Juice Diets. Low-Fat Diets. High-Fat Diets. Atkins Diet. Vegan Diet. Paleo Diet. Mountain Dog Diet. All Organic Diet. Twinkie Diet. Fast Food Diet. If It Fits Your Macros Diets. Fasting Diets. Eat only grapefruit and lettuce for 9 weeks diets.
I think you get the idea. There's a lot of diets out there that claim to be the "best" and "most effective" diet for weight loss.
As different and strange as some of them may be, they all have something in common.
And it's THEY WORK.
EVERYTHING WORKS IN THE SHORT RUN.
The one premise all diets work on is calorie restriction, whether you're aware of it or not.
Most of the time, you aren't.
People tend to think there's some magic combination of the foods they're eating, when it actually its more about the foods they're not eating.
Dieters are typically your average sedentary American that consumes a surplus of calories, mostly of the fast-food and cheap meal variety.
If suddenly your Average Joe, or even someone who trains and exercises jumps onto some sort of fad diet then they will absolutely see results.
Clearly its because he went hardcore Paleo and the raw power of the primal lifestyle and the foods only cavemen ate trigger his instinctive senses to burn fat and build muscle! Yes, that must be it! It's science.
Or sorcery. Same shit.
Kidding aside, by completely changing the type of foods Joe ate, he unknowingly began to eat less.
It wasn't because of the types of foods he ate, but because of the calorie restriction and energy deficit he created by alerting the types of foods he ate.
Joe could have have the EXACT SAME results eating the EXACT SAME food he always ate, if he matched the macro-nutrient profiles he used in the Paleo Diet.
It ultimately doesn't matter what type of diet you're on because they will all work.
Sure the type of training (if any) you're doing and the physique goals you have should be large factors when deciding which diet rabbit hole to go down, but in the grand scheme of things it makes very little difference.
I think you get the idea. There's a lot of diets out there that claim to be the "best" and "most effective" diet for weight loss.
As different and strange as some of them may be, they all have something in common.
And it's THEY WORK.
EVERYTHING WORKS IN THE SHORT RUN.
The one premise all diets work on is calorie restriction, whether you're aware of it or not.
Most of the time, you aren't.
People tend to think there's some magic combination of the foods they're eating, when it actually its more about the foods they're not eating.
Dieters are typically your average sedentary American that consumes a surplus of calories, mostly of the fast-food and cheap meal variety.
If suddenly your Average Joe, or even someone who trains and exercises jumps onto some sort of fad diet then they will absolutely see results.
Clearly its because he went hardcore Paleo and the raw power of the primal lifestyle and the foods only cavemen ate trigger his instinctive senses to burn fat and build muscle! Yes, that must be it! It's science.
Or sorcery. Same shit.
Kidding aside, by completely changing the type of foods Joe ate, he unknowingly began to eat less.
It wasn't because of the types of foods he ate, but because of the calorie restriction and energy deficit he created by alerting the types of foods he ate.
Joe could have have the EXACT SAME results eating the EXACT SAME food he always ate, if he matched the macro-nutrient profiles he used in the Paleo Diet.
It ultimately doesn't matter what type of diet you're on because they will all work.
Sure the type of training (if any) you're doing and the physique goals you have should be large factors when deciding which diet rabbit hole to go down, but in the grand scheme of things it makes very little difference.
SO IF THEY ALL WORK, THEN WHY ARE SOME BETTER THAN OTHERS?
Ah, Here's where it gets a bit messy.
ALL diets come down to 2 main factors, which are:
SUSTAINABILITY
ADHERENCE
I'm sure you can think of numerous times somebody you know lost a bunch of weight doing X diet for a short period of time. Maybe they lost 10 pounds.
Maybe 20 pounds.
30 pounds.
But as fast as they shed that weight, it found its way back on just as quickly, if not faster.
Why's that?
Because after such a short (or long) period time of restricting their calories in order to lose weight (which isn't even all body fat), they immediately went back to eating they way they used to eat when they were fatter.
It happens all the time and you've probably seen it.
THE BEST DIETS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE SUSTAINABLE.
What's the point in losing 30 pounds if you're only going to put it back on, plus another 10?
Ah, Here's where it gets a bit messy.
ALL diets come down to 2 main factors, which are:
SUSTAINABILITY
ADHERENCE
I'm sure you can think of numerous times somebody you know lost a bunch of weight doing X diet for a short period of time. Maybe they lost 10 pounds.
Maybe 20 pounds.
30 pounds.
But as fast as they shed that weight, it found its way back on just as quickly, if not faster.
Why's that?
Because after such a short (or long) period time of restricting their calories in order to lose weight (which isn't even all body fat), they immediately went back to eating they way they used to eat when they were fatter.
It happens all the time and you've probably seen it.
THE BEST DIETS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE SUSTAINABLE.
What's the point in losing 30 pounds if you're only going to put it back on, plus another 10?
