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Once an individual decides to lose weight he/she often faces the dilemma of determining what type of diet plan to follow to assist with the weight loss. If one turns to the Internet to research different diets plans the list that comes up will be pages long and likely include plans such as the grapefruit diet, chicken soup diet, chocolate diet, cabbage soup diet, flat belly diet, cheater’s diet, and yes…even the baby food diet. With all of the diet plans out there, one cannot help but be skeptical and confused as to what is the right plan for him/her. Hopefully this blog will help clear up some of the confusion regarding diets.

First, let’s start by clarifying that any diet that decreases your caloric intake relative to your output will result in weight loss in the short term. The trouble for most people is maintaining these changes. For instance, you can lose weight by eating only chicken soup, cabbage soup, or baby food. With all of these diets the amount you consume will be less than what you were normally accustomed to eating and can result in weight loss. However, how long can you follow the diet – how many weeks of eating cabbage soup can you tolerate before you find yourself quitting the diet in boredom and/or frustration? Once you quit the diet, then what? Most likely you will revert to your old way of eating since the diet plan has done nothing to instill new habits. The problem with most diets is that they cannot be maintained for prolonged periods of time, they do not teach the individual how to follow a balanced way of eating, and they do not stress the importance of exercise.

When evaluating a diet plan I recommend individuals keep the following key points in mind. First, I suggest that you reject programs that promise quick, dramatic weight loss (i.e. on this diet you can lose 10 pounds in the first week). It took time to put the weight on, likely several decades, and it will take time to lose the weight. A healthy rate of weight loss is approximately 1 to 2 pounds per week. There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. Thus, theoretically to lose a pound per week one needs to create a 500 calorie deficit per day, which can be done by decreasing intake, increasing activity, or ideally through a combination of both. Programs that advocate drastic cuts in calories to achieve large calorie deficits not only greatly decrease the variety of your diet, but they also increase your risk for vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

Second, I recommend that you avoid diets that advocate unbalanced ways of eating or severely limit your selection of food (i.e. cut out an entire food group). Diets with many restrictions tend to have very high drop-out rates and as mentioned above increase your risk of a nutrient deficiency (i.e. calcium, iron, zinc, Vitamins A, C, E).

Finally, think twice before following a diet that claims to be based upon a secret, a newly discovered magical food/drink, or requires the purchase of special supplements. Weight loss is not a secret – creating a caloric deficit is the key ingredient to all diet plans. The difference is how the diet plans advocate creating that deficit. If the diet plan requires the purchase of special food products or supplements, consider before you start what you will do once you go off the diet. Are you setting yourself up for a situation where you go off the diet and regain all the weight you had lost plus some?

My best advice when choosing a diet plan is to find one that advocates following a balanced diet and emphasizes the importance of physical activity. In addition, the diet plan should encourage tracking your food intake to help keep you accountable to the plan. Of course, if you want an individualized plan customized to your specific needs, I recommend that you meet with a Registered Dietitian who can help you to accomplish your weight loss goals.

So…if you are looking to lose weight, hopefully this blog will help steer you in the right direction. Better to do a little research prior to starting a plan than to go down the wrong path and end up greatly disappointed by the outcome.

Food for thought until next time…