What is the best weight loss diet for you? I weigh out the pros, cons and comparisons as a dietitian!
Whether you’re looking to lose weight, maintain it, or just improve your energy and performance, choosing the right plan for you can be tricky. You can’t pick up a magazine without reading about the latest “hot diet” to try. It can get confusing even for a dietitian like me! To help you wade through the choices and choose the best plan for you, I have compiled a variety of diets, as well as some of their possible pros and cons. This will hopefully help you decide on the best weight loss diet for you.
Since the word “diet” simply just means a way of eating, my suggestion to you is to choose a weight loss diet that you feel you can live with for the rest of your life. And maybe you’ll even find that it’s not about weight loss at all. Love bread? You probably shouldn’t go paleo. On a tight budget? You may want to avoid the commercial diet product programs. Have a family to feed and please? They may hate you if you only eat raw. Whatever you choose to try, I urge you to consider it a lifestyle shift that you and your family can live with happily. This is why I personally practice Mindfulness and a general Heart Healthy diet. I try to listen and honour my body’s unique needs and cravings, while sticking to a general eating pattern that includes a variety of fibre-rich vegetables, fruits and whole grains, lean proteins, and low fat dairy. I feel happy and healthy, so that’s how I know it’s “working” – not necessarily by the number on the scale or size of my clothes. That’s my nutrition “truth” – it’s up to you to find yours and through that, your best weight loss diet.
What’s the Best Weight Loss Diet for You?
Read on, share with your friends, and keep this weight loss diet infographic on hand the next time you find yourself struggling with food. A big thank you to my fantastic nutrition student Katie Brunke for compiling the literature and creating this snazzy infographic!
Updated on November 19th, 2016
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
staps1 says
This is a appealing article by the way. I am going to go ahead Keep up the superior work.
Raquel Britzke says
This is such a helpful guide for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of diet options out there. Your emphasis on finding a sustainable lifestyle change rather than a quick fix is refreshing. I appreciate the balanced approach and the personal insight into mindfulness and a heart-healthy diet. Thanks for sharing!
Christine says
I am so tired of dieting! I always end up finding a nutritionist that blames me for “cheating” and gain and/or not losing weight. I literally for two years did crossfit 6 days a week, had a 1200 cal based diet and still was yelled at by the nutritionist that I “must be doing something wrong.” I have no idea where to start at this point; I don’t know if I react to carbs better that fats, or what my calorie intake should be, etc. I am completely convinced that I will be overweight my whole life.
Samara says
Hi Abbey, love your YouTube channel! A quick question – I have some autoimmune diseases and have chronic pain. I’ve found it very difficult to find a “diet” that works for me. I put that in quotation marks because I don’t really diet, but instead try to be mindful of what I eat. Sure, I love me some ice cream, but I don’t eat it all that much just because sometimes I also DON’T feel like eating it. I’ve gained quite a bit of weight based on my BMI and general feeling, and it really bothers me. I’ve talked to my doctor about this, and his hope is that with new(and more) medications I will have more energy and therefore be able to be more active(it’s worked a bit, but not as much as I wish)! I love how much you talk about intuitive eating and generally follow that as much as I can – I drink coffee, tea, and water and that’s basically it. I tend towards carb-heavy snacks, but I feel I eat generally very healthy. I cook from scratch(no processed foods, or very little), not many sweets, LOVE vegetables and fruits, not a huge fan of meat though I love a good burger. My dad is a pescatarian because of his religion mostly, so I know a lot of ways to make full proteins and live in a vegetarian sort of way. Single mom of 4 kids, so I should be active but instead my energy levels are always down, and the pain sure doesn’t help. What can I do to lose weight without much activity? I wish I could do all of the things I used to be able to do, but I simply can’t do heavy workouts, manual labour, or sports like I used to. What can I do with my diet that will help me lose weight and still feel like I’m enjoying what I eat? I just feel as though I do everything I can to lose weight and still am not getting anywhere. In fact I slowly gain weight seemingly no matter what I do. Any help there? I’m at a loss at this point, and want to change it!
Abbey Sharp says
i hear you. i dont know your health status but i can answer this two ways. 1) if you’re at a healthy weight and you feel good but you just want to lose a few lbs, i might suggest stickign to what you’re doing b/c it sounds like a really healthy place to be. 2 ) if you still want to lose weight (I like to meet ppl where they are), my advice is to find a way of eating that is as healthy as possible while still being enjoyable. so that means different things to different people, but it might mean not drinking every night but maybe just 1-2 on the weekend with a friend, or it might mean having dessert a few times a week but not after every meal. or it may be as simple as aiming to fill half your plate with vegetables at every lunch and dinner.
reubenn says
what a good analysis you’ve done, i’ll try to put it into practice lately just like by hunger anything i can get my hands on, i know you can’t take care of yourself like that, when you really want what you want you can get it, it’s only through your mind ,i would like to recommend you a free recipe book that contains 5 more recipes to accompany a bit.ly/easily_recipes diet, and a course given by an expert nutritionist, you could keep an eye on it while it’s still on sale bit.ly/Course_Diet
Thank you for allowing me the space, and please take care of yourselves in this dark quarantine, I will try to take into account what you have shared with us, tranks
Abbey Sharp says
Hi Reubenn, thank you for your comment <3
Nutrition Mama says
What do you recommend for someone who feels like they need to lose weight? I’ve been trying mindfully eating focusing on healthy Whole Foods but, scale is going up….
Abbey Sharp says
I recommend meeting with a dietitian. They can tailor recommendations to meet your needs
UFO Cotton Candy says
Ketogenic diets are powerful for losing weight and reducing danger factors for positive illnesses. While low-fats diets are traditionally encouraged for those looking to shed kilos, research suggests that keto is, in truth, a superior method to weight reduction.
Abbey Sharp says
I actually have a whole post on keto if you’re interested.
Sarah J. Vallejo says
What’s best, a healthy diet or having an intermittent fasting?
Abbey Sharp says
It all depends on the individual. I believe having a regular consistent healthy diet is the best thing.
Abbey Sharp says
Me too! That’s why I’m here 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
Thank you 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
Awesome
Abbey Sharp says
Thank you!