Fad diets

health

Adiet is best described as a fixed plan of eating and drinking where the type and amount of food are planned out in order to achieve weight loss or follow a particular lifestyle. If a diet plan sounds too good to be true - it probably is. And if it sounds unhealthy - it probably is. And if it sounds insanely restrictive and nearly impossible to stick to - guess what? It probably is. When it comes to fad diets, it’s not hard to find popular diets on the internet. Just google the words ‘diet’ or ‘fad diet’ and the weight loss choices are overwhelming. Low-carb, high-protein, or liquid diet? There are so many. While there are benefits of some, many will leave you disappointed or in a worse state than you started. Remember: Your diet should reflect a healthy pattern of eating, not a temporary weight-loss program. This week, You! has compiled some popular diet plans. Take your pick ...

Keto diet

A diet which is pretty old in its invention, Keto became extremely popular in 2017. A diet which allows you to savour cheese more than roti is worth the effort, right?

So what exactly is Keto diet, you ask? It’s a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. The idea is to drastically reduce carbohydrate intake in the body and replace the carbohydrates with fats. This process puts the body in a state of ketosis. During ketosis, our body burns fat for energy efficiently. Fat is also turned into ketones in the liver, which also supplies energy to brain.

The main reason why the ketogenic diet has gotten so popular is because it works. This is particularly true for folks with high blood sugar, women battling menopausal symptoms or with anyone having a lot of weight to lose due to metabolic conditions. But it’s also true for anyone seeking more productivity and higher energy levels.

For the most part, a ketogenic diet is a low carbohydrate version of a Paleo diet. You eat real foods but avoid the really starchy or sugary ones like many fruits (think pineapples and bananas), tubers (like sweet potatoes), and sugars (like honey or maple syrup). Instead, you eat lots of healthy fats (like coconut oil, ghee, tallow, lard, olive oil, avocado oil) and non-starchy vegetables, along with berries, nuts, seeds, meats, fish, and other seafood.

Mediterranean diet

Another diet which became widespread in 2017, the Mediterranean diet is full of fruits and veggies to load up your plate. The emphasis is on lots of plant foods, fresh fruits as dessert, beans, nuts, whole grains, seeds, olive oil as the main source of dietary fats. Cheese and yogurts are the main dairy foods. The diet also includes moderate amounts of fish and poultry, about four eggs per week and small amounts of red meat.

This is one of the healthiest diets and also happens to be low in salt. The proteins come from lean sources and less from red meat, which contains plenty of saturated fat. This is a wonderful diet for heart health, it’s cancer protective, it’s filling, it has been known to lower blood pressure, help with diabetes, decreases inflammation, help with depression, and also happens to be delicious, nutritious, and well-rounded.

South Beach diet

The South Beach diet is one of the popular diets that stresses the importance of controlling hunger by eating before it strikes. Dieters are urged to disrupt the typical ‘hunger-overeat-gain-weight’ cycle by cutting out bad carbs and focusing on lean protein, low-fat dairy, and good carbs - whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. While the first phase of the diet is strict, the third, ‘Maintenance’, phase is meant to be a lifelong eating plan that allows you to enjoy occasional treats while maintaining a healthy weight.

Weight Watchers diet

Weight Watchers focuses on losing weight through diet, exercise and a support network. It is based on three principles: eat a balanced diet, eat in moderation, and eat what you want. Weight Watchers is essentially a calorie-controlled diet which uses a points system to track what you eat and provides motivation through local support meetings with weigh-ins (or dieters can attend ‘virtual meetings’ online). This diet plan is flexible and can work within your lifestyle; no foods are off limits. You may drop up to 2 pounds weekly.

Weight Watchers has had a great track record of success for more than 40 years and remains one of the most popular diets today.

Atkins diet

The Atkins diet is the most well-known low-carb weight loss diet. Its proponents state that you can lose weight by eating as much protein and fat as you like, as long as you avoid carbs.

The main reason why low-carb diets are so effective for weight loss is that they reduce your appetite. You begin with just 20 grams of carbs a day and very gradually increase the amount each week. As with many other diets, the main idea is to stop eating foods made with refined flour and sugar, but even nutrient-dense whole-grain foods are off-limits until you reach the maintenance phase. While proponents tout the Atkins diet’s short-term effectiveness and say it’s easier to stick to than other diets, detractors point out that you’re really not getting a well-balanced diet and may particularly be lacking calcium.

The Zone diet

The Zone diet aims for a nutritional balance of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fats, and 30 percent protein in each meal. While no food is completely banned, carbs likes bread, pasta, and grains are meant to be treated like condiments so that your diet is predominantly protein and fat. It’s very low in calories. Vegetables and fruits are the mainstays of this diet. The focus is also on controlling insulin levels, which may result in more successful weight loss and body weight control than other approaches.