Double-chins; bingo wings; tummy podge — these are all completely natural parts of the body that the vast majority of us have. But nearly half of all Brits admit they are unhappy with their self-image in this age of fad dieting and Instagram fitness exposing us to an unrealistic and sometimes unachievable standard of beauty.
Recent reports have uncovered that 38% of the British population are actively trying to lose weight, while two thirds admit to being on a diet ‘most of the time’. There are so many different diets out there to try, each with their own set of variations and restrictions, so when it comes to selecting the one that best fits you and your dietary requirements, it can be a little confusing.
Different diets are designed for different outcomes — some aim to stifle your appetite, while others restrict certain food groups in order to promote weight loss. Each diet also comes with its own set of health benefits and potential risks depending on any conditions you may have. So how do we go about choosing the diet that best matches our goals and create bodies we are happier with without posing any danger to our health? Here’s some information on 5 different diets you can try to see what works for you.
1.Low-Fat
When it comes to losing weight, the common sense move for most people is limiting the amount of fat they consume. A low-fat diet generally consists of reducing your fat intake to around 30% of your daily calories — though there are more restrictive low-fat diets out there that aim to reduce fat to 15% or less of your daily caloric intake for faster results.
The idea behind a low-fat diet is that gram-for-gram, fat provides you with around 5 more calories than protein and carbohydrates — meaning you can eat the same amount of protein or carbs as you would fat and gain half the amount of calories! There is a wealth of high-quality and consistent evidence out there supporting the notion that a low-fat diet can lead to a sustained reduction in body weight, particularly in those with obesity and a high risk of type 2 diabetes.
Not only can limiting your fat intake shed the weight off you, but it also allows for significant reductions in blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, and risk factors of heart disease and stroke. Be cautious if you’re planning on committing to one of the more extreme ultra-low-fat variations, though. Remember that despite the negative connotations the name may carry, fat is still an essential part of a healthy and balanced diet, providing essential acids that the body cannot make on its own and playing an important role in hormone production, brain development, and the absorption of vitamins and nutrients. Restricting your fat intake too much for too long can create some serious long-term health problems such as metabolic syndrome, and could even worsen symptoms of depression.
The good news is, in the UK there are several low-fat options available to you. Take a look through this guide to low-fat foods and the different recipes you can incorporate into your diet to start seeing some serious results!
2. Plant-Based
Though there are several understandable moral, environmental, and health reasons for adopting a plant-based diet, the push-back as they grow in popularity has been immense. You may have this preconceived stereotype in your head of the preachy vegan trying to force avocado toast down your throat — and while it’s natural to disagree or feel somewhat defensive when your habits or ideals are being pulled into question, the rising tide of vitriol and public displays hitting out against vegetarianism or veganism is quite the overreaction.
An estimated 7% of the UK currently follows a plant-based diet — and while there certainly are environmental benefits to this, you’ll be glad to know that adopting vegetarianism or veganism is a sure-fire way to drop those pounds while you save the environment! Many of the restricted food groups in a plant-based diet are significantly higher in calories than fruits and vegetables, and the foods you are encouraged to eat on these diets tend to be rich in fibre, promoting weight loss by helping you stay full for longer.
Studies have shown that those following a vegetarian diet lost on average 2kg more than meat-eaters, while vegans lost approximately 2.5kg more. Following a plant-based diet has also been linked to a reduced risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer.
It’s important to note that restricting meat from your diet completely can starve you of important nutrients such as iron, calcium, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids that are typically only found in animal-based foods. To combat this, a flexitarian approach is recommended. You can still reap the weight loss benefits of a plant-based diet on the weekdays — and you don’t have to feel any guilt about your meat-eating weekends, no matter what your friend with the man-bun told you. Here are some plant-based diet plans and recipes to get you going.
3. Paleo
Why not get in touch with your caveman roots while losing weight? The Palaeolithic diet is designed to replicate the dietary habits of our hunter-gatherer ancestors — and its proponents claim that diseases such as obesity and diabetes can be directly linked to our modern sedentary lifestyles and western diets filled with refined sugars and processed foods which our bodies just cannot properly process.
A paleo diet consists mostly of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and lean meats — while grains, sugar, and dairy are to be avoided. These caveman eating habits can create some powerful and fast weight loss effects for you — with studies finding that followers of a paleo diet lost an average of 2.3kg over a period of just three weeks. The high protein content of paleo also means that it is more satiating per calorie, so this method may be right for you if you find yourself going hungry on a low-fat or Mediterranean diet.
Not only will this 10,000 year-old diet help you lose weight, but paleo can also stabilise your blood sugar, improve your sleep quality, clear up your skin, and reduce several heart disease risk factors such as cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Like with many diets, though, paleo can restrict you from the nutritional benefits of many of its prohibited food groups. For example, cutting dairy out of your diet altogether is a sure-fire way to develop deficiencies in vitamin D and calcium if you’re not careful, which are critical to bone health — and a consistent lack of these vitamins could potentially lead to the development of some nasty bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
If paleo sounds appealing to you, use these helpful recipes and beginner guides to start you off. Just bear in mind that eating like a caveman does not give you the excuse to smell like one!
