarily sustained weight loss or a healthier body.

?We?re not designed to eat only meat,? said Mrs. Burull. ?If you?re eating in excess, yet still pining away, that?s not the sign of a healthy balanced diet.?

Despite the recent focus on carb consumption, Mrs. Burull said many problems with obesity here on Island are still the result of ?overnutrition?, or the consumption of too many calories. She noted, ?We have a high energy diet and a low energy output here in Bermuda.?

She suggested that people seeking to lose weight quickly like the ?Atkins Diet? because it allows them to eat things they know are bad for them like butter and fat.

Having said that, Mrs. Burull said the ?South Beach Diet? was better than the ?Atkins Diet? since it works in three stages. For the first two weeks of the ?South Beach Diet?, the dieter avoids carbs altogether ? including bread, potatoes, and fruit ? and eats healthy meats; that?s stage one.

?It?s very clever because you get great results ? you can lose 12 pounds by Cup Match instead of only a pound or two a week, and then you?re hooked,? she said.

Stage two involves reintroducing carbohydrates, but this time only in the form of healthy whole grains like old-fashioned oatmeal and brown rice. Stage three focuses on continuing to eat ?textbook-perfect? carbohydrates and increased fibre consumption as part of a maintenance programme for weight loss.

But here, says Mrs. Burull, is where the diet often fails.

?People get tired, and they want to eat refined bread and instant oatmeal instead ? people feel like they often don?t have the time to prepare healthy meals,? she notes

Any diet which works on the principle of deprivation tends to result in short-term weight loss, she explained.

?There are many ways to lose weight, but how you go about it affects your ability to sustain it,? she said. ?When deprived, people tend to eat in excess. Instead, you want to develop healthy eating habits so that you don?t gain back all the weight the first time you cheat.?

And Mrs. Burull warned those with special dietary needs, especially diabetics, to be particularly careful if considering something like the Atkins or South Beach diets.

?The diabetic diet is a controlled carb diet anyway, but a diabetic ? particularly if on insulin or other medication ? would be foolish not to discuss any changes in diet and carb consumption with their doctor since their diabetes could swing into hypoglycemia,? she said.

Gladys King RD, the Clinical Dieticians Professional Practice Leader at the King Edward Memorial Hospital, was equally sceptical about the long term effects of such diets on weight and health.

And she noted that the AMA Council on Foods and Nutrition has warned that the Atkins food plan can increase the dieter?s risk of heart disease.

?The only true answer to long term weight loss and weight management is to eat less and/or exercise to reduce the caloric intake,? she said.

?A pound of body weight is approximately 3500 calories. To lose one pound a week you must eat 500 calories less per day then your body requires for energy.?

?Atkins, The Zone, and Sugar Busters all show immediate results from water loss and most people consume less calories because of the monotony of the diets and reduction in simple sugars,? said Ms. King.

But she noted, ?If you notice, more multivitamin and fibre supplements are on the market for those that follow a low carb diet caused from low fibre intake and poor diet balance.?

Ms. King said, Dieticians throughout the world, including Bermuda, have been encouraging increased vegetable consumption of a minimum three servings per day, two servings of fruit, high fibre complex carbohydrates combined with lean meats and dairy- with reduced intake of refined sugar and fat.

?Complemented with a minimum of three 30-minute exercise sessions per week, most people can maintain a healthy ideal body weight,? she added.

?If we wrote a book and called it ?Bermuda Beach Diet?, people would probably follow it and see that it works!?