Top 5 Trending Diets: Hit or Miss?

Top 5 Trending Diets: Hit or Miss?

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. And so it’s no surprise to find many people trying out the latest trends in dieting.

But with so many options to choose from, it’s not easy to find a program that works. When it comes to nutrition, one size doesn’t fit all and this is something you need to keep in mind when considering a food program.

If you want to achieve success with any diet plan, you need to find one that customized for you and your lifestyle. So, here’s a look at the top five trending diets.

Are these diets a hit or a miss?

1. New Atkins Food Therapy

The Atkins feeding plan is a low carbohydrate dining plan recommended for weight loss.

Promoters of the food therapy argue that one can shed weight by consuming protein and fats while avoiding foods rich in carbohydrates.

According to Authority Nutrition, 23 studies have been conducted that prove the effectiveness of lowering your consumption of carbohydrates when you want to lose weight.

The regimen has also been shown to improve your blood sugar and is recommended if you want to control type 2 diabetes.

Despite the high fat intake, this weight-loss plan doesn’t raise your bad cholesterol.

The number one reason why a low-carb nutritional therapy is so effective when you want to lose weight is because when you reduce your consumption of carbohydrates and consume more proteins, you can control your appetite and you end up consuming fewer calories.

Benefits

Low-carb dining also provides the following benefits:

  • Reduces harmful abdominal fat
  • Lowers fat molecules in your blood
  • Manages blood sugar and insulin levels
  • Increases the good cholesterol
  • Lowers blood pressure

 Side-effects

However, in the initial phase of such a regime, you can suffer from side effects such as:

  • Headaches
  • Weakness
  • Constipation
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness

Sharon Osbourne used the Atkins program to shed 23 pounds and Kim Kardashian used it to lose her post-baby fat. Sharon and Kim are just a few top celebrities who’ve endorsed this diet trend.

Despite the initial side effects, we think this one is a hit.

2. GOLO

The Golo diet a weight loss plan that helps eliminate insulin resistance, shed belly fat, and improve overall health.

The program also helps reduce chances of developing hypertension.

It’s a 30-day program that was developed by bestselling author Keith Ablow in conjunction with a group of doctors.

Guaranteed to work, it’s fully customized to deal with weight loss requirements.

According to the Golo diet plan reviews, if you need to shed ten or fifty pounds, this food program is highly recommended to address your specific needs.

It consists of three parts:

  1. a) Release Patented Supplements
  2. b) Metabolic Fuel Matrix
  3. c) GOLO Roadmap

The Release Patented Supplements are an intervention where you are provided with a supplement formula to control your hormones and release fat.

You will also be provided with a meal plan, which helps you to use your meals as fuel while measuring their metabolic effect on your body and ensuring you avoid overeating.

The third part of the program is a roadmap, which involves tips and tricks for ensuring that you stick to your regime.

You also have a chance of interacting with other members using the same program.

Being developed in conjunction with a group of doctors, controlling so many health variables while keeping an eye on your daily lifestyle needs, we believe this one is another hit!

3. Paleo

Paleo is based on copying the way cavemen must have eaten: plenty of meat, fish and fresh fruits and vegetables.

It also means eliminating dairy, sugar and processed foods.

Studies show that a Paleo regimen works and it consists of foods that you can hunt and fish, including meat, poultry and seafood, and food that you can gather, including fruits, vegetables, eggs and nuts.

Back to basics, baby! Don’t you like the sound of that? We sure do!

This diet plan is considered to be the healthiest way to eat because it’s the only nutritional approach that works with your genetics to help you stay lean, strong and energetic.

Eliminating refined foods, sugar and trans fat from your foods is recommended because it will help you avoid degenerative diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Eating lean proteins will support strong muscles and healthy bones. Hell yeah!

It’s also great for your immune function!

You also need plenty of fruits and vegetables because they are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients, which have been proven to lower your risk of developing degenerative diseases (again, cancer and diabetes).

Benefits

Paleo provides the following benefits.

  • It’s a clean nutritional therapy without additives, preservatives or chemicals
  • Fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds provide anti-inflammatory benefits
  • Increasing red meat in your cuisine means more iron
  • Helps you to lose weight
  • Keeps you satisfied between meals

 Drawbacks

However, Paleo can have the following drawbacks

  • It can be expensive
  • It eliminates grains and dairy, which are also essential for good health
  • It excludes beans, which makes it difficult for a vegetarian

 

Amongst the celebrities who follow the Paleo food plan are Jessica Biel, Megan Fox and Matthew McConoughey.

While it’s pretty expensive, we love it.

Are you ready to say goodbye to that wobbly belly fat?

Hit. Hit. Triple hit!

 

4. Ketogenic Nutritional Therapy

Ketogenic is similar to a strict low-carb program, like the Atkins or low carb, high fat regime.

It involves drastically lowering your consumption of carbohydrates and replacing it with fat.

When you reduce your carbohydrate intake, your body goes into a metabolic condition known as ketosis.

For your body to get to this condition, you need to lower your daily consumption of carbohydrates to between 20-100 grams a day.

Ketosis is a natural process that your body initiates to help you survive when food intake is low.

During this state, you will produce ketones, which is a product of liver fats being broken down.

Benefits

When you have optimal ketone levels, you can enjoy numerous health benefits, including weight loss and mental and physical performance benefits, but this happens once you get the hang of any diet.

Other benefits of a Ketogenic recipe include:

  • Control of blood sugar
  • Improves cholesterol and blood pressure
  • Fights insulin resistance

 

Drawbacks

  • Not very adapted to lifestyle – good at losing weight, bad at losing body fat
  • Not the best solution for athletes, because of the lack of carbs

 

Sorry to say this one is a major miss for us.

We crave enough without the help of other stressor diets, thank you very much.

5. 5:2 Food Program

Rounding off the top five diets is the 5:2 nutritional therapy.

It is based on a principle known as intermittent fasting, which involves eating normally for five days a week and then fasting during the other two days.

It is a part-time regimen and can allow you to indulge in chocolate cake while still managing to lose weight – but really, careful with these cheat days.

Benefits

The benefits of this program include the following.

  • It’s easier to stick to
  • It can lead to greater reduction of body fat
  • Helps combat insulin resistance

 Cons

  • You can feel dizzy if you skip meals
  • One can have difficulties sleeping
  • Dieters are still required to choose healthy foods and remain physically active

While Jennifer Anniston, Miranda Kerr and Philip Schofield are some of the celebrities practicing the 5:2 eating program, we’re not great fans of this one. It’s somewhere between a hit and a miss.

Your choice with this one.

So, these are the latest five trending nutritional programs for losing weight and keeping fit we put under the scope. Based on their popularity, the many people using them and the impact of their drawbacks, we took our pick.

Now it’s your turn.

Let us know if you’ve tested one out and what made you stick to it or quit it!

 About the author:

Mike Jones is a polyvalent writer who’s highly interested in the science behind a healthy living. “The body is our temple, and I’m obsessed with discovering it.”, says Mike. On his website, DefendYourHealthCare.us, you can find all the necessary information about a healthy life.