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 akin to which candies are the most delicious, which country is the best to live in or whose mother is the most beautiful. . . occupying the minds of children of all ages ; ).
No, this is not a hint that the answer does not exist. This is a warning that it goes beyond the specific name of the one-single-best-diet-that-works-for-everyone.
Despite the slightly vague beginning, I promise that below you will still find out which diets are the most effective for losing weight (we will provide a list of the top 5 most effective diets), why there are many of them (and not just one) and what all the "best" have in common".
We will also tell you how the most popular diets today work 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), at their center are individual products (pumpkin, kefir, egg, rice, oatmeal, cottage cheese) or groups of products (protein diet), on some of them 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 with which you would leave here, the name of a specific diet, the best and most effective, would depend only on how convincingly weit was 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 whole variety of existing diets can be reduced to just a few groups based on the principle of their action:
- removing fluid from the body with the help of drugs;
- removing fluid from the body by reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the diet;
- limiting calories by eating the same foods and completely eliminating certain food groups;
- caloric restriction by reducing the amount of food eaten;
- limiting 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 health harm and how easy or difficult they are to follow over time.
Many diets, positioned as the most effective, are very 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 that we speak the same language with each other.
An effective diet can be understood as at least the following:
- a diet that allowslose weight quickly;
- diet that helps you lose weightno harm to healthso thatthe weight didn't come back;
- a diet thatit just helps you lose weight, since many of them don't work at all for some people.
Which one did you come here looking for?
I foresee that the answer will be – everyone. And fast, and harmless, and with long-term results.
Then let's talk about everything in order.
How popular false-effective diets work
Different people have different meanings for the concept of "weight loss". For some it is a decrease in scale readings, for others it is a decrease in the percentage of body fat.
Do you feel the difference?
Weight loss during weight loss does not always occur due to fat: in many so-called effective diets for quick weight loss, weight is lost due to the removal of fluid 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 do somanipulating 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 such dietsdo not give long-term results: The weight comes back very quickly as soon as the "diet" stops.
In addition, long-term adherence to such diets is fraught withvery serious risk of harm to health.
All the most falsely effective diets for quick 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 to health.
About fashionable star popular "super effective" diets
Most popular diets, which are named after stars of show business, the Kremlin and Hollywood, have two common features:
- Theyvery strictly limit the number of types of productsnutrition in the diet;
- they are characterizedvery low carb.
How it works? 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, since the diet becomes monotonous and tasteless.
Why do people gain weight quickly from carbohydrates, but quickly lose weight 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 the energy requirement 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 stores as fat, the location of which is familiar to everyone.
Why does weight loss quickly when eliminating carbohydrates from the diet?
Each gram of glycogen binds several grams of liquid.
If we reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet, then very quickly (within one day) glycogen stores are emptied, the water that was used to store it is removed from the body and body weight decreases.
The vast majority of popular "super-effective" diets that promise quick results are based on removing fluid from the body and strictly limiting permitted foods
The main principle of all correct effective diets
Remember a simple rule: all diets that are based onreducing caloriesdiet, effective for weight loss.
In fact, there are a lot of such diets. Why? Because you can limit calories in a huge number of ways, from inducing vomiting, to accurately counting calories in dishes on a scale, or by strictly limiting carbohydrates and fats in the diet.
Effective from the point of view of the absence of harm to health and ease of adherence for a long time (ideally, throughout life), among them 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 harm to health.
Why is calorie count so important?
Scientists call excess calorie content the main cause of obesity in our time. This is by no means a lack of physical activity, although modern people have indeed begun to move much less.
Look what the researchers of the scientific portal, whose mission is to study the effectiveness of various nutritional supplements and debunk popular myths in the topic of nutrition, say, based on scientific research:
". . .Our body weight is determined more by how many calories we eat per day (from carbohydrates, proteins, fats and alcohol) than what exactly we eat (the nutrient ratio of fats, proteins, carbohydrates).
