On the question of which diets are the most effective for losing weight, there are countless opinions, proportional to the number of people in the world who have managed to lose weight, nutritionists and Internet sites.
This question is similar to which candy is the most delicious, which country is the best to live in, or which mother is the most beautiful. . . occupying the minds of children of all ages; ).
No, this is not a clue that the answer doesn't exist. This is a warning that goes beyond the specific name of the best diet that works for everyone.
Despite the somewhat vague beginning, I promise you that below you will still discover which diets are the most effective for losing weight (we will provide you with a list of the 5 most effective diets), because there are many (and not just one) and this that all the "best" have in common. "
We will also tell you how the most popular diets work today and why they are not always the most effective.
All diets are the most effective. . .
There are several hundred, if not thousands, of diets.
They are created by cultures (Japanese, Brazilian), personalities (Pierre Dukan), in the center there are individual products (pumpkin, kefir, eggs, rice, oatmeal, cottage cheese) or groups of products (protein diet), on some of they you can eat almost everything (periodic fasting), on others – nothing (fasting).
And guess what?
The creators and supporters of each of these hundreds of diets, so different and so contradictory, claim that their diet is the most effective for losing weight.
And as an answer to the question posed in the title of this article, we could list all these diets and the result you would come out of here with, the name of a specific diet, the best and most effective, would only depend on how convincingly we have been described here. . .
At the same time, I am sure that few people are interested in listening to fairy tales about everything or, again, just being convinced of something. By "effective diets" each of us means something very specific and specific, narrowing the list of hundreds of diets to just a few units.
Classification of diets
The entire variety of existing diets can be reduced to a few groups based on the principle of their action:
- remove fluid from the body with the help of medications;
- remove fluids from the body by reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the diet;
- limit calories by eating the same foods and completely eliminating some food groups;
- calorie restriction by reducing the amount of food consumed;
- limit calories by consuming certain foods with a high satiety index;
- activation of fat burning by limiting the time of food consumption.
This is a very conditional classification, which nevertheless well illustrates the principles of action of almost all diets. They differ in the degree of possible harm to health and in the ease or difficulty of following them over time.
Many diets, considered the most effective, are most often based on a combination of all these factors, which allows you to lose weight as quickly as possible, but is not always effective in terms of maintaining health and long-term results.
The most effective diet for losing weight is. . .
First we need to make sure we speak the same language with each other.
An effective diet can be understood at least as follows:
- a diet that allows thislose weight fast;
- diet that helps you lose weightno harm to healthso thatthe weight hasn't come back;
- a diet thatit just helps you lose weight, as many of them don't work at all for some people.
Which one did you come here to look for?
I predict the answer will be: everyone. It's fast, harmless and with long-term results.
So let's talk about everything in order.
How falsely effective popular diets work
Different people have different meanings for the concept of "weight loss". For some it is a decrease in scale values, for others a decrease in body fat percentage.
Do you feel the difference?
Weight loss during weight loss does not always occur due to fat: in many so-called effective diets for rapid weight loss, weight is lost due to the removal of fluid from the body.
Among these diets: a detox diet, the use of laxatives for weight loss or diuretics (diuretics).
They are very good at changing scale readings quickly, but they domanipulating not the fat content in the body, but the water content.
This may be acceptable for some, but it is important to understand that all these dietsthey do not give long-term results: The weight returns very quickly as soon as the "diet" stops.
Furthermore, long-term adherence to such diets is fraughtvery serious risk of damage to health.
All falsely effective diets for rapid weight loss manipulate the fluid content in the body, not fat. None of them give long-term results and all of them are very dangerous for your health.
About the popular "super effective" diets of fashionable stars
The most popular diets, named after showbiz stars, the Kremlin and Hollywood, have two common characteristics:
- Theyvery strictly limit the number of product typesnutrition in the diet;
- are characterizedvery low carbohydrates.
How does it work? Very simple.
On the one hand, severely limiting the variety of foods makes the task of counting calories easier; on the other hand, it reduces the likelihood of overeating, as the diet becomes monotonous and tasteless.
Why do people gain weight quickly on carbohydrates, but lose weight quickly without them?
When we eat carbohydrates, the level of the hormone insulin increases in the blood, the function of which is to transport energy (carbohydrates) into cells for use as energy.
If energy needs are low, carbohydrates are stored in a short-term reserve: glycogen in the liver and muscles. When these reserves are full, excess carbohydrates are converted into fat and stored in long-term depots as fat, the location of which is familiar to everyone.
Why does weight loss happen quickly when you eliminate carbohydrates from your diet?
Each gram of glycogen binds several grams of liquid.
