Diet Plans: Which One Should You Follow?

April 15. 2021

Diet plans are a dime a dozen. Some tout a “how to lose weight fast” approach while others pitch it as a way of life. But how do you know which plan is right for you? Are some better than others? Do some work faster? Does it fit your lifestyle? These are all questions you should be asking yourself when trying to find a diet plan. Here’s a small sampling of popular diet plans to help you decide.

Weight Watchers

Just about everyone is familiar with Weight Watchers. Founded in 1963, there’s a reason it’s still around. It works. Their program is based on a point system where foods are given a point value and you need to stay within your allotted daily points. The plan has evolved over the past few years and is a lot more customized to each person taking your fitness activity, sleep habits and mindset into consideration. You can now use their app to track your food and points as well. They offer several plans through their app ranging from the most basic at $3.22/week to one that includes virtual and in-person workshops at $6.92 week.  

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting, or IF as it is often referred, is currently the most popular weight loss trend. Even doctors are recommending it for their patients who want to lose weight. IF’s principle is simple—you have a period of time that you will fast and a period of time that you will eat. Someone’s fasting period may be 16 hours so they can only eat within an 8-hour time period. Depending on your lifestyle or schedule, you decide what time works best for you. You can opt to fast until noon and then eat up until 8:00 p.m. There are no food restrictions with IF. The idea behind it is that you will eat less in eight hours as opposed to twelve or fourteen hours of the day. Some people even choose to fast for a full 24 hours one or two days a week. 

Macro Counting (IIFYM)

Macro counting, or IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros), has been another hot trend in weight loss. In some ways it is like the point system, but with a bit more specifics and a little more work. Your macros include your calories, protein, carbohydrates and fats. An online calculator, or coach, can give you your macros based on your age, height, weight, fitness activity and lifestyle. Once you have them, you need to meticulously weigh and track your food and drinks (yes…even the milk you pour in your coffee or the ketchup you put on your burger). The goal is to not go over, or under, your macro numbers. A food scale will be your best friend with this plan in order to accurately weigh and track what you eat. You can use an app like My Fitness Pal to keep track of it all or go old school with pen and paper. No foods are off limits as long as you hit all of your macros.

Noom

Noom has started to make a name for itself in the diet industry probably because of its reliance on technology making it easily accessible for people. Registered dietician nutritionists provide eating plans for Noom users. In addition to that, you can log your food on the app as well as set your goals, track your exercise and progress, search recipes and connect with others who have similar goals as you. It can even help you conquer emotional eating and how your emotions affect your food choices. While no foods are banned on Noom, they do encourage eating nutrient-dense foods and use color codes (red, yellow and green) to indicate foods that are better for you. Noom averages about $25 a month with a two-week introductory period that does require a credit card number to begin.

The Ketogenic Diet

No doubt you’ve heard people say they are doing keto, which is short for ketogenic. People doing keto eat a very low carbohydrate, high fat diet. The science behind this is that it puts your body into ketosis so you are burning fat rather than carbohydrates. Interestingly, the ketogenic diet has been successful in treating epilepsy in children. You can find many keto food and drink products in supermarkets these days and there are endless recipes and websites online for those looking for some creative ways to eat on a keto diet.

Now that you see how each of these diets work, how do you decide which one is for you? Consider what each diet entails and whether or not you can realistically follow it for at least a few weeks or months depending on how much weight you want to lose. Some of these plans require you to weigh and track everything you consume which will require some additional work and planning on your part. Will you be able to keep up with that? Another diet requires you to fast for long periods of time. Are you taking any medications that require you to eat first and, if so, will that make fasting more difficult? Other diets require a low carbohydrate intake. Is that something you think you might struggle with or physically cannot do? Some of these diet plans are not free. Does your budget allow for that? And these are only five out of many diet plans out there so if one of these doesn’t work for you, there’s bound to be one out there that does.

Conclusion

If you are more confused than ever, don’t be. When it gets down to it, every diet plan, including these, is about one thing—eating less. They just go about it in different ways. So no matter which one you choose, we at weight loss clinic Chicago assure you that you going to lose weight as long as you properly and carefully follow the plan. How you choose to get there though is completely up to you! 

Author

Nurse Walton

Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Chanay received her Practical Nurse licensure and went to work in clinical specialties such as Home Health, Assisted Living, Long-Term Care and Dialysis Centers. Through this work, she realized the importance of diet, nutrition and weight loss among her patients. This led her to open A Better Weigh, Inc. Medical Weight Loss Center in 2009.