Low-carbohydrate diet; fat free; cayenne pepper and cabbage soup; strictly yellow dragees and water. It seems like every day there's a new weight loss diet that promises quick results, from the smart to the insane. Proper nutrition for weight loss is something that many of us have tried at least once. . . or twice. . . or let's face it, many times.
Important information about proper nutrition
Her cousin swears that giving up bread for a few weeks helped her shed the pounds before entering college. On the other hand, he couldn't have eaten a piece of bread for five years and still not lost the last few pounds. As soon as you learn the tricks of one diet, another will appear that will be even more effective.
Take, for example, a study conducted in August 2015. It found that in obese adults, reducing the consumption of fatty foods resulted in weight loss 68% faster than reducing carbohydrate intake. What good news!
But before you start ditching your favorite full-fat dairy products, check out another study from just two months later. According to this study, a low-carbohydrate diet, as well as a Mediterranean diet, are more effective in weight loss than restricting carbohydrate intake. Scientists say that no diet works well in the long term, and that low-fat diets for weight loss may even be harmful.
However, hope dies last. There is actually an optimal nutrition plan to help you lose weight. This is the meal plan that's right for you. Not for your spouse, brother or co-worker, but one that meets your body's needs and feels great when combined with regular exercise.
So what is the right diet for weight loss? The meal plan should not be followed for weeks or months until you reach your goal weight and then you can go back to your old habits. In fact, going back to old eating habits is why diets don't work, according to researchers.
Instead, a healthy eating plan should be a lifestyle change you can stick to because, unlike restrictive diets or fads, it's sustainable. The way you eat should make you feel better and provide your body with the nutrients it needs to live a long, happy and healthy life.
How to eat right to lose weight
Below are some of the best healthy weight loss diet plans to help you make the most informed decision.
low carbohydrate diet
By following a low-carb diet or a ketogenic diet (an extremely low-carb diet), you drastically reduce or eliminate your glucose intake. When your body runs out of glucose and your diet has little or no carbohydrates that your body can use for energy, your body begins to use stored fat for that purpose, which promotes rapid weight loss.
Advantages:
- You will likely experience rapid weight loss, especially in the first few weeks and months. When we eat foods containing sugar and carbohydrates, our body releases insulin, a hormone responsible for storing energy and body fat. It sends a signal to your cells to store as much energy as possible in the form of glycogen. By drastically reducing carbohydrate intake, our body produces less insulin. Less insulin in our blood means that glycogen is used by our body as an energy source and not stored, and when it runs out, fat starts to be used.
- It can reduce the risk of developing diabetes. If you switch to a low-carb diet, you will naturally consume much less sugar and starch. Conversely, a high-carbohydrate diet can increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
- Since you can ideally replace grains and other carbohydrates with foods rich in protein and healthy fats, you'll feel better and be less hungry. Fats and proteins are known for their satiety effect, while reducing carbohydrate intake helps turn off ghrelin, the "hunger hormone".
Mistakes:
- Reducing or completely eliminating carbohydrates from your diet can lead to a lack of energy and a feeling of fatigue. If you are particularly active (e. g. exercise), a low-carb diet can reduce the endurance that is so needed during exercise.
- Carbohydrates are hiding in unexpected places like fruits, legumes and quinoa. Cutting them out of your diet completely can negatively affect your intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
Low fat diet
Weight loss nutrition in the form of a low-fat diet reduces the amount of fat consumed, both of vegetable and animal origin. This diet became especially popular in the United States after the federal government's dietary guidelines were issued in 1980, leading to the introduction of low-fat foods.
Advantages:
- Foods high in fat are also usually high in calories. If you're on a low-calorie diet, cutting back on high-calorie foods is likely to help you lose weight.
- Limiting your intake of unhealthy fats (such as trans fats) found in sweets, fast food, processed foods, and other processed foods can help you lose weight; plus it heals your body.
