From what I've heard and read from some of the media, I thought we were all on low-carb diets. Except for me, that is. That doesn't appear to be the case.

Though I know many people doing the low-carb regimen, a recent survey that I conducted provided some surprising results. While I fully expected the largest percentage of dieters to be on low carb, that wasn't the case at all.

The survey was unscientific, and the sample size was small, but it does indicate a potential trend. I surveyed readers of my Healthy Living News e-zine as well as those on an all-female distribution list I maintain. I also factored in responses to my questions posed on the WITI discussion forum. Therefore, a high percentage of the responses came from women.

I asked what kind of diet readers were on (low carb, low fat, other, or none), and their experiences with them, including effect on health measures such as cholesterol and blood pressure. The chart below shows the diet results.

Summary:
No formal diet	44%
Weight Watchers	28%
Low carb	16% (Atkins 8%, South Beach 8%)
Other	8%
Low fat	4%

While I fully expected that almost no one would be on a low-fat diet, like me, I was stunned that nearly half (44%) weren't on any diet at all. Some women's magazines reinforce the myth that all women are on diets, which obviously isn't so. However, as many discussed their own approaches to healthy eating, including smaller portions, more fruits and vegetables, and eating less meat and dairy, many of them sounded very similar to a low fat diet.

It was surprising that only 8% were on Atkins and 8% were on South Beach. The first hint that I had about waning low-carb popularity came in talking with a friend who owns some restaurants. She mentioned that her low-carb sales had started out well, but have languished recently. The survey seems to have corroborated that.

Most surprising was the 28% on Weight Watchers, many of whom had abandoned other diets, such as Atkins and South Beach, and were now happily maintaining their weight with Weight Watchers. Several referred to Weight Watchers as a Life Plan for eating, not a diet.

Please check out the detailed comments about diets and health results, which for the sake of brevity, I've simply posted on my web site.

Low carb diets may now take a further nosedive based on the latest scientific results; it appears that they make it harder for women to get pregnant. Though we may see a mass migration of some segments of the population towards low carb diets for that reason, for others this new information could be a serious setback and cause a migration away from low-carb diets.

It's obvious that diets are so individual that you have to experiment to find what works best for you. You also have to stay up on the latest health research to make sure new findings don't call into question what your diet does for your health.

Let's keep the dialogue going on discussion board regarding diets and eating plans, including the health results (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.) that you've seen. Can I use your posted comments in my upcoming book A Woman's Guide to Saving Her Own Life: Seven Secrets to Health, Happiness, and Success?