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 websites.
This question is similar to which candy is the tastiest, which country is the best to live in, or whose mother is the most beautiful. . . capturing the minds of children of all ages; ).
No, this is not a hint that the answer does not exist. This is a caveat that goes beyond the specific name of the single-best-diet-that-works-for-everyone.
Despite the slightly vague beginning, I promise you that below you will find out which diets are the most effective for weight loss (we will provide a list of the top 5 most effective diets), why there are many of them (and not just one)and what do all the "best" have in common.
We will also show 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 hundreds, if not thousands, of diets.
They are created by culture (Japanese, Brazilian), personalities (Pierre Dukan), at their center are individual products (pumpkin, kefir, eggs, rice, oats, cottage cheese) or groups of products (protein diet), in some of them. you can eat almost anything (intermittent fasting), for 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 in answer to the question posed in the title of this article, we could list all these diets and the result you would leave here, the name of a specific diet, the best and most effective, would depend only on howpersuasive we were described here. . .
At the same time, I am sure that few people are interested in listening to fairy tales about everything or, once again, simply being convinced of something. By "effective diets", each of us understands something very specific and specific, narrowing the list of hundreds of diets to a few units.
Classification of diets
The entire variety of existing diets can be reduced to just a few groups based on the principle of their action:
- removing fluids from the body with the help of medicines;
- removing fluids from the body by reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the diet;
- restricting calories by eating the same foods and completely eliminating certain food groups;
- calorie restriction by reducing the amount of food eaten;
- limiting calories by consuming some 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 vary in the degree of potential health damage and how easy or difficult they are to follow over time.
Many diets, positioned as the most effective, are 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 weight loss is. .
First we need to make sure we speak the same language with each other.
An effective diet can be understood as follows:
- A diet that allowslose weight fast;
- diet that helps you lose weightno harm to healthsothe weight did not return;
- a diet thatit just helps you lose weight, as many of them don't work at all for some people.
What did you come here looking for?
I predict the answer will be - all of them. And fast, harmless and with long-term results.
Then let's talk about everything in order.
How popular fad diets work
Different people have different meanings for the concept of "weight loss". For some it's a drop in scale readings, for others it's 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 fluids from the body.
Among such diets: a detox diet, the use of laxatives for weight loss or diuretics (diuretics).
They are very effective at quickly changing scale readings, but they domanipulating not body fat content but water content.
This may be acceptable to some, but it is important to understand that all such dietsthey do not give long-term results: The weight comes back very quickly once the "diet" stops.
Moreover, long-term adherence to such diets is fraught withvery serious health risk.
All the most effective fad diets for rapid weight loss manipulate the body's fluid content, not fat. None of them give long-term results and all of them are very dangerous to health.
About the famous "super effective" diets of fashionable stars
The most popular diets, which are named after the stars of show business, the Kremlin and Hollywood, have two common features:
- theystrictly limit the number of product typesdiet nutrition;
- they are characterizedvery low carb.
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, whose function is to transport energy (carbohydrates) into the cells to be used as energy.
If energy demand is low, then carbohydrates are stored in short-term storage - glycogen in the liver and muscles. When these stores are full, excess carbohydrates are converted to fat and stored in long-term storage as fat, the location of which is known to everyone.
Why do you lose weight quickly when you eliminate carbohydrates from your diet?
Each gram of glycogen binds several grams of fluid.
If we reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet, then very quickly (within a day) the glycogen reserves are depleted, the water that was used for its storage leaves the body and the body weight decreases.
The vast majority of popular "super-effective" diets that promise quick results are based on removing fluids from the body and strictly limiting allowed foods.
The main principle of all effective correct diets
Remember one simple rule: all diets that are based oncalorie reductiondiet, effective for weight loss.
In fact, there are many such diets. Why? Because you can restrict calories in a huge number of ways, from inducing vomiting, to accurately counting calories on plates on a scale, or strictly limiting carbohydrates and fats in the diet.
Effective from the point of view of the lack of damage to health and the ease of adherence for a long time (ideally, throughout life), among them will be those that provide the nutrients necessary for maintaining health (vitamins and minerals, proteins, fats, carbohydrates) and satisfy hunger.
All the most effective diets are based on calorie restriction. This is achieved in different ways with different degrees of damage to health.
Why is calorie counting so important?
Scientists call excessive calorie content the main cause of obesity in our time. This is not a lack of physical activity at all, although modern people have begun to move much less.
See what the researchers of the scientific portal, whose mission is to study the effectiveness of various nutritional supplements and dispel popular myths on the topic of nutrition, based on scientific research, say:
". . .
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 large number of scientific studies.
A large number of scientific articles have been written on this topic.
There are many examples on the Internet of losing weight with absolutely unhealthy food in the form of fast food, pizza, potatoes, which prove thatall it takes 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 that are 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 stick to for the long term.
There are many stories on the Internet about successful weight loss on completely different diets. Among them there are deceivers and there are also true ones.
Some say the most effective way to lose weight is intermittent fasting, others say the ketogenic diet, and others the Dukan protein diet. And someone shouts that nothing works.
Not all diets work for all people, mainly because each person, due to his or her individual characteristics, requires different efforts to adhere to them.