TODAY'S MOST POPULAR DIETS AND WHY THEY MAY POTENTIALLY FAIL YOU
Paleo Diet:
I'm not sure how this diet became such a fad overnight. It's by no means a NEW diet as the type of foods it advocates have been used by althetes and bodybuilders for decades.
I think the cross fit revolution had something to do with the resurgence. Why they flocked to that specific diet I have no idea because the original Paleo diet plan is not conducive to the type of training CrossFitters are all about.
For those unaware, the original Paleo Diet is based on foods consumed by Paleolithic era homo sapiens.
If you know anything about human sociology, you'd know food was extremely limited to these early humans and what they ate was only ANIMAL MEAT and possibly scavenged for a small vareity of assorted vegitation.
Now if you're looking to get "cross fit jacked", that diet is not going to do it.
They diet has been altered to include potatoes and rice, foods humans have only been eating for a few centuries, so not exactly PALEO. But whatever.
So its sort of transcended from a zero carb diet to a "you can include moderate amounts of carbs" diet.
The diet dictates in order to be effective, only "Paleo Approved" foods should be consumed.
Why It's Effective
The huge benefit of Paleo-type eating is that it's based on eating whole foods and limited amounts of carbohydrates.
For the Average Joe and most overweight individuals, this is EXACTLY the type of eating they need to be doing.
Sedentary people don't need a large surplus of carbohydrates.
That's just asking to be fat.
By eating higher amounts of protein and fat with lower carbs, your body will be leaner with no reason to store excess energy (calories).
How It Might Fail You.
The number one reason this diet may fail is due to ADHERENCE.
Die-hard Paleo Dieters will advocate eating nothing but 'CLEAN PALEO" foods.
This means totally restricting everything like bread, sugar, pastas, fast food, restaurant foods, deserts.
Pretty much food that you see in the real world.
With so much delicious and tempting food essentially bombarding you everytime you drive down the street, it takes a lot of will power to not give in to your cravings.
This can be extremely difficult, especially for first-time dieters.
So sooner or later they'll give into their urges and cravings and typically binge on junk food.
Binging leads to guilt.
Guilt may lead to even more restrictive and excessive dietings.
Which will ultimately lead to another binge.
It's a viscous cylce.
And while the cycle may be manageable for a while, it's definitely not a habit you'd like to sustain an extended period of time.
Paleo Diet:
I'm not sure how this diet became such a fad overnight. It's by no means a NEW diet as the type of foods it advocates have been used by althetes and bodybuilders for decades.
I think the cross fit revolution had something to do with the resurgence. Why they flocked to that specific diet I have no idea because the original Paleo diet plan is not conducive to the type of training CrossFitters are all about.
For those unaware, the original Paleo Diet is based on foods consumed by Paleolithic era homo sapiens.
If you know anything about human sociology, you'd know food was extremely limited to these early humans and what they ate was only ANIMAL MEAT and possibly scavenged for a small vareity of assorted vegitation.
Now if you're looking to get "cross fit jacked", that diet is not going to do it.
They diet has been altered to include potatoes and rice, foods humans have only been eating for a few centuries, so not exactly PALEO. But whatever.
So its sort of transcended from a zero carb diet to a "you can include moderate amounts of carbs" diet.
The diet dictates in order to be effective, only "Paleo Approved" foods should be consumed.
Why It's Effective
The huge benefit of Paleo-type eating is that it's based on eating whole foods and limited amounts of carbohydrates.
For the Average Joe and most overweight individuals, this is EXACTLY the type of eating they need to be doing.
Sedentary people don't need a large surplus of carbohydrates.
That's just asking to be fat.
By eating higher amounts of protein and fat with lower carbs, your body will be leaner with no reason to store excess energy (calories).
How It Might Fail You.
The number one reason this diet may fail is due to ADHERENCE.
Die-hard Paleo Dieters will advocate eating nothing but 'CLEAN PALEO" foods.
This means totally restricting everything like bread, sugar, pastas, fast food, restaurant foods, deserts.
Pretty much food that you see in the real world.
With so much delicious and tempting food essentially bombarding you everytime you drive down the street, it takes a lot of will power to not give in to your cravings.
This can be extremely difficult, especially for first-time dieters.
So sooner or later they'll give into their urges and cravings and typically binge on junk food.
Binging leads to guilt.
Guilt may lead to even more restrictive and excessive dietings.
Which will ultimately lead to another binge.
It's a viscous cylce.
And while the cycle may be manageable for a while, it's definitely not a habit you'd like to sustain an extended period of time.
Low-Fat Diets
This one's a bit newer and gained a lot of popularity in the late 1980's and early '90s.
Suddenly saturated fat became a huge villain and the best thing to eat was carbohydrates.
Everything "healthy" became synonomous with "low-fat".
So frosted flakes cereal? HEALTHY.
Low-fat cookies? HEALTHY.
Baked Potato chips. HAVE AT IT.
Not to say any of those foods are inherently unhealthy, but the labels completely mislead people into creating an image of what they should and should not be eating.
