BEGINNER’S GUIDE: CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIET PLAN FOR WEIGHT LOSS
As much as dieting is a recommended way to lose weight, you shouldn’t just hop on any dieting plan without considering certain factors first.
You can get different dieting recommendations on the internet, but which is right for you?
If you’re just getting started on dieting, this article will help choose the right diet plan that will suit your weight loss journey.
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A DIET PLAN
There are several diet plans, some will help curb your appetite, and others will restrict your calorie intake, and like most people that wish to lose weight, your first instinct might be to go with the diet plan that will help curb your appetite because then you wouldn’t have to worry about eating too much.
However, hold your horses.
Before we get into the different diet plans that exist, it will help to know certain essential factors you should consider before picking a diet plan.
After you’ve gone through these factors, you should be able to choose the right diet plan for yourself
- GOAL: well, if you’re reading the ‘Beginner’s Guide: Choosing The Right Diet Plan For Weight Loss’ which is the title of this article, then obviously your goal is to lose weight. So the question now is, how much weight do you want to lose?
For instance, if you wish to drop a few pounds, then you probably shouldn’t try some intense diet plans, or if your goal is to lose post-pregnancy weight, then you probably shouldn’t take on a calorie-deficit diet plan, because your body will need calories to heal and also produce breast milk.
So, figure out just how much weight you want to drop, and pick a diet plan that will help you drop that, and not more.
- HEALTH CONDITION: this is an important factor to consider when choosing a diet plan, as under certain health conditions, with certain types of diet, you may be doing yourself more harm than good. For instance, people with liver disease are not advised to take on diets like the keto diet, as such an option can result in extra fat in the liver which would only contribute more to liver damage.
Consulting your doctor before picking a weight loss diet could be helpful, so you can carefully go over any medical condition and drugs you take, to determine if it suits your chosen diet plan.
- BUDGET: a lot of people don’t give much thought to this factor. Can you afford the diet plan you wish to choose? Because if you can’t, it’s best to pick one that you can afford because then you’ll be able to keep up with it.
Now you’re probably wondering “how expensive can it be?”
Very! Some diet plans can be very expensive, they’ll require you to change your whole course meal, maybe use supplements or only eat organic foods. This can be healthy, but if you can’t afford it, you can’t keep up.
Evaluate the costs, and pick a diet plan that suits your finances.
- BODY TYPE: there’s no one-diet-fit-all routine, and that’s why you don’t just hop on to any diet plan. Although this factor doesn’t hold for everyone, because for some people, body-type dieting isn’t necessary, while for others, it is.
There are 3 body types: Ectomorphs, Endomorphs, and Mesomorphs.
Ectomorphs are thin, with narrow shoulders and hips, and they have smaller bone structures and fast metabolism, because of this, they can eat more and gain little weight. Most times they are put on a carbohydrate-rich diet.
Endomorphs are said to be soft, round, and with more body fat than muscle mass. It is believed that their metabolism is slow, so they don’t burn calories fast. Therefore, they’re mostly advised to choose a high-protein and fat diet.
Mesomorphs on the other hand have wider shoulders and narrow hips, with low body fat but can lose weight as fast as they can gain weight. A protein-rich diet along with healthy fat and carbs is recommended for people with this body type.
- EXERCISE LEVEL: whatever diet plan you’re choosing; it is wise to factor in your exercise level. How intense is your exercise and is your diet plan providing your body with enough fuel to carry on?
If no is your answer, then you should consider changing that, because if your diet isn’t providing your body with enough fuel to burn, you’re exhausting yourself more than you’re keeping fit and that can be harmful to your health.
- CONSISTENCY: you need to choose a diet plan that you can keep on with for the long term. If the diet plan isn’t flexible and likable to you, you may not be able to keep on with it and when you stop, the weight will likely come back on.
DIFFERENT DIET PLANS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Now that you’ve weighed all your factors, let's introduce you to some of the several different diet plans for weight loss:
MEDITERRANEAN DIET
This is a healthy diet choice, and although it is not specifically a weight loss diet, it has been proven to promote weight loss among other benefits.
It may be said that this type of dieting has its origin among people in countries like Italy and Greece. The Mediterranean diet would require you to eat food rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, nuts, lentils, and olive oil while limiting your intake of refined grains, trans fats, poultry, dairy products processed meats, sugar, and other highly processed foods.
KETO DIET
The Keto diet is an intense form of dieting. It requires that you drastically reduce your carb intake and increase your fat intake instead. Doing this puts your body in a state known as ketosis, that is your body begins to burn fat instead or carbs for energy.
It is a great choice of dieting for diabetics because it can help reduce their blood sugar levels.
It requires that you eat foods like meat, fatty fish, eggs, butter and cream, nuts and seeds, cheese, avocados, low-carb vegetables, and condiments while avoiding sugary foods, grains or starches, beans or legumes, root vegetables and tubers, unhealthy fats, alcohol, low-fat diets, and sugar-free diets.
The Keto diet may be an effective way to lose weight but beware of some side effects such as increased hunger, especially in the first 2 months, decreased exercise performance, poor energy level, and sleep issues. It may also lead to health complications like kidney stones, liver problems, and low levels of protein in the blood.
ATKINS
The Atkins diet is a more consciously designed low-carb diet to help with weight loss. There are 4 phases to this type of diet:
- Phase 1 (induction): during your first 2 weeks of starting the Atkins diet, you’re expected to eat nothing more than 20 grams of carbs per day, eat more fat, more proteins, and more less-carb vegetables.
- Phase 2 (balancing): after your first 2 weeks, you can now slowly include nuts and some fruits in your diet.
- Phase 3 (fine-tuning): when you begin to see significant change on your weighing scale, then you can begin to add more carbs to your diet, but be careful so you don’t go back to your previous weight.
- Phase 4 (maintenance): at this phase, you must have achieved your desired weight loss and have gotten used to the right amount of healthy carbs your body needs, then you can eat just as much.
However, these are not necessary phases, you can skip the first phase or leave all 3 stages and remain in the 1st phase.
With this diet, you’re at risk of constantly feeling tired, constipation, low blood sugar, and kidney problems. If you have heart disease, kidney disease or you’re pregnant, you might want to consider other options.
INTERMITTENT FASTING
Save the best for last. For me, intermittent fasting is the best type of diet plan there is.
You know how you feel grumpy because you can’t eat your favorite food or snacks so you can lose weight?
Well, with intermittent fasting, it’s not really about what you eat, but the time you eat. Intermittent fasting is a diet plan that cycles between the hours you fast and when you eat, and there are different types of it. The most common type is the 16/8 hours fast or the Leangains protocol.
A typical example of the 16/8 hours fast looks like this; you skip breakfast, have your first meal of the day at 1 pm, and your next meal by 9 pm, that’s an 8-hour gap between your first and last meal of the day, and a 16 hours gap between your last meal and first meal of the day.
Another type of intermittent fasting is the 5:2 diet. This allows you to consume only 500-600 calories 2 days a week, and eat normally on other days.
There are other ways you can intermittent fast, but the most important thing is to have an open window to eat at only specific times, and while you’re allowed to eat anything with this type of dieting, it is best you practice portion control. You don’t want to be eating more than you burn, because then, even with dieting, you won’t lose any significant weight.
This may be the most convenient type of dieting.
CONCLUSION
Dieting is great, but not all forms of dieting are made for everyone. Make sure before starting a diet plan to confirm that you have no health condition that could worsen as a result of your choice, and always check your budget. If you can afford it, you can keep on with it.
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