There are many weight loss diets promoted today with many promising to deliver the best results. It becomes challenging for many people out there to choose the best weight-loss diets.
Various weight loss diets focus on ”eat this and avoid that”. With some restricting major food groups while emphasizing others.
Counting calories is also a major factor in many weight-loss diets. While some diets don’t focus on calorie counting but rather eliminate certain foods from the diet. All these differences in diets make choosing a weight loss diet difficult.
People end up trying different diets and in the process, they gain weight instead. In this article, we look at the most popular diets and share a few tips on how to choose the best weight loss diet.
What are the most popular weight-loss diets?
There are many weight loss diets but this article will not exhaust them. We shall only have a look at the most common diets to give you a picture of what most weight-loss diets look like.
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Low carbs diet.
Low carbs diets are popularly used for weight loss. As the name goes, low carbs diet restricts the consumption of carbs and in most cases end up eliminating the whole food group from the diet entirely.
In these diets, calorie counting doesn’t apply. Proteins and fats aren’t discouraged but rather emphasized
How they work is by restricting the intakes of carbs which are the major source of energy to the body. This forces the body to go in ketosis a process that makes the body burn fat as an alternative to glucose from carbs.
Low carbs diets can be further broken down into smaller diets that restrict carbs but vary a little bit accordingly.
They include; typical low car diet, ketogenic diet, low carb high-fat diet (LCHF), Atkin, Paleo, zero carbs, and low carb Mediterranean diet.
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The Mediterranean diet.
This type of diet focus on eating more fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, tubers, whole grains, fish, and seafood. It involves calorie counting and restricts grains, trans fats, refined oils, processed meats, added sugars, and any other processed foods.
The restriction of added sugars and processed foods makes this diet healthy and helps to consume fewer calories since processed foods and those with a lot of added sugars are usually high in calories.
Read more about The Mediterranean diet from the article here.
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The raw food diets.
Just like the name goes, the raw food diet emphasizes eating more raw foods and foods that are heated at low temperatures of about 40-48 c. It also allows for eating foods that have been blended, soaked, or dehydrated instead of cooking.
In this diet, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes are eaten. Cooked vegetables, grains, baked foods, processed foods, refined sugars, and alcohol are prohibited.
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Plant-based diet.
It is more of a lifestyle than a diet and it involves eating foods entirely from plants with few or no animal products.
This diet or rather a lifestyle restricts the consumption of processed foods while encouraging the eating of whole foods such as vegetables, grains, nuts, and legumes.
What makes the plant-based diet easier is the fact that whole foods are usually low in calories and high in fiber compared to processed foods. Additionally, restricting animal products can save you from a tone of calories associated with animal products.
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The vegan diet.
This diet works well for vegetarians who don’t eat animal products. The vegan diet restricts all animal products such as meats, dairy, eggs, and all animal-derived foods such as honey, whey, casein, and others.
The vegan diet helps with weight loss even without counting calories the foods recommended are low in fat and are high in fiber that keeps you satisfied longer.
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The low fats diet.
This type of diet restricts the consumption of foods that are high in fat content. Since fats contribute to weight gain, this diet aims at restricting them to achieve weight loss.
The diet emphasizes eating whole plant foods and a moderate amount of lean and low-fat animal products.
You can read a full article about popular weight-loss diets here: 6 Popular weight-loss diets reviewed
Important tips on how to choose a weight loss diet.
With all the different types of diets out there and those that I have not even mentioned, how do you choose a weight loss diet to follow?
Many websites, dieticians, and magazines will promise weight loss with the diets they are promoting. But can it be the best for you? Don’t be lured by testimonies of people who lost weight with a certain diet. You have different food preferences, budget, and commitments to dieting.
Here is a simple guide that can help you choose the best weight loss diet.
1. Talk to your doctor.
Before jumping onto any weight loss diet, talk to a dietician or doctor to help you figure out the best weight loss diet for you.
Since weight loss requires exercises too, a full review from your doctor can help you choose the foods and exercises to embark on for weight loss.
2. Food preferences.
You wouldn’t want to choose a diet that will hinder you from eating almost every food that you like. If you are a fan of high carb foods like grains, corn, and others, a low carbs diet will be uncomfortable for you.
