Not all types of diet plans are equally effective or even healthy. However, there are so many of them today, it’s hard to choose one that would truly help you lose weight. This comparison would give you some idea about the best diets available. Note that it includes only balanced plans that aren’t a hazard for your health, like starvation diets are.
Most Popular Types of Diet Plans: Pros and Cons
- Paleo Diet
Following a Paleo diet means replacing all processed foods with fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. Note that this plan excludes all ‘inflammatory’ foods, so it only allows for pseudograins (buckwheat or wild rice) in small amounts.
This plan requires eating a lot of lean meat but is completely excludes some grains and legumes. This might result in nutritional deficiencies, but you can prevent it by using the 80/20 rule with the diet. This means sticking to the Paleo plan only 80% and filling your 20% with wholegrains and beans.
There are studies to prove that Paleo diet is effective for weight loss. However, it’s one of the more expensive and difficult types of diet plans.
- Slimming World Diet
In essence, the Slimming World diet is a low-fat plan that requires substituting all high-fat foods. This plan doesn’t ban any products as long as they aren’t fat and processed junk food. This approach allows for balanced and versatile meals.
No calorie counting and limitations means that this diet is unsuited for those who tend to overeat. However, you can prevent problems by actually counting your calories and controlling portions.
Like any low-fat diet, this one can produce noticeable results. It will work best if you join a support group following the same plan so you can share ideas on menus.
- 5:2 Diet
The 5:2 is one of the ‘fasting’ types of diet plans, but it doesn’t call for actually going hungry. Instead, you have to eat well-balanced healthy meals for 5 days a week and ‘fast’ for 2 days.
At that time you’ll need to limit your calorie intake to about 600 cal per day. It would be best to get some eggs for breakfast and grilled veggies with fish for dinner. As you diet only 2 days a week, it would be easier to keep your motivation up.
Unfortunately, such a drastic reduction in calories can be a struggle on the ‘fasting’ days. You might experience headaches and lightheadedness. This might prevent you from getting healthy sleep. For this diet to work and be safe you must be monitored by a professional dietician.
- Atkins Diet
Atkins one of the types of diet plans that are heavily tied to exercising. This program achieves weight loss through efficient fat burning, which is activated through workouts. The diet allows for an unlimited intake of proteins and even fats (so long as they are healthy). However, it limits carbs to 25g a day. Maintain this for 2 weeks before gradually increasing the amount of carbs to a regular healthy level.
Check out this ultimate low-carb diet plan to see how to reduce their amount safely. This diet produces rather fast results, but getting such a small amount of carbohydrates might cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, and insomnia.
Types of Diet Plans Comparison: Which Is Best?
As you can see, every diet plan has its own pros and cons. However, the most important thing to understand is that each of them can be effective when used wisely. Studies prove that no matter its type, a reduced-calorie diet can lead to weight loss.
You also shouldn’t forget that you can enhance the plan of your choosing with various supplements. These products can facilitate weight loss in unique ways, for example:
- CLA 1000mg Complex slows down the fat cells’ growth.
- Forskolin 250mg boosts metabolism and speeds up natural fat burning.
- L-Carnitine 500mg supports healthy energy metabolism and allows you to use your energy more efficiently during workouts.
