TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — It happens all too often.

Your favorite pair of jeans has become too tight to zip, much less wear.

The coordinating top’s a little too clingy for comfort, too.

It would be easy to blame the clothes for shrinking in the laundry, but the truth is, you’re outgrowing them.

Each year, millions of people decide it’s time to get serious about losing weight. This phenomenon is especially apparent on New Year’s Day, but usually is only a memory by the time the Super Bowl parties come around.

But those who do diet, and stick to it, may find themselves faced with the pleasant task of shopping for a smaller wardrobe.

Over the years, just about every type of diet someone can invent has gone through its fad, with its backers and denouncers. Recently, the Atkins low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style diet were rated most effective in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Traditional low-fat diets had less effective results.

In an online poll conducted by the Daily Press, the tried-and-true Weight Watchers method topped the list, with 47.37 percent of respondents saying it was most effective for them.

The Atkins diet and diets using appetite suppressants or fat burners came in second, with 13.16 percent each. Counting calories earned 10.53 percent of the votes, low-fat diets 5.26, “other” 7.89 percent and “don’t know” 2.63. Thirty-eight readers responded to the poll.

Just about any diet has its accompaniments – books, frozen food, exercise aids. Those can be costly, and they also can be deceptive. For example, foods with low or no fat may be high in sugar, while sugar free foods can contain a considerable amount of fat.

Before investing in one of the plans, experts advise doing a little research. And losing weight can result from careful portion control, attention to balanced nutrition, and stepping up your exercise level.

Heather Winn, Extension educator for Cherokee County’s Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, said a good place to start is by studying a copy of the food pyramid chart and adjusting your diet to fit its balanced recommendations. You can pick up a free copy of the pyramid at her office, 908 S. College Ave., next to the Cherokee County Community Building.

Winn said anyone can lose weight on a diet that restricts one type of food, or provides pre-measured servings. But when a person has to eat in the “real world” and make his or her own choices daily, the pounds usually pile back on. That’s why so many well-intentioned dieters fail after a short time.

“Watch how much food you put on your plate and increase your activity,” Winn said. “It has to be a way of life for the rest of your life if you want to be healthy.”

She recommends cutting down on fat, sugar and sodium, and eating a balanced selection of foods. It’s easy to know that fresh fruits and vegetables are good for you, but it’s harder to know when choosing a processed food.

“You have to watch everything that’s in it,” she said. “Read the label and make sure it’s good for you.”

Sue McMurray, a circuit coach at Curves for Women in Tahlequah, has seen many women begin weight programs. She said they can succeed if they combine exercise with a healthy diet.

The Curves for Women program recommends a low-carb diet.

“I think portion control is a major thing on a diet,” McMurray said “Most people I know just eat too much.”

She advises reading the labels carefully while shopping to see what you’re getting. And pay attention to size. A package that looks like something you’d eat in one setting may contain two portions, so you’re getting twice as many calories as you may think.

And, of course, McMurray believes in exercise.

“Getting strength exercise while you’re dieting is a major thing,” she said. “If you just diet and you’re not working out, you’re really missing the boat.”

The study concerning the Atkins diet coincides with the release of new statistics on adult obesity by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It finds that Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee lead the nation when it comes to obesity, but Oklahoma ranks high at No. 9 on the list, according to study results reported by the Associated Press. More than 30 percent of adults in each of those states were obese.

Colorado was the thinnest state, with about 19 percent fitting the obese category in the phone survey conducted by the Centers.

The 2007 results mirror those from the same survey the previous years, with Mississippi ranking the highest each year since 2004. The CDC attributes the high rate of obesity in the south to the traditional Southern diet, high in fat and fried foods. Rural residents and black women, two groups tending to have higher obesity rates, also are concentrated in the South.

Obesity is based on body mass index, a calculation involving height and weight. A 5-foot 9-inch adult weighing 203 pounds would have an index of 30, considered the borderline for obesity.

CDC officials said they believe the phone survey of 350,000 adults offers conservative estimates for obesity, because it was based on what the respondents said about their height and weight. Experts said men commonly say they’re taller, while women underestimate their weight.

About 26 percent of the respondents in this survey were obese. By contrast, a different study conducted by the CDC in 2005 and 2006, in which researchers actually weighed and measured participants, resulted in an adult obesity rate of 34 percent.

The study concerning the low-carb or Atkins diet, the high-fat diet and Mediterranean diet, found all achieved weight loss and improved cholesterol. It lasted for two years, and 84 percent of the participants stuck with their diets, prompting experts to label it highly creditable, according to an Associated Press report.

“This is a very good group of researchers,” said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

The research was done in a controlled environment in Israel. The 322 participants went to their main meal for the day, lunch, at a central cafeteria and were unable to sneak out to a fast-food restaurant or other place where overeating would be a temptation. They were counseled on how to stick to their diet plans at breakfast and dinner, and filled out questionnaires on what they ate.

The average weight loss for those in the low-carb group was 10.3 pounds after two years. Those on the Mediterranean diet lost 10 pounds and those on the low-fat diet lost 6.5. The low-carb diet also rated well on cholesterol tests in the study.

It is not the first survey to show favorable results for the Atkins-style diet. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year found overweight women on the Atkins plan had slightly better blood pressure and cholesterol readings than those on the low-carb Zone diet, the low-fat Ornish diet and a low-fat diet following U.S. government guidelines.

The new study showed the Atkins approach was less effective among diabetics and women.

The Mediterranean diet resulted in lower blood sugar levels for diabetics and more weight loss for women.

Despite the most recent study, the Atkins diet continues to have its detractors.

Winn’s predecessor, Ann Cherry, wrote a number of columns and gave presentations questioning the healthiness of the Atkins died.

And Winn just received a fact sheet about high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets prepared by Dr. Jackie Hermann and Dr. Stephany Parker of OSU Extension.

Their fact sheet reports that high-protein diets promote ketosis, a condition that can cause weakness, constipation, nausea, vomiting and dehydration. They also stress the kidneys, provide only a temporary weight loss, and are low in important nutrients and fiber, high in fat, and bad for the bones.

They recommend being wary of high protein diets.