Which Top Ten Weight Loss Diet Plan Is Right For Me?
Knowing which top ten Weight Loss diet is the right one for you doesn have to be overwhelming. There are so many weight loss diet programs being "peddled" over the internet, the confusion is enough to make you not want to try any of them! Of course, this only leaves you feeling miserable about your body and stuck with indecision.
Clearly, inaction isn't the answer, either. So what is? This article will answer this question very clearly.
While our bodies aren't so rigid that only one approach can work to get rid of stubborn body fat, there are unquestionably weight loss diet programs with much higher success rates than the others. If properly followed, the low-calorie lifestyle is among the most effective diet models of all time. But there are a few others that produce consistent, predictable results as well.
Here is a list of the top 3...
1. The Paleo, or "Caveman" Diet. This is basically the process of eating nothing but natural food, including fruits, vegetables, meat, raw nuts, sprouts, etc. You basically eat the way our ancestors ate... you know, back before obesity, heart disease, and cancer were all just a way of life. Also look into "the Diet Solution Program."
2. The Raw Food Diet. Adhering to this lifestyle is akin to a person joining a Buddhist monastery. It is all or nothing, and you must commit yourself to it 100% - virtually turning it into a major part of your identity. This dietary lifestyle consists of consuming ONLY uncooked produce. Raw nuts, seeds, cold pressed oils, fruits, vegetables, and fresh herbs will pretty much make up your entire diet. Fresh squeezed juice is commonplace with this diet, as are blended sauces, dressings, and dips. I recently saw one that consisted of tomato, avocado, basil, and jalapeno. It was used as a dip for raw broccoli.
If you want to go extreme, and lose A LOT of weight, this may be a lifestyle plan worth considering.
3. The Mediterranean Diet. This is a lot like the Paleo Diet, but with a more limited menu. This diet is comprised mainly of healthy fats, lean protein, and fresh produce. Chiefly, this weight loss diet relies heavily upon olive oil, fish, and crisp greens. I would say the intensity of this diet falls somewhere between the first two.
You really can't go wrong with any of these 3 eating plans.
By far the Paleo Diet and Diet Solution Program are the easiest to stick with long-term, while the Mediterranean Diet is considered by many to be the healthiest of these three options. Supporters of the Raw Food movement would argue with this, however, claiming that animal products and cooked foods lack the enzymes and electrical output necessary to live at the very highest level possible.
Whichever weight loss diet you choose, please take the time to discuss your choice with a health care practitioner you trust, just for extra piece of mind and maybe even some really good advice that can help you get even greater results.
Here are the top ten weight loss diet
The Atkins Diet
Dr. Robert Atkins, MD, proposed a view that bears some similarities to the Dukan diet in regards to his opinion that consuming more protein will help people control their weight. There are, however, a few fundamental differences.
Dr. Atkins reasoned that a lot of our problems came from consuming too much sugar. He notes in his book, Dr. Atkins� New Diet Revolution, that - many years ago - people used to eat plenty of meat, usually including fat, without as many cases of cardiac problems, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. He points to sugar in all its forms as the culprit.
Considering the fact that there is sugar in just about everything you buy nowadays, from catsup to bread, there�s some potential validity to his claim.
The Atkins diet is based on creating a shift in the digestive system - away from looking for "fast, easy energy� (sugar), towards more protein and fat, and some of the less refined starches. Since digesting the protein and fat is harder work, your body would normally keep asking for sugar. If, however, you cut the sugar drastically, your body will eventually adapt to it, and "accept" that it now has to work harder to obtain its energy.
As such, the Atkins diet has you cutting all sugar and carbohydrate consumption to a minimum - even curbing the sugar contained in some fruits and vegetables. Once the sugar levels in your system drops below a certain point, and your body "accepts" it, all cravings for sweet stuff drop off dramatically. Additionally, you will find that you don�t really feel hungry - you will simply feel that your body needs nourishment, or feels low on energy.
You are also required to cut out all refined starches like pasta and other items created from white flour. You are expected to eat more protein, including fat. The reasoning is that once your body starts processing fat as a source of energy, it will also start eating away at your bodily reserves, and simply excrete the excess sugar in your body's waste. As such, you are not supposed to develop any problems with cholesterol.
