What’s the best diet for weight loss? Well - that’s a complicated question. Weight loss programs are diverse with many pro’s and cons. I’ll go over a quick overview of some popular diets and finish with my opinion on which one is best.
When it comes to health and longevity there are different camps of people who subscribe to one or two major styles. The styles I want to talk about are the following: Paleo, Keto, Mediterranean, Intermittent fasting.
Each one of these styles have certain foods that must be included and excluded during the diet phase.
Paleo
What is it? Paleo was made popular by the crossfit community within the past 10 years. It is a diet that is based around eating foods that our ancestors were eating. The thinking behind this is - at this time in our history there were limited ways to process food yet people still lived healthy lives. Our modern era of processing foods can be linked to increased heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments that are unpleasant!
How does it work? When eating on the paleo diet you must REFRAIN from eating whole grains, dairy, and legumes. All of these food groups are processed with modern day agriculture techniques. You CAN eat whole foods which include plenty of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and animal proteins.
Benefits While eating this way you will find that your carbohydrate intake is lower - which aids in weight loss (less calories eaten). You will also be eating more vegetables and things that are grown from the earth, which is always a good thing!
Keto
What is it? The keto diet is the newest and most popular one on this list. Really gaining momentum the past few years, the Keto diet calls for a very low carbohydrate intake. Essentially by eliminating carbohydrates from your diet - your body will burn fat for energy instead. This has been shown to have great weight loss for those who remain on it.
How does it work? The keto diet calls to eliminate as many sources of carbohydrates as possible. Generally speaking, this means that the diet is high in protein and fat. Eliminating such foods as whole grains, legumes, dairy, some vegetables and fruits. This is the diet when you see people adding butter to everything and enjoying Avocado’s all day!
Benefits You will find yourself losing weight and feeling energized after the first few days on this diet. Your body goes into Ketosis which is the process of breaking down ketones (fat) for energy.
Mediterranean
What is it? The Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest long term solutions for health and weight loss. This diet was made popular by those countries who live in Italy, Greece and other water bound countries.
How does it work? This diet includes a wide array of whole grains, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oils while limiting the amount of red meat and fat. This diet completely gets rid of processed white flour, sugar, and dairy.
Benefits Risks of heart disease, diabetes, and premature death decrease for those who live on this diet. This diet is one that consistently ranks on top the yearly lists of “best diets” because of its commitment to eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats.
Intermittent Fasting
What is it? Intermittent fasting is a strategy used by many people in association with a Keto or Paleo diet. This calls for fasting and eating windows throughout your day. The thinking behind this is your body is able to “reset” and digest any storage of fat during these fasting hours. Fasting is popular in many religious cultures.
How does it work? Fasting is used in many different ways but the more popular splits will be 16 hours of no eating, and 8 hours of feeding. In those 8 hours of feeding you are able to eat whatever it is you like (within reason of course!) while still maintaining a caloric deficit to help with weight loss. There aren’t any specific restrictions in the food, just the timing of it.
Benefits By limiting the time you are able to eat, you inherently decrease the calorie intake (unless you are eating pizza and chips during those 8 hours). This leads to weight loss. This is one of the easier methods to use as you just need to follow your eating window times.
So then, what is the best diet for weight loss? (there are plenty more such as the Atkins Diet, the Zone diet, the Dukan diet etc.
Ready for the big secret here ? The most important information I hope you read today!....
Whatever it is that you can be most consistent with through the long term has time and time again been the biggest contributor to sustained weight loss!
Everyone has their own personal strengths and weaknesses when it comes to their food intake and lifestyles. If there are foods that you really enjoy and attempt a diet that cuts that out - I wouldn’t forecast long term success.
IF you find yourself wanting to be Forever Fit - take my advice and stick with something for the long term. The keys to a healthy lifestyle and “good diet” is to stop thinking of diets as something that are temporary fixes. Rather - ask yourself if you can do this style of eating for the long term. Do you think you can continue to fast day in and day out? Great! Do your thing and follow the intermittent fasting rules.
It’s all about setting yourself up for success. We at Forever Fit believe that the keys to a great life and healthy eating habits are
Plenty of Vegetables
Proper portion of smart carbohydrates
Lean, minimally processed protein
Healthy Fats
Mindful strategies to help with hunger
Sustained, long term strategies
The weight loss journey is one that many people start and stop over and over, trying to discover what is the best one for them. Sometimes you may fall into one of these camps of Keto, Paleo etc. but try to remember that the biggest determining factor is in fact not the food that you eat or restrict, but how consistent can you be!
If you have any questions or are curious about the difference using the Forever Fit Method - email me at rtdrake@foreverfitmethod.com