Every few months there is a new diet everyone is talking about. I talked about this on Ain FM: which diet is the right one?
What the research says
Researchers have compared popular diets head to head many times. In one well known study, people were put on one of four diets with very different rules (Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers and the Zone) for a year. Weight loss was similar across all four. What predicted results was how closely people stuck to their diet, whichever one it was.
A larger trial with over 600 adults compared a healthy low fat diet with a healthy low carbohydrate diet for a year. There was no significant difference in weight loss between the two groups.
So the diet that works is usually the one you can follow for months.
What makes a diet right for you
Your health
If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a thyroid condition or anything else, and especially if you take medication, your diet has to take that into account. Your lab results matter here too.
Your food
Most of us eat with our families, and our meals have bread, rice and a lot of olive oil. A plan that bans all of that will be hard to follow at a family lunch on Friday. A plan that adjusts portions and balance can work with it.
Your day
Shift work, school runs, late dinners and Ramadan all change when and how you eat. A good plan takes your real schedule into account.
Your budget
If the plan depends on food you cannot buy every week, you will drop it.
Signs a diet is not right
- It promises a set number of kilos in a set number of days.
- It cuts out whole food groups without a medical reason.
- It depends on buying special products, drinks or supplements.
- It is the same plan for everyone, whatever their age, health or routine.
- It leaves you hungry, tired or thinking about food all day.
Sources
- Dansinger ML, et al. Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction. JAMA, 2005.
- Gardner CD, et al. Effect of low-fat vs low-carbohydrate diet on 12-month weight loss in overweight adults: the DIETFITS randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 2018.
If you want a plan built around your health and your routine, send me a message on WhatsApp. We can meet at the clinic or online.
This article is general information, not personal medical advice. Talk to a professional before changing your diet, especially if you have a health condition.
