Weight Loss: The 8 Best Diet Plans
By: Muo Ibra
Tags: Health Foods, Diet, Weight Loss, Healthy Lifestyle

Written by Muo Ibra, MS, RD on August 5, 2019

Each year, about half of all adults in the United States strive to reduce weight. Changing your diet is one of the most effective strategies to reduce weight.

However, the sheer number of diet programs available can make it tough to get started because you don’t know which one is the most appropriate, sustainable, and effective.

Some diets seek to lower your food intake by curbing your hunger, while others propose limiting your calorie intake and carbohydrate or fat intake.

Furthermore, several have health benefits in addition to weight loss.

The 8 finest diet plans to help you lose weight and enhance your overall health are listed here.

Alternate-day fasting Intermittent fasting is a nutritional plan in which you alternate between fasting and eating intervals.

The 16/8 technique, which reduces your daily calorie consumption to 8 hours a day, and the 5:2 method, which restricts your daily calorie intake to 500–600 calories twice a week, are two examples.

How it works: Intermittent fasting limits the amount of time you can eat, making it a straightforward way to cut calories.

If you compensate by eating too much food during permissible eating periods, this can contribute to weight loss.

Weight loss: Intermittent fasting was found to yield 3–8% weight loss across 3–24 weeks in a review of research, which is a much higher percentage than other strategies.

According to the same study, this type of eating can lower waist circumference by 4–7%, which is a marker for dangerous belly fat.

Intermittent fasting has been shown in other trials to boost metabolism by increasing fat burning while retaining muscular mass.

Intermittent fasting has also been related to anti-aging effects, enhanced insulin sensitivity, improved brain health, lower inflammation, and a variety of other advantages.

Cons: Intermittent fasting is generally safe for most healthy persons.

Those who are susceptible to blood sugar decreases, such as those who have diabetes, are underweight, or have an eating disorder, as well as pregnant or lactating women, should consult a doctor before beginning intermittent fasting.

Summary Intermittent fasting is a type of intermittent fasting that alternates between periods of fasting and eating. It has been linked to a variety of health advantages, including weight loss.

2. Diets based on plants Plant-based diets may aid weight loss.

The most common varieties are vegetarianism and veganism, which prohibit animal products for health, ethical, and environmental reasons.

There are, however, more flexible plant-based diets available, such as the flexitarian diet, which is a plant-based diet that allows for the occasional consumption of animal products.

How it works: Vegetarianism comes in numerous forms, but the majority of them entail avoiding all meat, poultry, and fish. Some vegans skip eggs and dairy as well.

All animal products, as well as animal-derived goods such as dairy, gelatin, honey, whey, casein, and albumin, are prohibited in the vegan diet.

Because the flexitarian diet is more of a lifestyle change than a diet, there are no hard and fast guidelines.

It promotes a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, with protein and animal products allowed in moderation, making it a popular choice.

Because several of the banned food groups are heavy in calories, restricting them may help you lose weight.

Plant-based diets have been shown to help people lose weight in studies. People who ate a plant-based diet shed 4.4 pounds (2 kg) more than those who ate animal products, according to a study of 12 research with 1,151 participants. Furthermore, vegans dropped an average of 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) more than those who did not eat a plant-based diet.

Plant-based diets are likely to help you lose weight because they are high in fiber, which can help you feel filled for longer, and low in high-calorie fat.

Other advantages: Plant-based diets have been associated to a lower risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, certain malignancies, and diabetes, among others.

They can also be healthier for the environment than meatbased diets. Downsides: While plant-based diets are nutritious, they can limit critical minerals such as iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids, which are normally present in animal products.

Summary Meat and animal products are restricted in plant-based diets for a variety of reasons.

According to studies, they help you lose weight by lowering your calorie consumption and provide a slew of other advantages.

3. Low-carbohydrate diets Low-carb diets are one of the most popular weight-loss regimens.

The Atkins diet, ketogenic (keto) diet, and low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet are all examples.

Some kinds are more carb-reduced than others.

For example, very-low-carb diets, such as the ketogenic diet, limit this macronutrient to less than 10% of total calories, compared to 30% or less for other types. How low-carb diets operate is that they limit your carb intake in favor of protein and fat.