By following a strict low-fat diet, once again you're restricting potential calories.
This has shown to be effective, but mostly in individuals who train with weights or some type of resistance.
This one's a bit newer and gained a lot of popularity in the late 1980's and early '90s.
Suddenly saturated fat became a huge villain and the best thing to eat was carbohydrates.
Everything "healthy" became synonomous with "low-fat".
So frosted flakes cereal? HEALTHY.
Low-fat cookies? HEALTHY.
Baked Potato chips. HAVE AT IT.
Not to say any of those foods are inherently unhealthy, but the labels completely mislead people into creating an image of what they should and should not be eating.
By following a strict low-fat diet, once again you're restricting potential calories.
This has shown to be effective, but mostly in individuals who train with weights or some type of resistance.
How It Might Fail You.
You may have all ready noticed this, but carbohydrate rich foods are delicious.
This makes them extremely easy to over eat.
If you're someone who follows a low fat diet without accounting for calories, you're probably consuming a lot more carbs than you're body needs.
People on higher carb/lower fat diets tend to be more overweight than those who would follow a Paleo-type diet plan or a low carb/higher fat regiment.
Adherence is another issue yet again.
Chicken and rice every day is not fun and it is only a matter of time until you cave in and find yourself at the Chick-Fil-drive through waiting on your fried chicken sandwich and large order of fries.
And once again, sustainability is an issue.
If you do manage to lose a load of weight following a low fat diet, how long do you think you can possibly maintain never eating higher fat foods?
You may have all ready noticed this, but carbohydrate rich foods are delicious.
This makes them extremely easy to over eat.
If you're someone who follows a low fat diet without accounting for calories, you're probably consuming a lot more carbs than you're body needs.
People on higher carb/lower fat diets tend to be more overweight than those who would follow a Paleo-type diet plan or a low carb/higher fat regiment.
Adherence is another issue yet again.
Chicken and rice every day is not fun and it is only a matter of time until you cave in and find yourself at the Chick-Fil-drive through waiting on your fried chicken sandwich and large order of fries.
And once again, sustainability is an issue.
If you do manage to lose a load of weight following a low fat diet, how long do you think you can possibly maintain never eating higher fat foods?
High Fat Diets
It's hard for a lot of people to fathom eating higher amounts of dietary fat to lose body fat.
It sounds counter intuitive to them.
The caveat with eating a higher cab diet means eating a lower amount of carbohydrates.
Sometimes even zero carb.
People have been ingrained with the idea that dietary fat causes high blood cholesterol and heart disease. Both claims have been disproven by the way.
By reducing the amount of carboyhdrates you consume, the body turns to its primary source of energy: triglycerides in the form of dietary fat and body fat.
Over consumption of carbohydrates is the fastest way to increase your body fat. A surplus amount of energy in the form of carbs has no where to be stored other than fat cells once muscle cells and other organ tissue has been filled with carbs in the form of glycogen.
By making your body more adapted to using fat as fuel. the chances of losing body fat is substantially improved.
Why It May Fail You.
I don't think I have to keep on repeating it, but I will anyway.
Eating nothing but bacon and eggs may sound appetizing for a while, but it gets old real quick.
Adherence, yet again, becomes the issue.
After a few months, or even a few weeks of low carbing it can get quite tiresome.
A bad day at work or some frustration can be the tipping point to an all out binge at Krispy Kreme.
(There aren't many things in life as tantalizing as the Hot n Fresh neon sign at Krispy Kreme)
As for sustainability; if you think you can go the rest of your life never eating some awesome birthday or wedding cake, then you're a better person than I.
It's hard for a lot of people to fathom eating higher amounts of dietary fat to lose body fat.
It sounds counter intuitive to them.
The caveat with eating a higher cab diet means eating a lower amount of carbohydrates.
Sometimes even zero carb.
People have been ingrained with the idea that dietary fat causes high blood cholesterol and heart disease. Both claims have been disproven by the way.
By reducing the amount of carboyhdrates you consume, the body turns to its primary source of energy: triglycerides in the form of dietary fat and body fat.
Over consumption of carbohydrates is the fastest way to increase your body fat. A surplus amount of energy in the form of carbs has no where to be stored other than fat cells once muscle cells and other organ tissue has been filled with carbs in the form of glycogen.
By making your body more adapted to using fat as fuel. the chances of losing body fat is substantially improved.
Why It May Fail You.
I don't think I have to keep on repeating it, but I will anyway.
Eating nothing but bacon and eggs may sound appetizing for a while, but it gets old real quick.
Adherence, yet again, becomes the issue.
After a few months, or even a few weeks of low carbing it can get quite tiresome.
A bad day at work or some frustration can be the tipping point to an all out binge at Krispy Kreme.
(There aren't many things in life as tantalizing as the Hot n Fresh neon sign at Krispy Kreme)
As for sustainability; if you think you can go the rest of your life never eating some awesome birthday or wedding cake, then you're a better person than I.
