By ACA staff
Slimmers of Australia have voted the CSIRO diet their favourite.
In a poll on the Product Review website, the CSIRO diet came out in front of Weight Watchers and Dr John Ticknell's Great Australian Diet.
The result follows the success of the book,
CSIRO's Total Wellbeing Diet, which has sold more than 750,000 copies.
The diet is based on research the CSRIO conducted on obese people and methods of weight loss. It was initially designed to kick-start the metabolism of obese people and help them lose weight.
The book was a surprise hit according to its publisher, Penguin Books, who said it knocked Harry Potter off the number one spot.
The diet book's appeal lies in its simplicity, publisher Louise Ryan said.
"It's won the most popular diet because it such an easy one to follow," she said.
However, the book has also created controversy. Several nutritionists have questioned the diet's high meat content and whether it is suitable for those who are not obese.
Some nutritionists say it is not healthy to eat so much red meat and that slimmers would be confused by the diet's meat guidelines.
"Why do our dietary guidelines tell us to eat 65 to 100g of lean red meat three to four times a week?” nutritionist Rosemary Stanton asked. "And yet the CSIRO diet says 200g of meat at night and then another 100g of meat, chicken or fish at lunch. What do I do? Which one do I follow?”
But slimmers say the CSIRO diet is easy to follow because it does not make them give up certain foods and has allowed them to banish bad eating habits permanently.
"The diet is easy to use and it's very effective," said Daryl Whitwell, who has dropped six jean sizes since starting on the diet.
The diet's appeal across a variety of age groups has been a factor in its success. ACA reader Lorraine Giles decided to give the diet a go after her 60th birthday.
"In six months I lost about 12 kilograms," she said.
To download recipes from the book, click here.