Protein can help suppress your hunger, improve your metabolism, and preserve muscle mass, thus they’re often richer in protein than low-fat diets. When you eat a very low-carb diet like keto, your body starts turning fatty acids into ketones instead of carbs for energy. Ketosis is the name for this process.

Weight loss: Several studies suggest that low-carb diets can help people lose weight and may be more effective than traditional low-fat diets. Low-carb diets, for example, resulted in much higher weight loss than lowfat diets, according to a study of 53 research involving 68,128 people.

Furthermore, low-carb diets tend to be very successful at reducing dangerous belly fat. Other advantages: Low-carb diets have been shown to lower risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure.

They may also help persons with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar and insulin levels. Cons: A low-carb diet may boost LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in certain people.

Extremely low-carb diets can be difficult to stick to and might cause digestive problems in some people.

Following a very low-carb diet can create ketoacidosis, a serious metabolic disease that can be fatal if not managed. Summary Low-carb diets limit your food consumption, encouraging your body to burn fat for energy.

They can assist you in losing weight and provide a variety of other advantages.

4. A paleolithic diet The paleo diet encourages you to eat the same foods that your huntergatherer forefathers did.

It’s based on the idea that current ailments are linked to the Western diet since the human body hasn’t evolved to handle legumes, grains, and dairy.

The paleo diet promotes the consumption of whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts, and seeds.

Processed foods, carbohydrates, sugar, and dairy are all prohibited, while some less rigorous variants allow for the intake of limited dairy items such as cheese.

Weight loss: Several studies have indicated that the paleo diet can help people lose weight and eliminate dangerous belly fat. For example, 14 healthy people who followed a paleo diet for three weeks dropped an average of 5.1 pounds (2.3 kg) and 0.6 inches off their waist circumference, a marker for belly fat (1.5 cm).

The paleo diet may also be more full than popular diets like the Mediterranean diet and low-fat diets, according to research. It’s possible that this is due to the high protein content.

Other advantages include lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, all of which are risk factors for heart disease. Cons: While the paleo diet is healthy, it excludes a variety of essential foods, including legumes, whole grains, and dairy.

Summary The paleo diet promotes eating entire foods in the same way that your forefathers did. It has been shown in studies to help people lose weight and lower their risk of heart disease.

5. Low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets Low-fat diets have been popular for decades, just like low-carb diets.

A low-fat diet, in general, comprises limiting your fat consumption to 30% of your daily calories.

Some very- and ultra-low-fat diets try to keep fat intake to less than 10% of total calories.

How it works: Low-fat diets limit fat intake because fat contains roughly twice as many calories per gram as the other two macronutrients — protein and carbohydrates.

Ultra-low-fat diets have less than 10% fat calories, with carbohydrates accounting for about 80% of calories and protein accounting for 10%.

The majority of ultra-low-fat diets are plant-based, with meat and animal items being limited.

Low-fat diets can help with weight loss since they limit calorie consumption. Following a low-fat diet resulted in small but significant improvements in weight and waist circumference, according to a review of 33 research with over 73,500 individuals.

While low-fat diets appear to be as successful as low-carb diets in controlled conditions for weight loss, low-carb diets appear to be more effective day to day.

Ultra-low-fat diets have been demonstrated to be effective, particularly in obese people.

An 8-week research of 56 people indicated that eating a 7–14 percent fat diet resulted in an average weight loss of 14.8 pounds (6.7 kg). Other advantages include a lower risk of heart disease and stroke while eating a low-fat diet.

They may also help to reduce inflammation and improve diabetic indicators. Cons: Excessive fat restriction might lead to long-term health problems, as fat is essential for hormone production, nutrient absorption, and cell health. Furthermore, extremely low-fat diets have been associated to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome.

Summary Low-fat diet Limit your fat consumption because fat has more calories than protein and carbohydrates.

Low-fat diets have been associated to weight loss and a reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes in studies.

6. The Mediterranean diet: The Mediterranean diet is based on foods that were traditionally consumed in countries such as Italy and Greece.

Despite the fact that it was created to reduce the risk of heart disease, multiple studies have shown that it can also help with weight loss.

