There is no shortage of diets out there. There are so many, in fact, that it has become a Herculean task just to know what each one is. While deciding which diet to choose, bear in mind that not all diets are meant to help you lose weight: there are diets for reducing stress, diets for helping digestion, and you will see a new cleanse diet every time you look. The diets listed here are all specifically for losing weight and include only the most popular ones. Without further ado…
The Vegetarian Diet
One of the simplest, oldest, and most proven diets is the simple vegetarian diet. Aside from helping you lose weight, this diet is also far better for the environment and, depending on your stance, can have beneficial ethical attributes as well. Finally, vegetarian diets are usually healthier than traditional diets, although it is possible to have a vegetarian diet while still eating too many processed grains and sweets.
The Flexitarian Diet
This is the little cousin of the vegetarian diet. It is for those of us who do not want to make a commitment to absolutely abolish all meat products from our lives; rather, what the flexitarian diet proposes is that you only eat enough meat to keep up with your nutritional needs. It is basically the philosophy that some positive change is better than no positive change.
The Mediterranean Diet
There are two reasons that the Mediterranean diet has remained so popular for so long: it works and it is doable. The diet essentially encourages you to find delicious ways to avoid processed food. The diet includes dairy, fats, such as olive oil, and even some wine. Because of this, the diet is easier to adhere to than some of the other tried and true plans. The cornerstones of the diet are fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. Like the vegetarian diet, this diet will increase your health span in addition to making you lose weight.
Weight Watchers
Speaking of tried and true… Weight Watchers does work, it can just be expensive. The benefit of weight watchers is that it takes away many of the mental hurdles that get in our way when we try to commit to a new diet. Having the correct type and portion of food right there when and how you need it can go a long way towards improving your diet. The downside to Weight Watchers, of course, is the lack of flexibility. With most diets, you can create and cook your own recipes, but not so with Weight Watchers.
Intermittent Fasting
While this diet is certainly not for everyone, it does work wonders if you can stick to it. The basic idea behind the diet is that you pick out a large chunk of each day during which you fast and do not eat anything. The bigger the chunk, the better the results; however, the most popular is the 16/8 method where you fast for 16 hours and eat for a window of eight hours. There are many different variations on this theme, though. You can fast every other day, fast for all but one meal, or even just skip meals when possible. The fewer calories you take in the more weight you will lose. The beauty of this type of diet is that it takes so much of the mental struggle away and allows you to rely less on your willpower. Hungry? What time is it? 6:00? Nope, just can’t eat yet – simple, over, and done.
Atkins and Keto
These diets are grouped together because they both rely on the principle that you should limit your carb intake. The main difference is that Keto also limits your protein intake, while Atkins does not limit it as much. There is no question that cutting carbs out of your diet will make you lose weight – the bulk of most peoples’ calories come from carbs; however, there have been health concerns raised about the long-term benefits of this diet. Still, if it works for you, it is much healthier than gaining weight.
With so many diets to choose from, it can be hard to know where to even start. The good news is that some of the most popular and well-developed diets are battle-tested and work quite well if you adhere to them. What is important is not so much which diet you choose, as it is being able to stick to the diet that you choose.