Unfortunately, the Atkins diet holds some very real drawbacls: first of all, during the initial phase you consume mostly meat and fatty products - and if you neglect to consume sufficient amounts of fiber with it, you can develop constipation. Secondly, the issue of fat being removed from the system and not causing any fatty deposits or cholesterol is still under debate, with many well-respected doctors arguing against it.
The Dukan Diet
The Dukan Diet is the brainchild of a French doctor, Dr. Pierre Dukan, MD. Around a decade ago, Dr. Dukan revealed his proposed eating plan, and it took the world by storm. While it�s quite simple in theory, the execution is a little more complex.
The Dukan diet claims to put you in a position where you can eat anything you like for the rest of your life after you pass through the initial phases. Many people, including some well known celebrities, swear by it, and use it to maintain their perfect figures. It�s rumored that Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, used the Dukan diet before her wedding to Prince William.
During the initial phase - labeled the "attack phase" � you are restricted to lean meat. The reason for this is simple: Protein is the hardest of all the food groups to process internally, and thus yields the smallest number of calories processed and digested, relative to the amount consumed. By doing this you will force your system to work harder to digest its food, and speed up your metabolism drastically.
During the next phase, labeled the "cruise phase", a number of additional foods - mostly vegetables - are allowed. While these are a little easier to digest, your body will still not be able to extract much in terms of caloric intake, and will still need to work hard, metabolically speaking.
During the third phase, or the "consolidation phase", still more foods are allowed. While some of these foods are easier to digest and absorb, your body's metabolism has at this point been sped up so much that the other foods don�t really pose a problem in terms of weight gain.
During the final phase - referred to as the stabilization phase - as strange as it might sound, you can eat what you like. The only requirement is that you have to revert back to lean meat for one full day of every week and try to keep the consumption of rich foods within moderate limits. Keeping up this pattern will keep your metabolism running at peak levels, and allow your body to cruise through the challenges thrown its way during the other days of the week.
Theoretically, it�s brutally effective. On the negative side, however, you will have to watch out for possible constipation - especially during the first week when you don�t consume any fiber. To help combat the issue you will need to consume as much water as possible. Also, you can get bored of eating a restricted diet during the initial phases.
Additionally, it can become quite expensive - especially if you have a healthy appetite!
The GI Diet
The GI Diet was originally developed by a Frenchman by the name of Michel Montignac. While struggling with his own weight, he started doing research, trying to figure out exactly why people gain weight.
His research led to some very interesting figures:
Of the study population, only about 15% ate too much, while almost half of them ate less than the average person!
This ruled out the common belief that obesity was the result of over-eating in general. Eventually, Montignac started exploring the foods those overweight people ate and came to the conclusion that their eating habits all shared one thing: foods with a high glycemic index, or GI.
The glycemic index indicates the ability of any food substance to increase the levels of your blood sugar - which in turn will trigger increased insulin production. High GI foods contain carbohydrate types that are broken down very quickly, and then cause a spike in your blood sugar. On the other hand, low GI foods contain carbohydrates that take some time to break down into components that your body can absorb, and the energy is thus available over a longer period of time.
Pasta, for instance, is a low GI food - and athletes from all over the world have claimed for many years that eating pasta before an important event will give you sustained energy when you need it (even before its low GI properties became common knowledge).
High GI foods - giving a spike in blood sugar levels - eventually cause the excess sugar to be stored away as fat. Additionally, the "availability of constant easy energy" means that your body has no need or desire to work on breaking down and excreting your existing fat reserves even though they are not really necessary.
As such, the GI Diet simply advocates that you switch to a diet containing mostly low GI foods. While it might require a bit of self discipline at first, there are actually a good number of edible and tasty foods that you can consume and enjoy.
Ironically, GI food charts on the Internet mostly agree that plain chocolate has a relatively low GI, while rice cakes (advocated as �diet food� by many) has a very high GI. Additionally, some foods (like carrots) have a low GI in raw form, but become high GI foods when cooked.
