Losing weight is no cake walk. Most diets for weight loss are restrictive, counterintuitive, and expensive. And the absurd thing is – after all the sacrifice, money, and anticipation – the weight typically comes back when you stop dieting!
Fortunately, there are a handful of exceptions. The following diets are not comprehensive or sustainable weight loss programs on their own – but they are healthy approaches to weight loss when paired with a holistic weight loss program like Noom. Here are our top 4 diets for a nourishing approach to sustainable change.
The Best Diets to Lose Weight
- The Mediterranean Diet
- A plant-based diet
- Intermittent fasting
- Low-carb diets
1. The Mediterranean Diet
Consisting mostly of healthy, plant-based foods with some dairy, meat, seafood, and poultry, the Mediterranean diet is not overly restrictive or high maintenance. It’s also flexible enough to incorporate fairly easily into your daily cooking and food preparation. The diet also includes poultry, eggs, cheese, and Greek yogurt in moderation, and red meat very rarely. Sweet drinks, added sugars, processed meats, refined grains, refined oils, and other highly processed foods are excluded. (Check out our free, weeklong Mediterranean sample meal plan here.)
The Mediterranean diet can be a wonderful way to begin introducing more whole fruits and veggies, healthy proteins, and healthy fats. It encompasses the traditional foods consumed in countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and is known to result in healthy weight loss. It’s also compatible with various lifestyles and dietary needs.
But generally speaking, the success ends there – once you stop or stray. By adding Noom to the mix, you learn to deemphasize hardline exclusions and focus instead on things like balance, nutrition, your lifestyle, and your relationships with food, all with a coach to help you along the way.
2. A plant-based diet
A plant-based diet consists of exactly what you might guess: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and foods made of these plant-based ingredients. It’s similar to a vegan diet, which is 100% plants. (Some people following a plant-based diet may still eat occasional animal products.)
It is possible to lose weight and get healthy eating a plant-based diet when done correctly. To learn what that might look like, check out our plant-based meal plan! Consider also talking to a Noom coach for guidance before jumping in the deep end. If you’re serious about going plant-based, and want to lose weight for good, you’ll need a good foundation to start with and proper support as you go. Plant-based weight loss is more sustainable when you make sure you’re getting enough calories, vitamins, and nutrients.
3. Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a weight loss method that’s less of a diet and more of a dieting pattern. It involves limiting the time during which you eat to a narrow window – for instance, the 10 hours between 8am and 6pm. This means you’re only consuming calories during a specific timeframe, and deliberately toggling between fasting and feasting.
Some studies associate intermittent fasting with weight loss, improved heart health, and boosted brain health in the short-term. It helps you burn fat more effectively during the fasting period – the hours when your body isn’t consuming or digesting food and has no recently consumed meal to use for energy. Energy is pulled from the fat stored in your body since it’s the only energy source readily available.
Intermittent fasting is not a sustainable option for everyone, but Noom can help you decide and support you through whatever weight loss journey you choose.
4. Low-carb diets
A low-carb diet helps you lose weight by limiting the volume and type of carbohydrates you eat. It emphasizes high-protein and high-fat foods as the main sources of nutrition, while typically reducing grains and starchy vegetables.
When followed correctly, this diet can certainly help you lose weight and inches – but it’s unfortunately not easy to follow for a long period of time. This means the results are quite temporary for most people. Even though low-carb diets are relatively effective for making drastic change, not everyone is able to survive off high-protein meals in a healthy or sustainable way.
As with every other challenging diet, your chances are much better a team of experts at your side. Noom can help you customize the low-carb plan that’s right for you and explore your needs closely, so your fitness, support, tracking, and meal planning are all working together for long-term weight loss.
The best diet of all isn’t a diet at all!
Like we said above, these four diets are some of the best out there for weight loss. But remember, “dieting” is a troubling concept which simply doesn’t work for most people long-term.
If your weight loss solution is focused on rules and restrictions, you’re fighting an uphill battle.At Noom, our approach to weight loss is completely different. We want to help you make lasting change, wherever you are in your journey. That means building a new relationship with food and your own health – one that’s based on abundance, joy, and gratitude. If you’re ready to take action, learn more about how we can help.
