Today, every 8 of 10 people look forward to losing weight and that too fast. On typing ‘best diet to lose weight fast’ on Google, there will be over 300m results. That’s a lot to go through! Well, it doesn’t work this way. The result you seek is more on your mind and body than on the screen. The harsh truth of weight loss is it needs to be done right for desired results. Simply going on a diet plan is not the solution as there are when you choose one without knowing the details, it can lead to several kinds of health problems like cancer, diet-related illnesses and heart problems.
Don’t worry, we have got your back. Check out the information about the best diet to lose weight fast to make a wiser decision.
Best diet for losing weight fast
To find the best diet for you, it is important to know what is healthy and sustainable for your body.
The Pegan Diet
The Pegan Diet is a combination of vegan and paleo diet, thus the name. It gives you all the essential fibers, anti-oxidants and healthy fats that you get from a plant-based diet and the proteins from a carnivorous diet.
Most common meal: Grilled chicken accompanied by five-colored salad
The concept: The concept of Pegan Diet was brought to the world by Dr. Mark Hyman after he found himself stuck between a paleo and vegan diet advocate during a panel talk. He says, “The best versions of both diets are built into the foundation: eat real, whole food.”
What experts say: Dietitian Priya Tew says, “This diet has lots of positives – we know wholegrains are heart healthy and an important source of fiber. But it also cuts out gluten and restricts all grains, making it unsustainable in the long term.”
The verdict: Even though it is not very popular among groups of people choosing a plant-based diet for ethical reasons, the idea of eating whole food is sound. And when it is a combine two diets, it makes it easier to consume enough vital nutrients and protein. However, it is still restrictive, so make sure you talk to a health expert to know if you are at risk of any nutritional deficiencies.
The Dubrow Diet
Consider it as the 2.0 version of intermittent fasting, just a little more complicated. In Dubrow Diet, there are three different windows – one to help you start, one to help you attain the desired weight and one as your maintenance plan. In this diet, you eat with a 12hour, 14hour or 16hour window, based on the phase you are in. Remember, what you eat also counts. There’s a green light for the list of foods you include in your diet.
Most common food: It depends on the window you are in and the time of the day it is. But, lean protein, high fibers, green veggies and fresh fruits can be your good friends.
The concept: Terry Dubrow was the brain behind this diet, who said, “As opposed to the keto diet that aims to get you to a ketogenic state of using fat as fuel, which isn’t healthy or sustainable in my opinion, interval eating helps you go into a fat-burning state that leads to increased energy and cell renewal – a process called autophagy, the toxin-eating phase.”
What experts say: Based on the results of intermittent fasting, some dietitians supported the idea of the Dubrow diet. But, it might not be a suitable choice for all individuals and its initial stage is too intense as compared to intermittent fasting.
The verdict: As the diet is not a product of health and nutrition experts, the safety of using this diet is not guaranteed. So, if your health and fitness expert doubts the idea of taking up this diet for weight loss, do not try it.
The Carnivore Diet
As it’s evident from the name, this diet is all about meat and animal product. Now, if you are a vegetarian, jump on to the next diet on the list and if that’s not the case, read on!
Most common food: steak
The concept: Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist credited this diet for curing her daughter from ailments like juvenile arthritis, depression and more. However, the diet was majorly popularized by the author of ‘The Carnivore Diet’, Shawn Baker. In the book he says , “a revolutionary, paradigm-breaking nutritional strategy that takes contemporary dietary theory and dumps it on its head.”
What experts say: There were several opposing arguments by health and diet experts who claimed it as a completely unbalanced diet. They said that fruits and vegetables have abundant benefits for a healthy body and evidence claims them as a boon for reducing the risks of cancer, heart issues and gut problems. Why to exclude them completely?
The Verdict: If you are a big time non-beg lover, you can give this a try but before talking about it with an health expert. Eating too much meat and animal products for a prolonged period can invite a lot of health issues.
Carb Cycling
This one is nothing different from its name. On choosing the carb cycling diet, you cycle your carbs very day. On the days of training, you can eat more and on the ones when you don’t workout, you should eat less. It is a kind of nutrient cycling that sets your intake of macros with your training timings.
Most common meal: On days when you eat more carbs, you should eat foods like whole wheat pasta and chicken. While on a low carb day, eat grilled fish with asparagus.
The concept: Liam holmes, a performance nutritionist explains, “It essentially means scaling your carbohydrate intake up and down in accordance with your activity levels.” By using the principles of nutrient timing, he makes CrossFit enthusiast and elite athletes lose weight and get into their perfect shapes before competitions. According to the diet advocate, our body works harder when there’s not enough carbs to use as fuel. This way our body turns into an efficient far burner one reaching the low carbs stage.