It could take a while to figure out which foods actually fall into which categories. While there are many GI food charts on the Internet, many of them disagree about the GI qualities of specific foods, leaving you to wonder which one is right, and just what the heck it is you need to omit from your diet.
Jenny Craig Diet
Jenny Craig is a major player in the diet-program industry. They are owned by Nestle and, according to their website, have worked with millions of people.
The two main options you get with this program are to do it at home or in a center. There are centers all across the country where you can meet with a consultant who will guide you through the program.
Once you decide where you will do the program then you will be assigned a consultant. That consultant is your coach who is there to support and motivate you through the program. You may remember the tagline in many of their commercials that says �Have you called Jenny yet?�. In this program you are supported by weekly meetings with your Jenny consultant so you never get off track.
There are three Jenny Craig programs:
1. Jenny-Set-Go � This program is for people who have a little weight to lose and want to try Jenny.
2. Jenny Premium Success � This program is for those who need the extra motivation and rewards while they work to achieve their goals.
3. Jenny Metabolic Max � This program is for the person who's motivated by tracking calories and who's ready to kick it up into high gear.
Jenny Craig offers no shortage of tools available online to get you going, too. Here is what they offer:
For consultation clients there is a weekly menu planner.
An online journal is available to track your feelings, goals and successes.
An activity planner is provided to help keep you motivated and moving.
A progress tracker will show you where you and where you're headed.
The cost of this program is difficult to figure out. Even searching through the FAQs won't get you any solid answer except �It depends on the program you choose.� and they also suggest it's more cost-effective than hiring a nutritionist and a personal training (those were your next choice, right?).
Also, it's important to mention Jenny Cuisine. This is food from Jenny Craig that you will be buying to eat during the program. As you go through the program, the goal is to transition off this food to eating your own foods.
Overall Jenny Craig seems like an involved program to get into and to get out of. With it's weekly consultations, it's specialty foods and it's multiple options this program probably isn't for everyone. It may be a good program for someone who just can't or won't do a program on their own and really needs the extra push of a consultant by their side throughout the process.
The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean region itself is vast, encompassing many countries, lifestyles, eating habits, and cultures. As such, it would be difficult to say that the diet is representative of the whole region, or that it comes from one specific region.
With that being said, it�s a known fact that people from Greece and Italy (and some other surrounding countries) have fewer medical problems per capita - like hypertension, diabetes, cardiac problems, etc. When researchers first noted this trend, they started comparing lifestyles and eating patterns - and the latter turned up a number of interesting facts. Eventually, the Mediterranean Diet was born; due to its simplicity and flexibility, it now remains quite popular.
The Mediterranean Diet advocates an eating pattern containing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, fish (for a good amount of Omega-3 fatty acids and Iodine), a lesser amount of white meat, and as little red meat as possible. Additionally, it includes foods rich in fiber (plenty of whole grains), and allows for the moderate consumption of wine. Medical research has long ago proven that the moderate consumption of wine can be beneficial to those trying to prevent cardiac problems and hypertension.
Oil can be consumed in abundance - as long as it�s unsaturated oil - preferably olive oil. This is in sharp contrast to most other traditional diets where the intake of fatty substances is limited as much as possible.
Whereas other diets expect you to pay attention to the size of your portions, and expect you to consume everything in moderation, the Mediterranean Diet is rather nonchalant about the total amount of food eaten. As long as you consume the right percentage of each food group during any meal, the size of your meal or portions is irrelevant.
Additionally, people from the region tend to drink large amounts of water due to the heat. Considering the benefits of drinking healthy amounts of water daily, it�s easy to see how all the factors combined can aid their longevity.
Lastly, the Mediterranean Diet advocates the consumption of nine servings of fruit and vegetables each day. The common belief in the western diet industry is that four to six will suffice - so this is a marked increase from traditional nutritional wisdom. The additional fiber will definitely aid the digestive system, and help the body to cleanse itself - almost like a constant detox process.
On the whole, this plan medically sound, except for one thing: excessive consumption of whole grain products can increase blood sugar levels - and as such the possibility of potential diabetes exists for people indulging in large portions regularly.
Weight Loss Diet
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