Eating a lot of calories is the onlyexplanation of the total obesity epidemic today.
The fact that it is the excess of calories in the diet of a modern person that is the main cause of obesity is evidenced 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 losing weight on absolutely unhealthy foods 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, what exactly we eat is important. 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 a long time.
There are plenty of stories on the Internet of successful weight loss on completely different diets. Among them there are deceitful ones, and there are also truthful ones.
Some say that 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 is working.
Not all diets work for all people, primarily because each person, due to his or her individual characteristics, requires different amounts of effort to stick to them.
For those who love meat, it will be incredibly difficult to "sit" on only vegetables, fruits and cereals. But they will undoubtedly like the protein diet of Pierre Dukan or the Kremlin diet, which are essentially 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 tied to this world by taste preferences can test 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, since 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 for a long time, ideally your entire life.
It is impossible to follow for a long time a diet that leads to a state of chronic hunger and nervousness.
That is why very often, after achieving the desired scale readings, there is a return to favorite eating habits and previous weight.
Fat cells are very resilient. They do not die immediately when losing 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 that you can live with for the rest of your life will help with this.
To lose weight permanently, you need to change your eating habits permanently.
Top 5 most effective diets for weight loss
So, the most effective diet is the one that:
- aimed at reducing the percentage of fat in the body, not water;
- limits calories;
- allows you to stick to it for a long time;
- Provides all the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy.
For weight loss, calorie restriction is important, and for health, the composition of foods is important.
The most effective diet for weight loss is 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 best of them is given below.
Low carb diets
Most popular diets achieve calorie restriction by cutting carbohydrates. Of primary importance is sugar and fructose, the excess 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 high in fat, high in 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 diet high in protein (for meat lovers), low in carbohydrates.
- intermittent fasting– along with limiting the amount of carbohydrates, limits 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 fullnessfor 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 kilo of broccoli contains fewer calories than half a kilo 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 accompanied by certain hormonal changes in the body:
- they are involved in the synthesis of serotonin, the so-called "happy hormone" in the brain, which spurs 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 provide 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 surge in the level of insulin in the blood, the task of which is to control blood sugar; after it has completed its work, sugar drops sharply, which also causes a feeling of hunger.
Scientific research confirms thatlow carb dietsone of the most effective for weight loss, since they make you want to eat less, eat fewer calories and are 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 specific times during the day, within an 8-hour window. Why? Because this allows you to maximize the fat burning process.
On this diet, there is no strict restriction on the set of permitted foods: only common foods harmful to weight loss in the form of simple carbohydrates, primarily sugar and fructose, are excluded. This is an 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 weight loss.
Some popular misconceptions about diets
Finally, let’s look at a few popular myths that are often positioned in many diets as 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 in any way increase the effectiveness of weight loss, 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, cakes, sweets. . . if you eat them carefully, observing 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 (either protein, carbohydrates, or fat) is incorrect and is fraught with serious health consequences if followed long-term. "
For weight loss, it is not particularly important whether 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.
Time and frequency of meals does not matter for weight loss
For weight loss, only the total caloric intake 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 is important that you see the same basic principle at the root - it is simply one way to limit and control calories.
If the calculated daily calorie content is 1500 kcal, then in terms of weight loss it does not really matter whether you eat them in one meal or in 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 that's not true.
The problem is that fasting leads to a significant decrease ininternal metabolic rate.
According to scientific data, resting metabolism (the energy spent at rest only to maintain the internal functions of the body) accounts for the lion's share of calories burned every day: about 70%. Decreasing this value significantly reduces the rate of weight loss.
The benefits of fasting for weight loss are a myth.
If the state of hunger 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. Also during prolonged fastinga lot of muscle mass is lost, as the body begins to break down muscle protein in order to provide energy for its most important life functions.
Mild caloric 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 is lost mainly due to fluid excretion and loss of muscle mass.