If you have decided to lose weight you now face a choice – what diet are you going to follow? The choice can be so overwhelming that it’s enough to make you decide you won’t bother! I do think that you can choose any diet you want to start with, and lose weight on it. After all, all the commercial diets have success stories, and whilst the approaches differ, the majority of diets come down to the fact that you are taking in less calories than you are burning. Whether you can keep the weight off long term is another story – and may involve a different plan.
So I would say that initially the diet you need to choose is therefore the one you will find easiest to stick to. If you’ve failed before, and by that I mean that the weight has gone back on very quickly, why not try a completely new approach?
Here are a few guidelines directing you towards choosing a new diet, based around your attitudes to food. I’ve included a one-liner about each diet, with a link so that you can find out more information if you are interested:
Do you hate feeling hungry?
Volumetrics
Focus on eating food with a low density i.e. low in calories but high in volume, so that it will keep you fuller for longer. For example, fruit and vegetables, soup and salad.
Low GI
Focus on eating food with a low glycaemic index which keeps the blood sugar low and regulates food cravings. For example, wholegrain cereals, breads and pasta.
Primal Blueprint
A low carb diet which focuses on filling up with vegetables and satiating protein, as well as reducing processed foods, in particular refined sugars.
Do you hate being told you can’t eat a particular food?
Change one
A plan based around changing habits one a time. No food is off limits, the focus is on healthy choices and portion control
Calorie/portion control
Count calories, or simply reduce your portion sizes. No special knowledge needed – just cut back on your regular diet.
Intuitive eating
Learn to regulate what you eat using your body’s natural hunger signals. Your body will tell you what it needs, and nothing is off limits. For specific diets look out for Geneen Roth and Paul McKenna.
Are you short of time?
Jenny Craig
Personalised diet meals delivered to your door, for a price of course!
Are you bad at planning meals?
Rosemary Conley GI Jeans
A low glycaemic index diet book which comes with detailed menu ideas
Lighter life
A very low calorie diet, where meal packs are provided for each meal, with the full support of a nutritionist.
Are you short of money?
Portion control
Simply cut back on your current diet using the foods you can afford
Vegetarian
Meat is expensive, so why not cut it out. Learn to use vegetable proteins like beans and lentils, and eat lots of vegetables, fruit and nuts
Are you bad at cooking?
Jenny Craig
Personalised diet meals delivered to your door, for a price of course!
Weight Watchers
A plan based around counting points, where each food is worth so many points. Points are calculated using calories, fat grams and other nutrients. They produce many ready made diet products.
Do you have particular dietary requirements?
Low carb – Celiac
A low carb diet can be a good starting point for a celiac as many products they cannot eat are eliminated anyway – bread, pasta, and flour.
Paleo – allergic to dairy
Paleo is a low carb diet, a stricter version of the Primal diet, which involves filling up on meat, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Strict Paleo followers don’t eat dairy products, whereas some Primal followers do, if they find it agrees with them.
Low fat – Rosemary
Rosemary Conley was renowned for her low fat diet plans back in the 80s. In the 90s when opinion on fat changed her diet plans evolved to included good fats such as oily fish. However she still takes a general low fat approach in her diets. Even her Low GI diet mentioned above has low fat principles included.
Do you like eating meat?
Primal/Paleo
As mentioned above, low carb Paleo style diets focus on getting nutrition from meat and vegetables.
Atkins
The Atkins diet is probably the most well known low carb diet. As opposed to Paleo and Primal, there is less of a focus on vegetables, and more on proteins and fats, especially in the early stages of the diet. Processed food options and alternatives to carbohydrates are also more of a focus on Atkins, whereas Paleo tries to keep foods natural.
Do you have a sweet tooth?
Weight Watchers
A plan based around counting points, where each food is worth so many points. Points are calculated using calories, fat and other nutrients. They produce many ready made diet products including biscuits, cookies, cakes and desserts.
Slimfast
A shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch – and a proper dinner. Slimfast produce many sweet shakes and meal bars which are used in this diet as meal replacements.
Intuitive eating
Learn to regulate what you eat using your body’s natural hunger signals. Your body will tell you what it needs, and nothing is off limits. For specific diets look out for Geneen Roth and Paul McKenna.
Do you have a big family to cook for?
Intuitive eating
Learn to regulate what you eat using your body’s natural hunger signals. Your body will tell you what it needs, and nothing is off limits. For specific diets look out for Geneen Roth and Paul McKenna.
Calorie/portion control
Count calories, or simply reduce your portion sizes. No special knowledge needed – just cut back on your regular diet.
Would you rather just not think about food?
Lighter life
A very low calorie diet, where meal packs are provided for each meal, with the full support of a nutritionist.
Cambridge diet
A very low calorie diet, where the provided products give the necessary nutrition. A range of shakes, soup, bars and porridge. Again with the full support of a trained consultant.
I would just add in a little disclaimer here – these type of plans do work and are well supervised – the problems start when you finish the diet and look at maintaining the weight loss if you haven’t learnt healthy habits and how to meal plan.
Do you like numbers and statistics?
Zone
The zone diet is based around certain ratios of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Specifically its high protein and fairly low carb. The principal is that it reduces cellular inflammation which is a proponent of weight gain. It involves working out how may blocks of protein, carbohydrates and fat you can have, and then a block is equivalent to a certain amount of specific foods which must be weighed.
Weight Watchers
A plan based around counting points, where each food is worth so many points. Points are calculated using calories, fat and other nutrients.
Low GL
This is the Glycaemic Load diet. Its similar to the Glycaemic Index diet but the GL diet also accounts for portion sizes. Each carbohydrate based food is assigned a GL and you have to keep within your points limit for the day. Its probably more useful than a GI diet, but more complicated to keep to.
Calorie counting
Count calories eaten. No particular plan is needed, just choose healthier foods and reduce your portion sizes. Work out how many calories you require in a day and eat 500 a day less to lose weight.
Do you eat out a lot?
Portion control
The only option really. Cut down on the number of courses, and don’t feel you have to finish everything that’s on your plate. Try and make healthy choices.
Do you need support from other people?
Weight Watchers
A plan based around counting points, where each food is worth so many points. Points are calculated using calories, fat and other nutrients. The Meetings plan encourages you to attend a weekly local meeting for support.
Slimming World
A plan based around red days and green days – one involves eating more carbohydrates, and the other more protein. There are other varieties of plan as well. Again you are encouraged to join a local meeting to get support from other people.
Don’t forget if you are very overweight it’s best to consult your doctor before starting a new eating plan!
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