The Mediterranean diet promotes the consumption of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, tubers, whole grains, fish, seafood, and extra virgin olive oil. Poultry, eggs, and dairy products should be consumed in moderation.

Meanwhile, red meat is scarce. Refined grains, trans fats, refined oils, processed meats, added sugar, and other highly processed foods are also restricted in the Mediterranean diet. Weight loss: While a Mediterranean-style diet isn’t officially a weight-loss diet, several studies demonstrate that it can help you lose weight.

People who paired the Mediterranean diet with exercise or calorie restriction, for example, lost an average of 8.8 pounds (4 kg) more than those on a control diet, according to a review of 19 research. Other advantages: The Mediterranean diet promotes the consumption of high-antioxidant foods, which may assist to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress by neutralizing free radicals.

It has been associated to a lower risk of heart disease and death from an early age. Cons: Because the Mediterranean diet is not technically a weight-loss plan, persons who follow it may not lose weight unless they also reduce their calorie intake.

Summary The Mediterranean diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, and healthy oils while avoiding refined and highly processed foods. While it isn’t a weight-loss diet, studies have shown that it can help you lose weight and improve your overall health.

7. WW (Weight Watchers) WW, originally known as Weight Watchers, is one of the most well-known weight-loss programs in the world.

People on the WW diet must eat within their daily points to reach their goal weight, despite the fact that it does not restrict any food groups.

WW is a point-based system that allocates a value to various meals and beverages based on their calorie, fat, and fiber levels.

You must keep inside your daily point allowance to obtain your ideal weight. Weight loss: Numerous studies have shown that the WW program can aid in weight loss.

People who followed the WW diet lost 2.6 percent more weight than those who received normal counseling, according to a study of 45 research.

Furthermore, as compared to those who follow other diets, persons who follow WW programs have been demonstrated to be more successful at maintaining weight loss over time.

Other advantages include the fact that WW is flexible and simple to follow. This makes it easier for persons with dietary restrictions, such as food allergies, to stick to the plan.

Downsides: While WW provides flexibility, depending on the membership package, it might be costly.

Its adaptability can also be a disadvantage if dieters choose bad foods.

Summary: Weight Watchers, sometimes known as WW, is a weight-loss program based on a point system. It is highly versatile and successful for long-term weight loss, according to studies.

8. The DASH diet The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is an eating regimen designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.

It stresses eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, healthy grains, and lean meats while avoiding salt, red meat, added sweets, and saturated fat.

Despite the fact that the DASH diet is not a weight-loss diet, many people claim to have lost weight while following it.

The DASH diet works by recommending particular serving sizes of certain food groups.

The number of servings you are permitted to consume is determined on your daily calorie consumption.

On the DASH diet, for example, an average individual would consume 5 servings of vegetables, 5 servings of fruit, 7 servings of healthy carbs such whole grains, 2 servings of low-fat dairy products, and 2 servings or less of lean meats each day.

You’re also allowed to eat nuts and seeds 2–3 times a week. Weight reduction: The DASH diet has been shown in studies to aid weight loss.

An review of 13 research indicated that persons who followed the DASH diet lost considerably more weight than those who followed a control diet over the course of 8–24 weeks.

Other advantages: The DASH diet has been demonstrated to lower blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

It may also aid in the treatment of recurring depressed symptoms and reduce your risk of breast and colon cancer.

Downsides: While the DASH diet may help you lose weight, there is conflicting research about how much salt you should eat and how high your blood pressure should be.

Furthermore, too low salt consumption has been associated to increased insulin resistance and a higher risk of death in persons with heart failure.

Summary The DASH diet is a low-salt eating plan that has been found to help people lose weight. It has also been related to further heart benefits and a lower risk of other chronic diseases in studies.

Last but not least There are numerous diets that can assist you in losing weight. Intermittent fasting, plant-based diets, low-carb diets, low-fat diets, the paleo diet, the Mediterranean diet, WW (Weight Watchers), and the DASH diet are some of the most well-researched diets and eating programs. While all of the diets listed above have been demonstrated to help people lose weight, the one you choose should be based on your lifestyle and dietary choices. This increases your chances of sticking to it in the long run.