It seems like everyday there is a new diet out there on the market to try. Each one claims to be the best, most effective way to lose weight or get in shape healthily. It’s so easy to get confused or lost when trying to decide which one to choose.
In this world where we are obsessed with our weight and our looks, we are constantly reminded in the media, in the press, and on the television in fact everywhere we go. That our body mass and body weight is too much and that if we were slimmer we would be happier with ourselves and possibly more successful. It all has an impact on our confidence, our personality and our lifestyle.
That is the reason why I started this blog. I know the personal value of looking and feeling good, but it’s almost like the weight loss “industry” wants us to fail. It wants us to fail repeatedly so we buy the next big thing again and again. It’s scary.
There is the Atkins diet, the Cambridge diet, there are diet pills, and balanced diets, three-day diets, detox diets, soup diets, cabbage diets, diet recipes, cholesterol diets, juice diets, grapefruit diets, pregnancy diets, dessert diets, convenient diets, and even diet Coke. Hey, there is just too much to choose from. But which one do I select and which one do I choose? You can spend hours and days searching for the ideal diet plan only to find out it is not the right one for you. Ninety five percent of all people that start a diet will restart with different diet looking for the “right one ” for them.
Below is a list of the top 10 ‘non fad’ diets which have been tested by doctors and dieticians.
1. South Beach Diet: This has a lot in common with the once-popular Atkins Diet. Created by a cardiologist, this three-phased diet involves temporarily giving up fruit, starches, and fatty meats, which is meant to cure the craving for unhealthy types of foods.
2. Sonoma Diet: This is another three-phase diet, but this one emphasizes ten “power” foods, including tomatoes, grapes and spinach. It’s not a low-carb or low sugar diet, but does limit saturated fats and white flour.
3. NutriSystem: Of the top 10 diets, this program is the only one that requires dieters to buy their food from the company. It serves to reduce cravings through controlling the intake of glycemic index carbs.
4. Weight Watchers: This is not a diet but a way of life. Individuals determine goals, and work toward completing those goals while attending regular support group meetings. There are two different plans, the core and flex plans. They both work off of a point system, with each food afforded a different value.
5. The Zone Diet: This isn’t a “diet” in the traditional sense either. It was invented by a biochemist, and promotes eating protein and carbs in a 3 to 4 ratio. While it is a low-carb diet, it doesn’t take it to the extreme that other diets do. The Zone Diet emphasizes the importance of maintaining a hormonal balance through eating certain foods.
6. Atkins Diet: Perhaps the most popular of the low-carb diets, Atkins brought people away from the food pyramid and toward a diet that restricts carbohydrates that effect blood sugar. With exercise and supplements, the Atkins Diet stresses the importance of eating unprocessed foods and avoiding food high in saturated fats.
7. Ornish Diet: This diet opposes the Atkins and other low-carb diets. It is a vegetarian diet which stresses the importance of complex carbohydrates while strictly prohibiting simple sugars, cholesterol and saturated fat. It is another ratio diet, with 10% fat, 20% protein and 70% carbohydrates.
8. The Blood Type Diet: This is a controversial diet that works off the idea that each person should eat foods that match their blood type, based on the evolution of the types. Proponents of this diet believe that “O” types should eat primarily meat. “A” types should be following a more vegetarian diet, and “B” types should eat high amounts of dairy products.
9. Fit For Life Diet: Short term dieting isn’t the solution, according to the couple who created this diet. Combinations of foods are stressed. Only fruits should be eaten in the morning, and meats shouldn’t be combined with complex carbs.
10. Subway Diet: The list of top 10 diets wouldn’t be complete with this diet. Everyone seems to know Jared, the college student who lost 245 pounds eating Subway sandwiches. As with other weight-loss plans, Jared’s story includes daily walks and a severe reduction in daily calories, in addition to eating healthy subs with fresh vegetables and baked chips.
So although his story is used quite misleadingly (IMO) in the Subway advertising campaign, it actually has a useful message: Reducing calories and regular exercise help you get in shape. It may not be as cool as the latest fad diet going around, but it works.
