The Top 10 Diets to Help You Lose Weight

There are hundreds of types of weight loss programs available — fad diets, detox diets, raw food diets, low carb diets, high protein diets, and more. For those with specific health problems, there are diabetes diets, low fat and gluten free diets. Choosing a diet is a very personal, individual decision. The challenge is finding the diet that works best for your body, and your lifestyle. Below is our list of Top 10 Diets. If you don’t lose weight with one, try another. One is bound to help in your weight loss efforts.

Top 10 Diets

1. The South Beach Diet restricts the amount of bad carbohydrates and fats, encourages moderate portions, and focuses on healthy eating to help you lose weight.
2. The Atkins Diet has made Top 10 Diet lists since the 1970’s. Almost everyone knows someone who has tried this low carb, high protein diet. The Atkins diet menu is very rigid, allowing few vegetables and no fruit. By cutting out carbs your body is forced to burn its fat for energy. When your body burns fat compared with carbohydrates, you end up burning more calories to help you lose weight quickly.
3. The Cookie Diet is the latest fad diet offering a quick and drastic weight loss. Eat appetite-suppressing cookies throughout the day and a well-balanced dinner in the evening to achieve a weight loss of 12 to 15 pounds in the first month.
4. The Raw Food is a back-to-basics diet that helps you lose weight, feel healthier and more energetic. The diet requires that you eat unprocessed, organic, and whole plant-based foods.
5. The Cabbage Soup Diet gained popularity in the 1990’s, helping dieters lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time. You eat as much cabbage soup as you want. Since the soup is very low in calorie, it is not unusual to experience a weight loss of 10 to 15 pounds during the first week.
6. The Detox Diet helps cleanse your system by eliminating toxic foods from your diet. Drink a lot of water throughout the day. Permitted foods include fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains and rice. Foods hard on the metabolism, such as caffeine and alcohol, must be avoided. Proponents of the Detox Diet claim that here are many health benefits besides weight loss, including improved digestion and a higher level of energy.
7. The Zone Diet claims that by eating a carefully balanced ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats you can achieve well-being and lose weight. By regulating blood sugar levels, to keep the levels of the insulin hormone in a tight ‘zone’, the body burns fat more efficiently so weight loss can be achieved.
8. The NutriSystem® weight loss program provides pre-packaged, nutritionally balanced meals, desserts and snacks to help you lose weight. It offers different weight loss plans and meals tailored to specifically to men, women, diabetics, vegetarians, and seniors.
9. The Medifast diet was one of the first liquid diets to be administered under a doctor’s supervision to patients with severe weight problems. Medifast is no longer just a liquid diet, but has an assortment of low calorie, low fat meal replacement products to help you lose weight.
10. WeightWatchers® is not a diet for those who want to lose weight fast. Rather, it teaches sensible eating so you can lose weight and maintain your weight loss over a long period of time. Its point system assigns point values to foods based on fat, fiber and calorie content. Members attend weekly meetings for weigh-ins and support, and there is also an online plan for those unable to attend regular meetings.

Before beginning any of these Top 10 Diets, consult your physician. Your doctor will be able to help you choose the weight loss plan best suited to help you lose weight.

Understanding Top 10 Diets Recommended Resources:

Program of Northwestern Health Sciences University

Stanford School of Medicine