Unlike most weight loss diets, the Banting diet has a long history, first prescribed as far back as 1862, it was adopted by an obese patient called William Banting. The first of many low-carb programmes, the Banting diet promotes the use of fat stores as fuel. Buoyed on by his weight loss success, William Banting wrote a pamphlet, now thought to be the first diet book, to spread the word about this low-carb/high-fat (LCHF) approach to shifting stubborn pounds. Learn more on Wikipedia