On Episode 3, I wrote about what calories are and how you can apply them to lose weight. This time around I will be discussing different types of diets, and what are the best diets for you.
What is a diet?
First and foremost, what actually is a diet? When it comes to what a diet is, many people usually associate the word “diet” with starving and punishing yourself.
This is in fact not true. Proper nutrition will not lead to any starvation or punishment.
With that being said, in simple non-scientific terms, a diet is when one chooses to eat certain food and exclude certain food from their everyday meals for a particular period of time.
The type of food one chooses to exclude and include is entirely up to their preference and what their body type prefers.
Not every diet will work for everyone, hence there are so many different types of diets. Below is a list of some of them.
Types Of Diets
- Keto
- Paleo
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Blood type
- Low Fat
- Intermediate Fasting
- If It Fits Your Macros
- Crash Diets
- Detox Diets
Keto
A ketogenic diet is a diet that consists of low carbohydrates and high fats.
The reason for the low Carb is that, when you are low on carbohydrates, your body’s glycogen and insulin level drop which in turn uses your body’s stored fat for energy, which then causes fat loss to occur.
To learn about the keto diet in-depth, here’s an article where I explain the keto diet fully.
If you want to lose weight in the best possible way, get your own personalized keto diet according to your food preferences to help you reach your body goals faster.
Paleo Diets
A paleo diet is a diet where you consume natural food only. It is believed to be the diet that cavemen used to consume back then.
The basis of the diet is that if cavemen didn’t eat it then you are also not supposed to eat it.
It consists of unprocessed foods, fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, and nuts. it limits legumes, dairy products, and grains.
Here’s an article that explains the paleo diet in depth.
Vegan Diet
A vegan diet is one that completely eliminates all animal products.
This includes eggs, meat, dairy products. It mostly consists of vegetables and fruits.
The vegan diet will help you to lose weight but I don’t recommend the diet as it has been proven to cause nutrition deficiencies due to it being strictly plant-based.
Read more about the vegan diet in-depth
Vegetarian Diet
A vegetarian diet is where you don’t consume any meat, fish, chicken, or any animals.
Instead of avoiding animal products altogether like the vegan diet, vegetarians are allowed to consume animal products like dairy products, eggs, etc along with fruits and vegetables.
It mostly consists of unprocessed foods.
Read more about being a vegetarian in-depth
Blood Type Diet
A blood type diet is a diet that is based on what your blood type is.
It is usually recommended by doctors to people who cannot lose weight when they consume certain foods.
Type O blood: A high-protein diet heavy on lean meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables, and light on grains, beans, and dairy.
Type A blood: A meat-free diet based on fruits and vegetables, beans and legumes, and whole grains. People with type A blood have a sensitive immune system.
Type B blood: Avoid corn, wheat, tomatoes, peanuts & Chicken. You are allowed to eat green vegetables, eggs, certain meats, and low-fat dairy.
Type AB blood: Foods to focus on include seafood, dairy, and green vegetables. People with type AB blood tend to have low stomach acid. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and smoked or cured meats.
Read more about the blood type diet in-depth
Low Fat Diets
A low-fat diet is a diet where your fats are low, while carbs and protein can be high or moderated according to preference.
This diet is a vice versa of keto but instead of having low carbohydrates, this time you have fat that is low.
Read more about the low-fat diet.
Intermediate Fasting
Intermediate Fasting is when you eat for a period of time and then fast for the rest of the time. The most popular time to intermediate fast is the 16/8.
This is when you strictly fast for 16 hours then have an eating period of 8 hours.
To give an example, say your last meal is at 20h00 the previous night, your next meal will be at 12h00 the next day.
The diet is proven to work as it drops your stubborn insulin level and it is the secret to losing that last bit of stubborn belly fat.
Read more about Intermediate Fasting
If It Fits Your Macros
This right here is my favorite type of diet since it allows me to eat everything that I love as long as I’m at a caloric deficit.
The If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) is a flexible diet that helps you to lose weight while you consume whatever foods you like.
Instead of just counting calories only, this flexible dieting allows you to track your macro-nutrients (Protein, Fats and Carbohydrates) according to your body type as long as you are at a caloric deficit.
What I love about the IIFYM is that it’s not strict as traditional diets and it is very sustainable as it allows you to eat whatever you like.
This in turn makes it a lifestyle that can be maintained instead of just an “on and off” diet.
Read the full guide about IIFYM
Crash Diets
This one is the WORST type of diet you can ever try.
A Crash diet is where you lose a ridiculous amount of weight in the shortest period of time ever. For example, losing 10Kg (20 Pounds) in just a week.
Of course, the weight will be lost but once the diet is stopped, the body will fight back and the weight gain will be even worse than before.
This diet also causes malnutrition to occur and it can also have health side effects as it is not sustainable.
I DO NOT advise you to go through this route if you want to lose weight.
Instead, use any of the sustainable diets above according to what you prefer.
If you want a personalized diet to help you, fill out your body information here to get a diet that is designed for you to reach your weight loss goals.
Detox Diets
This type of diet is usually liked and followed by women who like to do fitness challenges.
It is a diet where you supposedly detox your system.
This can be in the form of fasting, drinking specific liquids or consuming just fruits and vegetables.
It does cause weight loss to occur as it puts the body in a caloric deficit but it’s not advisable.
I also DO NOT recommend this type of diet for beginners because it is not sustainable in the long run as it is just for a certain period of time i.e 7 days, 28 days, 90 days, etc.
Summary
To summarize everything regarding diets is that…….ALL DIETS WORK as long as you are eating at a caloric deficit.
It does not matter what type of diet you choose. Choose one that is SUITABLE FOR YOU, can be sustained, and that you can be consistent with.
Here’s a proven personalized diet that I recommend for you to start out with if you are a beginner.
That’s it for this episode. Thanks for tuning in.
In episode 5, I will be discussing Fitness Equipment that you need to start working out.
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