If we reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet, very quickly (within a day) glycogen stores will be emptied, the water used to store it will be removed from the body, and body weight will decrease.
The vast majority of popular "supereffective" diets that promise quick results are based on the removal of fluid from the body and strict limitation of permitted foods
The fundamental principle of all correct and effective diets
Remember one simple rule: all diets based onreducing caloriesdiet, effective for weight loss.
In fact, there are many similar diets. Why? Because you can limit calories in so many ways, from inducing vomiting, to accurately counting calories on your plates on a scale, or strictly limiting carbs and fats in your diet.
Effective from the point of view of the absence of harm to health and ease of adherence for a long period (ideally, for life), among them there will be those that provide the nutrients necessary to maintain health (vitamins and minerals, proteins , fats, carbohydrates) and satisfy hunger.
All the most effective diets are based on calorie restriction. This is achieved in various ways with varying degrees of damage to health.
Why is calorie counting so important?
Scientists call excess calories the main cause of obesity in our time. This is not at all a lack of physical activity, although modern people have actually begun to move much less.
See what the researchers of the scientific portal, whose mission is to study the effectiveness of various food supplements and dispel popular myths regarding nutrition, say on the basis of scientific research:
". . .Our body weight is determined more by how many calories we consume per day (from carbohydrates, proteins, fats and alcohol) than by what exactly we eat (the nutritional ratio of fats, proteins, carbohydrates).
Eating a lot of calories is the only oneexplanation of the current epidemic of total obesity.
The fact that it is the excess of calories in the diet of a modern person that is the main cause of obesity is proven by a huge number of scientific studies.
A large number of scientific articles have been written on this topic.
There are many examples on the Internet of weight loss with absolutely unhealthy foods in the form of fast food, pizza, potatoes, which prove thisall you need to start losing weight is to eat less.
So, the main thing that is important to learn:
For weight loss only the number of calories is important, but for health it is important what exactly we eat. All diets based on reducing calorie intake are useful for losing weight.
The most effective diet is the one that works for you and that you can follow for a long time.
There are many stories on the Internet of successful weight loss with completely different diets. Among them there are deceptive ones and there are also truthful ones.
Some say the most effective way to lose weight is intermittent fasting, others say the ketogenic diet, and still others say the Dukan protein diet. And someone shouts that nothing works.
Not all diets work for all people, especially since each person, due to their individual characteristics, requires different efforts to follow them.
For those who love meat, it will be incredibly difficult to "sit" only on vegetables, fruits and grains. But they will undoubtedly appreciate Pierre Dukan's protein diet or the Kremlin diet, which are essentially the same thing.
Those who don't want to change anything in their food basket can appreciate the benefits of intermittent fasting, which does not require drastic changes in diet, but only suggests eating at a certain time.
Well, those who are not bound to this world by taste preferences can personally test the benefits of the ketogenic diet, which is said to be one of the healthiest.
At the same time, the ketogenic diet is not recommended for athletes and is rather difficult to follow for physically active people, since it almost completely eliminates carbohydrates - the main source of energy for our body.
AS:
The best diet for you is the one that works for you and that you can follow for a long time, ideally for life.
It is impossible to follow a diet for a long time that leads to a state of chronic hunger and nervousness.
This is why very often, after reaching the desired values on the scale, we return to our favorite eating habits and previous weight.
Fat cells are very resistant. They do not die immediately when they lose weight, but only decrease in size. Start feeding them and very soon (and quite easily) they will return to "normal".
To lose weight forever, you need to change your eating habits forever.and only the diet you can live with for the rest of your life will help you with this.
To lose weight permanently, you need to permanently change your eating habits.
The 5 most effective diets for losing weight
Therefore, the most effective diet is the one that:
- aimed at reducing the percentage of fat in the body, not water;
- limit calories;
- allows you to keep it for a long time;
- It provides all the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy.
For weight loss, calorie restriction is important, and for health, food composition is important.
The most effective diet for losing weight is one that limits the number of calories in the diet, leads to a decrease in body fat percentage, not water, and is not harmful to your health.
Many popular diets are effective. Below is a list of the 5 best among them.
Low carbohydrate diets
The most popular diets achieve calorie restriction by reducing carbohydrates. Of primary importance are sugar and fructose, the excessive consumption of which is recognized by scientists as the main cause of obesity.
Examples of low-carb diets:
- ketogenic diet– a diet high in fat, low in protein and very low in carbohydrates;
- DIeta Atkins– a diet rich in fats, rich in proteins and very low in carbohydrates;
- Paleo diet(hunter-gatherer diet or stone age diet) – high fat content, high protein content and low carbohydrate content;
- protein diet by Pierre Dukan– a diet rich in proteins (for meat lovers), low in carbohydrates.