What experts say: Many health and fitness professionals argued that it can be a good option for athletes on hard-core training lead to faster weight loss, but carbohydrates being an important energy source should not be restricted. Low levels of carbohydrates in your body can lead to problems like fatigue, headaches and concentration issues. It is important to have the normal levels of carbs your body requires, along with a balanced and healthy diet that includes all groups of food.
The verdict: Carb cycling is an idea of weight loss based on sports nutrition. So unless you are a sportsperson or someone who is on training, do not opt for this diet.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a diet that is not as easy as it sounds – 5:2 diet. It allows you to eat normally for 5 days and fast for two days of the week. Sounds easy? Well, ask that to a person after lunch on a fast day. A fast day includes 500 calories for woman and 600 calories for men.
Most common food: A poached egg and fishcake with asparagus
The Concept: The brain behind 5:2, Michael Mosley claimed that women will lose around 1 pound a week and notice reduced blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and insulin sensitivity.
What experts say: Researchers have been doing a lot of study on intermittent fasting for more than 50 years now and they have realized that there’s no need to restrict our daily energy levels and we can still get a protective effect.
In an animal study, intermittent fasting reduced oxidative stress, visceral fat and cell proliferation, one of the causes of cancer development.
The same study was conducted on humans dividing them into two groups. One group was on two consecutive days of consuming 650kcal, followed by a normal 5 days healthy diet and other on a normal healthy diet of 1500kcal.
The study inferred that the group fasting for two consecutive days saw higher weight loss than the group. It should be noted that participants of the study got great support. So, it is important you talk to a health expert before randomly adapting the diet.
The verdict: Fasting for two days can not only lead to nutrition deficiency but is not possible for everyone. Alternatively, you can try the 16:8 intermittent diet, which asks you to restrict eating for 16 hours of a day. This way you only consume food for 8 hours.
New Atkins Diet
Remember Rachael from the famous American sitcom Friends? It was Atkins Diet that kept Rachael, looking like Rachael from Friends! Well, we have moved on to another version of the 90s diet, which has reintroduced carbs in different phases. It is a polished version of the traditional, ‘eat as much as you want, as long as you don’t eat carbs.’
Most common food: Steak with a spinach side
The Concept: Atkins Nutritional Inc. the brain behind this diet, says, “Every phase of the New Atkins plan is based on proven scientific principles and is a completely safe, natural way to lose weight. Phase one is about transforming your body into a fat burning machine and kickstarting your weight loss. By limiting the amount of carbs you eat to around 20g a day, your body will switch its main fuel source from carbs to fat.”
What experts say: Several experts approved for its quick weight loss benefits. New Atkins diet result in faster weight loss as your body starts using the stored carbohydrates. But, some also pointed out the problems like restricting the amount of daily carbs intake you will lack fibers, vitamin B like, thiamine, niacin and B6. Atkins includes eating food high in saturated fats and such foods are likely to cause heart diseases and increased cholesterol levels.
The verdict: Any diet that suggests restricting a major food group is likely to cause nutritional deficiency. It cannot be a long-term option. You should talk to your health and fitness expert before including this diet in your everyday life.
The Keto Diet
Last but one of the most popular weight loss diet plans, Keto diet or Ketogenic diet aims to bring you in a state of ketosis, a condition when the body starts using ketones as the main energy source in place of glucose. The high fat, low carb and moderate protein diet is one of the favorite of people seeking weight loss, especially in the younger generation.
Most common food: Frilled chicken breasts and vegetables
What do experts say: a professor of neuropharmazology at University of South Florida, Dr Dominic D’agostino says, “’The classic keto diet was very strict and nowadays what’s become more popular even to use from a clinical scenario is called the Modified Keto diet which is more liberal in protein. And that’s generally what people are following for weight loss and energy. That would be roughly 65-70% fat, 20-30% protein with a very small carb amount 5-10%.”
As is the case with Atkins, you will lose weight very fast with keto diet, but it comes with its own share of side-effects. Not many know but the diet is used in medicine, but under complete supervision. When used for a definite period of time, the diet can be extremely helpful to reach the desired weight. It can be a safe process in short to medium term. You might face problems like the ‘keto breath’, a breath when your body runs off ketones. You might also have difficulties working out due to lack of instantly accessible energy.
The verdict: You can try getting on keto for a month or 45 days and analyze the results. However, it is important to talk to a healthcare and dietician, who can give you the right suggestion on following the diet. When set in periods of time, ketogenic diet can be highly beneficial.
The Bottom Line
Want to lose weight fast? Choose one of these best diet to lose weight fast. You can talk to you health expert and start your weight loss diet plan right away. However, make sure that you follow the diet regime properly to get the desired results.