Mistakes:
- Low-fat foods are often processed foods that contain refined sugars and unnatural ingredients designed to make low-calorie foods look like their naturally high-fat counterparts. These added ingredients can actually cause weight gain.
- Preferring fat-free foods, people often abuse them. This is for two reasons: low-fat foods simply don't match the taste and nutritional value of regular foods, and we're more likely to eat more of them because we know they're low in calories.
- Our body needs fat! While foods like avocados or butter may be high in calories, they contain healthy fats that our bodies need to function properly. Which would you prefer: butter made from cow's cream or "butter" created in a lab?
Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet originates from Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, etc. The Mediterranean diet is not a diet per se - it is a regular diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats such as olive oil, high-quality domestic poultry and seafood, all of which are natural and free from synthetic fertilizers, feed, etc. grown without using
Advantages:
- Because this diet focuses on natural foods, you will eat very few processed or sugary foods. You're more likely to snack on nuts than, say, cookies.
- An abundance of foods rich in healthy fats reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Mistakes:
- Although healthy fats are good for us, we need to control our food intake. Because it's so delicious, it's easy to give in to the urge to eat a little more, which can lead to overeating.
- While the Mediterranean diet is great for your body in the long run, if you're looking to lose weight quickly, it's probably not for you.
Vegetarianism or veganism
Although there are different levels of vegetarianism and veganism, most vegetarians avoid eating meat, including seafood and poultry. What do vegans eat? Well, they avoid all animal products, including dairy and eggs.
Advantages:
- A plant-based diet is naturally low in fat and high in fiber. You don't have to count calories when you eat a salad.
- A vegetarian diet has been linked to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. If you want to control these conditions naturally, cutting out the meat can help.
- Good quality meat can be expensive! If you leave it out of your diet, you can really save money in your budget.
Mistakes:
- Avoiding animal products does not guarantee that you will eat healthy, nutritious food.
- High-quality animal meat provides the body with essential nutrients that are difficult to obtain from plant-based foods. Vegans should be especially mindful of their nutritional deficiencies and consider taking supplements.
paleo diet
What about the paleo diet and veganism? These are the two most fashionable diets. We hear the term "Go paleo" more and more these days, especially in the sports community. Paleolithic diet consists of foods that our ancestors ate - natural animal meat (they were fed natural food), wild fish, nuts, roots, vegetables and fruits.
Advantages:
- Switching to a grain-free diet can be very beneficial as it cuts out insulin-spiking carbohydrates in grains and replaces them with more vegetables.
- Following a hunter-gatherer diet can help you get more minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and healthy fats from your food. In fact, if you follow the Paleo diet correctly, it can help improve autoimmune conditions and help you lose weight naturally.
- Along with the elimination of grains, sugar (the main product that causes chronic inflammation and disease) is completely eliminated from the food. Instead, the diet is rich in popular anti-inflammatory foods like wild-caught salmon (or similar fish), blueberries, leafy greens, and walnuts.
Mistakes:
- Unfortunately, many people who follow the paleo diet often consume too much meat, as well as some animal toxins.
- In addition, people often consume non-organic foods, including meat, butter, vegetables and fruits. Unless you can afford to buy only organic foods, this diet is not considered a Paleo diet.
Remember that you don't have to follow the rules of a specific diet and make a strict menu of proper nutrition to lose weight. Certain aspects of a particular diet may be appealing, while others may not.
For example, you might want to go vegan one or two days a week to give your wallet a little boost and encourage your family to try different seasonal vegetables.
Or you can cut back on carbs for a few weeks to balance your insulin levels, then switch to a Mediterranean diet that uses whole grains in moderation. This is all very good!
It is not necessary to eat specific foods in order to lose weight day after day, week after week. It is important to simply eat right, eat mostly organic products, and exclude all factory foods and sweets if possible. At the end of the day, "best" diets (weight loss diet plans) come and go, but a diet based on natural vegetables and fruits, meat and fish, nuts and whole grains never goes out of style.