Banting

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A weight management strategy emphasizes reducing carbohydrate consumption to achieve healthy weight loss
2. An eating plan aimed at lowering sugar and carbohydrate intake promotes health and weight reduction
3. A dietary approach focuses on minimizing carbohydrates and sugars to facilitate effective weight loss and improve overall health

Etymology: William Banting was a London undertaker who, in the 1860s, struggled with excess weight and tried one diet after another without success. He eventually cut out starches and sugars, and the diet he devised was published in 1863 as a pamphlet, "Letter on Corpulence," which gave him enough fame that his name became a verb and a noun. The practice of dieting in this way became known as "banting," and to bant meant to follow that regimen. The word thus began as a surname attached to a specific pamphlet and plan, and only later spread to the general idea of restricting carbohydrates to lose weight. Because Banting's regimen was built on avoiding bread, potatoes, sugar and similar foods, the eponym came to stand for the whole approach rather than for his personal method alone.