With the summer diet season in full force, there are a wide variety of diets to choose from. Some are designed to help people lose weight while others are more lifestyle choices.

Dieting programs such as The Atkins Diet, Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss and the South Beach diet help people to lose a goal weight through different ways.

Dieters may cut down on carbohydrates, "points," or portions while on these sometimes called "fad" diets.

"With our program, you eat to lose weight," said Pua Gilbreath, manager of the LA Weight Loss Center. "You learn portion control and how many foods from each food group you need."

In recent years, these diets have become more popular and can be found all over Utah County. Some programs have weekly meetings, books, daily weigh-ins or strict lists of foods to not eat.

The different aspects of each diet attract different people to them. Some would rather diet alone while others like to have a weekly group to get support from.

Another group of diets, including vegetarianism, raw foodism, veganism and fruitarianism, is less about losing weight and more about choosing something to eat that agrees with things they believe.

"It was an animal rights thing," accounting major Merrianne Stratford said about why she was a vegetarian. "I wanted to help with how animals are being treated in big farms." While Stratford is no longer a vegetarian, she still eats meat only once a week or less.

Environmental diets have also become increasingly popular, and there is a vegetarian club on campus.

The natural diets are different from fad diets because the purpose isn't just to lose weight; it is a way for people to express their beliefs.

Vegetarians make this diet change because they may not agree with animals being killed for food or they may just want a more natural diet. Being a vegetarian gives some people a way to live in accordance with their beliefs.

Another environmental diet is called freeganism, which involves people choosing to avoid the economic system and finding food through dumpster diving.

Freegans are more than just dumpster divers; they believe corporations are corrupt and they try to avoid buying anything to show their disagreement with those corporations.

Copyright Brigham Young University 21 Jul 2008