You are most likely to quit a diet that doesn’t involve your favorite foods a few weeks after the start. Many diets can accommodate your favorite foods and still help you achieve weight loss. Therefore, in making your choice, put in mind your food preferences including those you like, and hate.
3. Budget.
You should also consider your budget when choosing a weight loss diet. Some weight-loss diets may require buying expensive supplements or foods that might leave you in debt. Did you know that you can embark on a weight loss diet without increasing your expenditure?
When you switch to the consumption of whole foods from processed foods, your expenditure can drop.
4. Health condition.
Various diseases and conditions may restrict you from eating certain foods. for example, diabetics may be restricted from eating high carb foods. You, therefore, have to put this into consideration before picking on any weight loss diet.
This takes you back to the first point where you need to talk to your doctor. The doctor will advise you on which diet to pick on for weight loss.
5. Beliefs and religions.
People have different beliefs and for some, not eating animal products is one of them. Therefore, recommending a diet that involves eating animal products to such people will cause discomfort and it can never be the best diet for weight loss.
Just as Muslims don’t eat pork, a diet involving pork can never work for them. That is why you shouldn’t just adopt any kind of diet but rather put these guidelines into consideration to help you pick the best diet plan.
6. Can it be life long?
Ask yourself this question while planning to choose a diet for weight loss.
Some diets are so restrictive that you can not rely on them for a long time, yet weight loss is not a one month journey. You have to be patient and consistent. You will, therefore, need to lias with a diet that you can stick with for a long time.
7. How fast does it deliver results?
Do you remember the story of the hare and the tortoise racing? What made the tortoise win the race was being slow, comfort, and steady. Many diets promise fast weight loss results however this can be unsafe with a hard price to pay. 1-2 pounds each week is a healthy weight to lose and with a diet that promises this kind of loss, choose it.
Avoid the die that promises faster weight loss or that which takes a month to drop a single pound.
8. Do you require additional supplements, vitamins?
A diet that requires supplements and vitamins to deliver weight loss is never good and effective. A healthy and good diet should be a stand-alone without the help of supplements and drugs.
9. Think about your habits.
When choosing a weight loss diet, think about the habits it may cause you to fail or help you overcome.
A diet that will cause more bad habits than saving you from them should be avoided.
Bad habits like cravings, obsession with food, or a diet that might starve you can never be long term, soon you will be throwing in the towel.
However, if the diet gets you to good habit such as mindful eating, eating healthy foods for the body, and living a healthy life, think no further, that’s the diet you should choose.
10. Social support and convenience.
What makes a good diet is the ability to be socially accepted and can be supported by your spouse, family, and friends.
A morally accepted diet will be the best choice as you will easily get support and this makes the diet easier.
Avoid a diet that will make others uncomfortable especially on social gatherings where you will be looked at as an inconvenience. A good diet should entail food easy to access and to prepare.
11. Learn from your mistakes and themistakes of others.
Assess what made your previous plans to fail if you had any. You can also learn from the mistakes of others and assess what made them fail with a certain weight loss plan.
One of the major turn-offs is usually hunger and restriction of favorite foods.
Use that information to avoid diets that many people have failed to keep up with. Probably they have difficult requirements.
12. Risks involved.
The fewer risks associated with a particular diet, the easier it may be to keep up with such a diet.
When choosing a diet, always go for that with risks that you can handle. For example, the low carbs diet can cause what is known as the keto flu that has a lot of symptoms like fatigue, headache, dizziness, and others. Though it doesn’t last long, these symptoms can’t be handled by many people.
Choose a diet that has very few risks involved; it will be a diet that you can lias with for quite some time without harming yourself.
The bottom line.
When choosing a weight loss diet, choose one that is comfortable for you. Avoid the bandwagon effect. Testimonies may lure you into a diet that you won’t be comfortable, be careful.
We recommend the articles below to be part of your next considerations.
Weight loss hacks that will make losing weight much easier.
How to stop food cravings (Includes popular food cravings)
How can I lose weight if I don’t follow a specific diet
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