A healthy diet can help you lose weight and improve your health. But the best diet for you depends on your lifestyle and preferences.
Avoid fad diets that promise quick results, which usually aren’t sustainable in the long term. Instead, look for a program that focuses on behavior change and is based on evidence-based nutrition.
The Mayo Clinic Diet
This best diet to lose weight is structured around the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid, a time-honored food guideline that emphasizes whole grains, vegetables and low fat proteins and limits added sugar and saturated fat. The Mayo Clinic Diet is also flexible and can be easily adapted for vegetarians, vegans or people with other dietary restrictions or preferences.
The diet is divided into two phases. The first, called “Lose It!” is a jump-start phase that lasts for two weeks and helps you lose up to six pounds. During this time, you swap out five unhealthy habits for five new, healthier ones and commit to adding at least 30 minutes of exercise each day.
In the second phase, which is meant to be a lifelong approach to health, you learn more about food choices, portion sizes, menu planning and other lifestyle habits. You’ll continue to lose one to two pounds per week and may find it easier to maintain your new healthy lifestyle.
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a great option for people who want to make permanent lifestyle changes. You’ll get access to meal plans, recipes, food-tracking tools and group coaching to help you stick with your new healthy habits. However, if you have specific health concerns or have a history of body image or eating disorders, this diet may not be right for you.
The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan that focuses on vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats (like olive oil) while limiting red meat, sugar and salt. It also encourages a variety of healthy beverages like coffee, tea, water and wine in moderation.
Eating this way can help you lose weight and reduce risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to research. Plus, people who follow this diet tend to live longer than those who don’t.
While the name may suggest a strict regimen, the Mediterranean Diet is more of an overall lifestyle than a diet. It focuses on eating mindfully and socializing around meals, which can lead to better food choices. For example, when you eat slowly, you’re more likely to pay attention to your body’s hunger and fullness signals. And when you sit down to a meal with family and friends, you’re more likely to enjoy your food.
The Mediterranean diet limits saturated and trans fats in favor of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, especially olive oil. It also focuses on limiting the amount of red meat and processed meat you consume, and focusing more on beans, fish, poultry and whole grains. Unlike many other popular diets, which promise dramatic results but often lead to short-term weight loss, the Mediterranean diet is designed to promote long-term health.
The Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet may sound like it’s too good to be true, but the program has proven to be effective for many people. It’s one of the most popular low-carb diets, and it has been linked to both weight loss and better heart health. It also has a multiphase approach to carbohydrate intake, which may be easier for dieters to follow long-term.
The plan starts with a phase called Induction, which limits carbohydrates to 20g of net carbs a day for the first 2 weeks. This is designed to kick-start weight loss and change the way your body uses carbs for energy. It also helps to reduce your cravings for sugar and starch.
In the next phases, you begin to slowly reintroduce carbs into your diet in small increments. This allows you to discover your personal carbohydrate threshold so that you can lose any remaining weight without experiencing hunger, cravings or deprivation. It also allows you to test your tolerance for foods that were previously forbidden, such as bread and pasta.
The Atkins diet encourages filling your plate with protein, dietary fats and lots of vegetables. Because these foods take longer to digest, they help you feel full and satisfied so that you eat less. The plan also discourages yo-yo dieting, which is unhealthy and can prevent you from reaching your healthy weight.
The South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is the latest diet craze to make waves, but unlike other popular diets that have come and gone, it might be here to stay. In addition to inspiring success stories, the diet provides a wealth of effective weight loss tips and recipes.
According to the diet’s creator, cardiologist Arthur Agatston, the South Beach Diet offers a safe and sensible way to lose weight without restricting carbohydrates or eating a lot of fat. The diet focuses on lean proteins, low-glycemic-index carbohydrates and unsaturated fats, which are good for heart health. The diet also emphasizes whole grains, which are high in fiber and help keep you feeling full longer.
In the first phase of the South Beach Diet, which lasts for 14 days, you eliminate bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, sugar and fruit. Instead, you eat protein, vegetables and healthy fats like olive oil, eggs, cheese, nuts and avocados. You can also enjoy low-sodium deli meats, such as boiled ham, lean roast beef or turkey breast.
Conclusion
The goal of this phase is to reset your hunger hormones, so you feel less hungry. It will also reduce water weight and lower your blood cholesterol levels, explains Melina Jampolis, M.D., a board-certified nutrition specialist and Forbes Health Advisory Board member. In this phase, you can eat any foods that are not restricted in the first phase of the diet.
