One of the best ways to lose weight is to change your diet.
However, the sheer number of diet plans available can make it difficult to get started, as you are not sure which one is more convenient, sustainable and effective.
Some diets aim to curb your appetite to reduce your food intake, while others suggest restricting your intake of calories, carbohydrates or fats.
Furthermore, many of them offer health benefits beyond weight loss.
Here are the best diet plans to help you lose weight and improve your overall health.
1. Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a dietary strategy that rotates between periods of fasting and eating.
Variations exist, including the 16/8 method, which involves limiting your calorie intake to 8 hours a day, and the 5:2 method, which limits your daily calorie intake to 500-600 calories twice a week.
How it works: Intermittent fasting limits the time you’re allowed to eat, and it’s a simple way to reduce your calorie intake. This can lead to weight loss – unless you compensate by eating plenty of food during the permitted eating periods.
Weight loss: In a review of studies, intermittent fasting was shown to cause 3-8% weight loss over 3-24 weeks, a much larger percentage than other methods.
2. Vegetarian diets
Plant-based diets may help you lose weight. Vegetarians and vegans are the most common versions, which restrict animal products for health, ethical, and environmental reasons.
However, there are also more flexible vegetarian diets, such as the flexitarian diet, which is a vegan diet that allows animal products to be eaten in moderation.
How it works: There are many types of vegetarianism, but most involve eliminating all types of meat, poultry, and fish. Likewise, some vegetarians may avoid eggs and dairy products.
It takes the vegan diet a step further by restricting all animal products, as well as animal-derived products such as dairy, gelatin, honey, whey, casein, and albumin.
3. Low-carbs diets
Low-carb diets are among the most popular for weight loss. Examples include the Atkins diet, the keto diet, and the low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet.
Some varieties reduce carbohydrates significantly more than others. For example, low-carb diets like the keto diet limit this macronutrient to less than 10% of total calories, compared to 30% or less for other types.
How it works: Low-carb diets restrict carbohydrate intake in favor of protein and fat.
They are usually higher in protein than low-fat diets, which is important, as protein can help curb appetite, increase your metabolism and preserve muscle mass.
4. The paleo diet
The Paleo diet calls for eating the same foods that your hunter-gatherer ancestors are said to have eaten.
It is based on the theory that modern diseases are linked to the Western diet, with proponents believing that the human body did not evolve to process legumes, grains, and dairy products.
How it works: The Paleo diet advocates eating whole foods, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts, and seeds. It restricts consumption of processed foods, grains, sugar, and dairy products, although some less restrictive versions allow some dairy products such as cheese.
Weight loss: Several studies have shown that the paleo diet can help in losing weight and reducing harmful belly fat
5. Low-fat diets
Like low-carb diets, low-fat diets have been popular for decades.
In general, a low-fat diet involves limiting fat intake to 30% of daily calories.
Some very low-fat, extreme diets aim to limit fat consumption to less than 10% of calories (24Trusted Source).
How it works: Low-fat diets restrict fat intake because fat provides about twice as many calories per gram, compared to the other two nutrients — protein and carbohydrates.
Very low fat diets contain less than 10% of calories from fat, about 80% of calories come from carbohydrates and 10% from protein.
6. Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is based on the foods that people in countries like Italy and Greece used to eat.
Although it was designed to reduce the risk of heart disease, several studies suggest that it can also help with weight loss.
How it works: The Mediterranean diet calls for plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, tubers, whole grains, fish, seafood, and extra virgin olive oil.
Foods such as poultry, eggs and dairy products should be eaten in moderation. Meanwhile, red meat is limited.
7.Weight Watchers
WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers, is one of the most popular weight loss programs worldwide.
While it does not restrict any food groups, people on the WW plan should eat within their set daily points to reach their ideal weight.
How it works: WW is a points-based system that assigns the value of different foods and drinks, depending on their calorie, fat, and fiber content.
To reach your desired weight, you must stay within the daily allowed points range.
8. The DASH diet
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or the DASH diet, is a dietary plan designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure, which is clinically known as hypertension.
It emphasizes eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats and is low in salt, red meat, and added sugars and fats.
While the DASH diet is not a weight loss diet, many people have reported losing weight when following it.
How it works: The DASH diet recommends specific servings from different food groups. The number of servings you are allowed to eat depends on your daily calorie intake.
For example, the average person on the DASH diet will eat about 5 servings of vegetables, 5 servings of fruit, 7 servings of healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains, 2 servings of low-fat dairy, and 2 or less servings of lean meat for every day.