The Best Diet

There are a number of different diets popping up in the news today. Paleo, ketogenic, vegan, low fat, low calorie; the list goes on.

I can say good things about all of these diets, yes, even the low calorie diet, if it’s done right. They all promise to give you amazing results with weight loss, energy levels, and self-confidence. But which one is best?

That is a very simple answer, and I am going to tell you. Brace yourself; your world is about to completely change.

The best diet is the one that you stick with.

40% of people give up on their diet within 7 days. If you are going to go on a diet, you have to develop a mindset of long-term results. Depending on how much you need to lose, it can take a long time. The fact is that you are the only one who can complete your diet; no one can do it for you. You have to develop the goals, the resiliency to food and the will to finish. There is always going to be something to keep you from moving forward. You have to press through if you want to see the results you are seeking.

With that being said, I will give you some pros and cons for some of the popular diets that are out right now.

The Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is all the rage right now. It is a diet that is low in carbs, high in fat and a moderate amount of protein. Instead of using sugar as fuel, on the keto diet, your body uses fat as fuel to burn energy. The dietary fat you consume and your bodies own fat cells become the fuel that your body uses for energy. This is a great diet for fast weight loss without a lot of rules and counting.

The amount of carbs allowed on the ketogenic diet varies; some will say less than 50g of carbs allowed per day with more extreme cases being less than 20g carbs per day. These numbers are for net carbs: carbs minus fiber or sugar alcohol. It is also said that you want 75% of your calories from fat.

Many people have different approaches to the ketogenic diet, this being one of the weaknesses of the diet. A lot of people focus on animal proteins like beef, butter, eggs, bacon, ghee, and so on. These foods aren’t necessarily bad but its important to balance them with vegetables. Most green leafy vegetables are low in carbs and high in fiber, making them an important addition to the ketogenic diet. Bulletproof coffee is also a great tool to utilize on the ketogenic diet.

Overall, I would say this is a diet that many people could find enjoyment doing. I would not recommend it as a long-term lifestyle but can be great for some fast weight loss. It is important though to slowly add back the carbs as not to gain back weight too quickly. I would also not recommend this diet if you have issues with constipation or digestion in general. Other than that, there are some great resources online on how to be successful on this diet as well as recipes and tips for eating at restaurants.

The Paleo Diet

The paleo diet is similar to the ketogenic diet but not as restrictive. This diet focuses on eliminating processed foods and eating only foods that would have been available to our ancient ancestors. This would include avoiding refined sugar, grains, dairy, beans/legumes and refined vegetable oils. Because of this, it tends to be a lower carb and higher protein and fat diet.

This is probably the diet that most people will have an easy time with. You can focus your eating on healthy, organic meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, and healthy oils like olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.

There are some drawbacks to this diet as well. One of them being that, like keto, it usually has an emphasis an eating animal proteins. Again, there is nothing wrong with this if done in moderation. Also, it restricts beans and legumes, which have some great health benefits.

This is probably the diet I stick closest to. I just eat minimal amounts of protein and instead eat low glycemic legumes, like lentils or chickpeas. This diet may not make for as quick of weight loss but it would be healthier in the long term than keto I think.

The Vegan Diet

The vegan diet is a diet void of any animal products like meat, dairy, and even honey. Many vegans choose to eat this way for the health benefits and some are in it to promote animal rights and to help the environment. Whatever the reason, the vegan diet can be a great way to lose weight and get in a lot of foods that are high in nutrients.

To be successful on a vegan diet, you want to focus on eating whole foods. Yes, even Coca-Cola can be considered a vegan product. To lost weight fast on a vegan diet, try to limit your fat intake and feel free to eat whatever else you want, as long as it is plant based. With the high amount of carbs on a vegan diet, lowering the fat will help to balance out your calories and allow your body to focus on the way it metabolizes your food. This diet is easy if you don’t want to do a lot of counting.

This diet has some drawbacks as well. Without eating animal products, it can be difficult to get enough vitamin b12. There are some foods that have it, like nutritional yeast and there are many supplements available. Also, some doctors will say that the fat and cholesterol in animals can be beneficial to the human body. I myself would do more of a vegetarian diet, allowing eggs or butter but staying away from other dairy.

This diet can be very beneficial for people with digestive issues like constipation or low stomach acid/indigestion. I have done it myself and have had great results.

Low Calorie Diet

A low calorie diet restricts the amount of calories you eat in order to burn fat quicker. It is said that you have to burn 3000 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. So cutting out and excessive amount of calories can result in quick weigh loss. The average daily intake for this diet seems to be around 1200 calories. I have see some diets go as low as 500 but that seems too dangerous to me.

I would not recommend this diet, as most people tend to gain weight back quickly as soon as they start adding more calories back into their diet. There are some better approaches to a low calorie diet, one of them being exercise. Eating a moderate amount of calories and adding daily exercise can help you to burn fat faster, without depriving yourself of the food that you need for energy.

Also, incorporating fasting along with a low calorie diet can help you to lose weight, as you will be burning fat during the fasted state. I will say more about that in another post though.

Final Thoughts

Dieting doesn’t have to be hard; it can be fun making new recipes and trying out new foods. It can take time to adjust your palate to different foods, but when you do, going back to the old, unhealthy, processed foods can begin to taste bad. Your body also will also react in different ways than you have experienced before; that means you are becoming healthier!

As I said before, the best diet is the one that you can stick with. This is less about a diet and more about developing a healthy lifestyle. I have laid out some great options here, hopefully the information I provided made of these options sound enjoyable to you. You don’t want to be miserable doing a diet, which would make you less likely to succeed. There are countless resources on the Internet for each of these diets, I mainly wanted to highlight each one and point out the strengths and weakness in order to help you find one that can work for you.

Best of luck to you as you navigate your diet and I pray that you will experience the results you have always wanted.

Adam Zink