- intermittent fasting– in addition to limiting the amount of carbohydrates, it limits the time in which food intake is allowed (see below).
Why are low-carb diets so effective for losing weight?
Fats and proteins are digested more slowly than carbohydrates, so they are harmfulgreater feeling of fullnessfor a longer time.
Almost all of these dietsIt is advisable to eat foods less "loaded" with calories, which contain more vegetable fibers and water: half a kilo of broccoli contains fewer calories than half a kilo of cereals, and even more than cake; ).
Carbohydrates cause overeating, and as a rule, you always want to eat a lot of them (especially if they are sweet).
This is explained by the fact that their absorption is accompanied by certain hormonal changes in the body:
- they are involved in the synthesis of serotonin, the so-called "happiness hormone" in the brain, which stimulates the desire to eat; This is probably why we love sweets so much and eat chocolate for depression.
- influence satiety levels and hunger hormones (leptin and ghrelin), which ensure appetite control; with regular consumption of carbohydrates (especially sugar and fructose), immunity to these hormones may develop, resulting in uncontrolled appetite and overeating;
- after eating sweets, there is a sharp increase in the level of insulin in the blood, the task of which is to control blood sugar; after completing its work, sugar decreases sharply, also causing a feeling of hunger.
Scientific research confirms thislow carbohydrate dietsone of the most effective for losing weight, as they make you want to eat less, take in fewer calories and are less likely to overeat.
The list of the 5 most effective diets includes low-carb diets. All are effective for weight loss, because. . . Limit calories and avoid overeating
Intermittent fasting is one of the most effective diets
Intermittent fasting is called by many modern scientistsone of the most effective diets not only for weight loss, but also for health.
Unlike traditional fasting, this does not require complete abstinence from food, which is very difficult to tolerate and, as will be shown below, is far from the most effective weight loss strategy.
Intermittent fasting involves eating only at specific times of the day, within an 8-hour window. Why? Because this allows you to maximize the fat burning process.
This diet does not provide strict restrictions on the set of permitted foods: only common foods harmful to weight loss in the form of simple carbohydrates, mainly sugar and fructose, are excluded. This is one element of a low-carb diet.
Everything is quite simple and the health benefits are enormous.
Intermittent fasting is recognized by many scientists as one of the most effective diets for losing weight.
Some popular misconceptions about diets
Finally, let's look at some popular myths that are often positioned in many diets as the key to effective weight loss.
Balanced and separate diets (mono-diets) differ in the degree of harm to health
Eating proteins, fats and carbohydrates together (balanced diet) or separately (separate diet or mono-diet) does not increase the effectiveness of weight loss in any way, even if from a health point of view the benefits of a balanced approach are evident.
Let's reveal a secret: you can lose weight even by eating fast food, cakes, sweets. . . if you eat them carefully, respecting the principle of calorie restriction.
The following statement is true for all mono-diets:
"Any diet that promotes the complete elimination of any group of nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates or fats) is incorrect and is fraught with serious health consequences if followed long-term. "
To lose weight it is not particularly important that proteins, fats and carbohydrates enter your body in a balanced or separate form: their quantity is important. However, from a health point of view, mono-diets are more harmful to health.
The timing and frequency of meals do not matter for weight loss
Only the total calorie intake during the day counts for weight loss.
Naturally,Eating small, frequent meals allows you to better control your appetiteand avoid eating too much after long hours of abstinence. But it's important to see the same basic principle at its root: it's simply a way to limit and control calories.
If the calculated daily calorie content is 1500 kcal, then in terms of weight loss it does not matter whether you eat them in one meal or several.
About fasting: How effective is fasting for weight loss?
One of the popular diets for losing weight is complete abstinence from food or fasting.
A radical refusal of food seems quite logical as a method of effectively solving the problem of excess weight.
But it's not true.
The problem is that fasting leads to a significant decreaseinternal metabolic rate.
According to scientific data, resting metabolism (the energy spent at rest only to maintain the body's internal functions) accounts for the lion's share of calories burned each day: approximately 70%. Decreasing this value significantly reduces the rate of weight loss.
The benefits of fasting for weight loss are a myth.
If the starvation state continues for several days, the metabolic rate decreases very significantly.
Weight loss during fasting is mainly due to a decrease in the amount of fluid in the body. Even during prolonged fastingyou lose a lot of muscle mass, as the body begins to break down muscle proteins to provide energy for its most important life functions.
Mild calorie restriction, however, does not have such a dramatic effect.
Fasting is very ineffective for losing weight, as it reduces the metabolic rate, the main consumer of calories in the body. Weight loss is mainly due to fluid excretion and loss of muscle mass.