Proponents of low carb diets claim that it's not just how much you eat but what you eat that determines how much fat you will burn. However critics claim that people who lose weight on such diets as Atkins, Protein Power, and the Zone do so because they simply eat fewer calories. These critics cling to the traditional notion that weight loss is tied directly to calorie reduction: the fewer calories you eat, the more weight you'll lose.

So who do you believe? Until recently, there was very little research into the matter, and people were forced to rely on anecdotal stories of others who achieved weight loss from one diet or another.

However, a recent study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health seems to show that people on low carb diets can indeed eat significantly more calories than people on more traditional diets and still lose weight.

In fact, in this study of 21 overweigh volunteers, female participants ate 1500 daily calories on a low fat diet, while male participants on the same diet consumed 1800 daily calories.

Female participants on a low carb diets consumed 1800 calories each day while men on that diet took in 2100. Yet despite taking in 300 calories per day more than those on the low fat diet, the low carbers in this study actually lost slightly more weight on average than the low fat dieters (20 pounds vs. 17 pounds).

While the study is not definitive, it is one more piece of evidence supporting the contention that what you eat matters even more than how much you eat.

If you have been following a low fat diet with little success, you might therefore want to consider looking into a low carb approach. There are many different versions of low carb diets out there, from Atkins to Protein Power and the Zone, so do your research before you decide on one.

Low carb diets can be very satisfying, and many people have reported great results on them. By switching the composition of your diet, it is possible to finally burn off that abdominal fat and get firm, lean, ripped abs.