For those who love meat, it will be very difficult to "sit" only on vegetables, fruits and cereals. But they will definitely like the protein diet of Pierre Dukan or the Kremlin diet, which are basically the same thing.
Those who do not want to change anything in their food basket can appreciate the benefits of intermittent fasting, which does not require drastic changes in the diet, but only suggests eating at a certain time.
Well, those who are not bound by this world of taste preferences can try for themselves the benefits of the ketogenic diet, which is rumored to be one of the healthiest.
At the same time, the ketogenic diet is not recommended for athletes and is quite difficult for physically active people to adhere to, as it almost completely eliminates carbohydrates, the main source of energy for our body.
So:
The best diet for you is the one that works for you and that you can stick to long-term, ideally for your entire life.
It is impossible to follow for a long time a diet that leads to a state of chronic hunger and irritability.
That is why very often, after reaching the desired scale readings, there is a return to the preferred eating habits and previous weight.
Fat cells are very elastic. They do not die immediately when they lose weight, but only decrease in size. Start feeding them - and very quickly (and quite easily) they will return to "normal".
To lose weight permanently, you must change your eating habits permanently.and only the diet you can live with for the rest of your life will help you with this.
To lose weight permanently, you must permanently change your eating habits.
Top 5 most effective diets for weight loss
So, the most effective diet is one that:
- aims to reduce the percentage of body fat, not water;
- restricts calories;
- allows you to stay in 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, the composition of foods.
The most effective diet for weight loss is the one that limits the number of calories in your diet, leads to a decrease in the percentage of body fat, not water, and is not harmful to health.
Many popular diets are effective. A list of the top 5 of them is given below.
Low carbohydrate diets
Most popular diets achieve calorie restriction by cutting 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 rich in fat, low in protein and very low in carbohydrates;
- dIeta Atkins– a diet rich in fat, protein 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 high protein (for meat lovers) diet, low in carbohydrates.
- intermittent fasting– together with limiting the amount of carbohydrates, limit the time when food intake is allowed (see below).
Why are low-carb diets so effective for weight loss?
Fats and proteins are digested more slowly than carbohydrates, so they givegreater feeling of satietyfor a longer time.
Almost all such dietsIt is recommended to eat foods that are less "loaded" with calories, which contain more plant fiber and water: half a kilogram of broccoli contains fewer calories than half a kilogram of cereals and even more so cake; ).
Carbohydrates provoke 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 associated with certain hormonal changes in the body:
- they are involved in the synthesis of serotonin, the so-called "hormone of happiness" in the brain, which stimulates the desire to eat; This is probably why we love sweets so much and eat chocolate for depression.
- they affect the levels of satiety and hunger hormones (leptin and ghrelin), which ensure appetite control; with regular consumption of carbohydrates (especially sugar and fructose), immunity to these hormones can 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 it has completed its work, the sugar drops significantly, which also causes the feeling of hunger.
Scientific research proves thislow carbohydrate dietsone of the most effective for weight loss, as they make you want to eat less, eat fewer calories, and be less likely to overeat.
The list of the top 5 most effective diets includes low-carb diets. All of them are effective for weight loss, because. . . Limit calories and prevent 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 a 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 certain times during the day, within an 8-hour period. Why? Because this allows you to maximize the fat burning process.
In this diet, there is no strict restriction on the group of allowed 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.
It's all quite simple, and the health benefits are huge.
Intermittent fasting is recognized by many scientists as one of the most effective weight loss diets.
Some common 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 special diets (mono-diets) differ in the degree of damage to health
Eating proteins, fats and carbohydrates together (balanced diet) or separately (special diet or mono-diet) does not increase the effectiveness of weight loss in any way, although from a health point of view the benefits of a balanced approach are obvious.
Let's reveal a secret: you can lose weight even from fast food, sweets, sweets. . . if you eat them carefully, respecting the principle of calorie restriction.
The following statement is true for all mono-diets:
"
For weight loss, it is not particularly important whether proteins, fats and carbohydrates enter your body in a balanced or special 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 does not matter for weight loss
For weight loss, only the total intake of calories during the day matters.
Naturally,Eating small, frequent meals allows you to better control your appetiteand avoid overeating after long hours of abstinence. But it's important to see the same basic principle at root - it's just 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 much whether you eat them in one meal or in several.
About fasting: how effective is fasting for weight loss?
One of the popular weight loss diets is complete abstinence from food or fasting.
A radical rejection of food seems quite logical as a method to effectively solve the problem of excess weight.
But this is not true.
The problem is that fasting leads to a significant decrease ininternal metabolic rate.
According to scientific data, resting metabolism (the energy expended at rest just to maintain the body's internal functions) accounts for the lion's share of calories burned each day: about 70%. Reducing this value significantly reduces the rate of weight loss.
The benefits of fasting for weight loss are a myth.
If the state of starvation continues for several days, the metabolic rate decreases significantly.
Weight loss during fasting is mainly due to a decrease in the amount of fluids in the body. Also during prolonged fastinglose a lot of muscle mass, as the body begins to break down muscle proteins in order 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 weight loss, as it reduces the metabolic rate - the main consumer of calories in the body. Weight is lost mainly due to fluid secretion and loss of muscle mass.