4. Low-Carb
Some of the most popular diets for weight loss are the low-carb plans such as the Atkins or keto diet — due to their quick and often significant results. Similar to their low-fat alternatives, low-carb diets generally aim to restrict your carb intake to 30% of your overall calories per day. More restrictive low-carb diets (such as keto) reduce this intake even further, usually to around 10% of your daily calories. Your reduction in carbohydrates is accounted for by boosting your intake of protein, helping to curb your appetite whilst also raising metabolism and conserving muscle mass.
If you’re following an ultra-low-carb diet, you will begin to shed weight through a process known as ketosis; your body will start burning through fatty acid stores instead of carbohydrates and convert them into ketones to provide you with energy. Ketosis and low-carb diets, in general, have been found to be extremely effective methods of promoting weight loss — producing even more significant effects than low-fat diets — and burning that hard-to-get-rid-of belly fat sitting at the bottom of your stomach. However, be aware that ketosis can cause a range of negative side-effects, including bad breath, fatigue, and cold-like symptoms known as the “keto flu” — so don’t worry if you’re trying out keto in self-isolation and begin experiencing these symptoms, you haven’t given yourself coronavirus by cutting out spaghetti.
Low-carb diets are very restrictive and can be some of the hardest to follow diligently, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re struggling. It’s recommended you only follow the ultra-low-carb variations for a maximum period of around 24 weeks to avoid the digestive problems and higher LDL cholesterol levels associated with a long-term restriction of carbohydrates. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or diabetic, it is recommended that you speak with relevant healthcare professional before trying this particular diet out, as it may pose a higher risk of causing a condition known as ketoacidosis, which could be fatal if left untreated.
Low-carb diets are recommended for those of you willing to take on a challenge, and looking for a shorter-term plan that can create fast fat-burning effects while maintaining your muscle mass. Make use of online diet plans and useful low-carb recipes, and just try your best not to think about pasta.
5. Intermittent Fasting
If you’re a picky eater and would struggle too much cutting certain food groups out of your diet — or if you just love food too dearly to limit yourself to nuts and seeds — intermittent fasting may be the choice for you. This dietary strategy involves shifting between periods of fasting and eating, and while there are many ways to alter and tailor these periods to your liking, two particular techniques have proved to be most popular: the 16/8 and the 5:2 methods.
The 16/8 intermittent fasting plan involves fasting for 16 hours per day before your ‘feeding window’ opens — while this term does make it sound like you’re a farm animal, it is an extremely effective way to eliminate late-night snacking from your diet if you’re a frequent pre-bedtime eater. If you use this method, though, just make sure you’re not compensating for your fasts by gorging yourself on all the goodies you have when your window opens — it’ll probably feel amazing, but undermines the whole purpose of the diet. If 16 hours of no eating sounds like your own personal hell, then the 5:2 method can bring about results just as effectively. This way, 5 days of your week can be spent eating as you normally would, before you have to tough it out for 2 days and restrict yourself to 500–600 calories.
Most people find that intermittent fasting is a much easier to stick to than the traditional, more restrictive diet plans. Not only this, but studies have found the technique to stimulate weight loss of 3–8% over a period of 3–24 weeks. Like low-carb diets, intermittent fasting is also a good way to preserve muscle mass and improve metabolism while you burn fat, if you’re a gym-goer or looking to keep those guns in good shape — and according to research, it’s a good way of keeping your brain in shape too! Associations have been drawn between the use of intermittent fasting and a slower cognitive decline — as well as reduced inflammation and increased sensitivity to insulin.
As you may have imagined, there are some things you need to be weary of if you decide to reduce your food intake in this way. If you are more sensitive to a drop in your blood sugar levels, for example — whether through diabetes, eating disorders, or any other way — then the best course of action would be to seek advice from a healthcare professional regarding any potential risks intermittent fasting may pose to you. If you decide that this method is the way to go for you, though, then be sure to read up on useful tips you can use to ride out the hungry hours before the glorious opening of your feeding window.
No Time Like the Present
If you’ve been toying with the idea of dieting, why not start now? The coronavirus outbreak has meant there’s been slim pickings in a lot of supermarkets — and if there aren’t as many unhealthy snacks in the house, it’ll be a lot easier to wane yourself off of junk food and refined sugars.
Remember that diets are at their most effective in combination with exercise and healthy lifestyle, and it is strongly advised that you only start dieting to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight! Don’t let Instagram make you hate certain parts of your body if you are otherwise happy and healthy — our differences are what make the world beautiful, and body positivity is key!
