The all-meat diet

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A little more than a year ago, the Mirabito family weighed in at more than 300 kilograms. Collette was a size 24, Joseph could not squeeze into a standard men's size and John, 15, wore trousers with a 112cm waist.

Today it's a different story.

Thanks to the Atkins diet, the Mirabitos are literally shrinking and together they have shed more than 70kgs.

"When I saw a few photos it was really a bit embarrassing, because I don't like to think of myself as being obese," Joseph said.

"These pants are 112cm and when I put them on, they just fall off. And my shirt is a 3XL so I've got plenty of room to fill it out," John said.

John had the most noticeable transformation.

Looking at him now, it is hard to believe he is the same person.

After 12 months on a no-carbohydrates, high-protein diet, he has lost a massive 38kgs.

"Mum was really the one who convinced me," he said.

"She told me that life would be better for me and I thought it would be better for me as well."

The Mirabito family are one of millions who swear by the Atkins diet.

Sporting and movie stars including Sharon Stone, Jennifer Aniston and Damien Martin favour the controversial eating plan.

It cuts out pasta, bread, sugar, starchy vegetables and fruit.

The man behind it, Dr Robert Atkins, actually encourages dieters to eat fat.

Nutritionist Catherine Saxelby says while it may help people shed those extra kilos quickly, it is not a balanced diet and says the body needs carbohydrates to fuel our blood cells and keep our livers healthy.

"It's another fad. I think the pendulum is swinging away from the low-fat, high-carb diets of the nineties back to the high-protein diets that were in fashion way back in the seventies," she said.

"Atkins hates carbohydrates. He thinks carbohydrates trigger the hormone insulin and that when there's a lot of insulin, it boosts our appetite and makes us hungry and store fat very easily, so he wants to cut out that insulin."

The Mirabito family eat bacon and eggs for breakfast most mornings and for lunch they have cold meat and salad - without any bread.

Dinner is steak and lots of it, with a few vegies, but no potatoes, carrots or beans as they are too high in carbohydrates.

The daily quota for carbohydrates on the diet ranges from 25 to 90 grams.

To give you an idea, one pear has 31 grams of carbs.

Switching to low-carb or no-carb diets can have side effects.

"You probably feel nauseated, you feel tired. Some people report feeling dizzy and if you don't eat a lot of vegies, you'll feel constipated," Ms Saxelby said.

"And if you're eating all that butter and cream and mayonnaise that Dr Atkins suggests, your cholesterol will go sky high too."

But Collette disagrees.

"I'd say that's what we've all been brainwashed to believe," she said.

"But if you just try the diet, when you're burning fat - which you do on this diet - you burn fat and the fat burning is what gives you your energy."

Fitness instructor Jasper Lowgren has lost 20kgs following the Atkins diet.

He says it has helped hundreds of his clients and believes it is only criticised because it is not a traditional weight-loss method.

"On any Atkins diet or any low-carb diet you see results very quickly and when you see results quickly, you get very motivated," he said.

"They really turned it upside down, saying on top of the food pyramid we have the carbohydrates - they are the baddies and all the fats are at the bottom - we should eat a lot of that.

"I think people are afraid of change."

Mr Lowgren is so convinced by the Atkins diet he now makes and sells low-carbohydrate foods.

As for the Mirabito family, John and Joseph have maintained their weight loss, Collette is halfway to her goal and all three hail Dr Atkins as their hero.

"I can tell you when we're in the car, we're about 70 kilos lighter, so the car goes better up hill," John said.