Which weight loss program is right for you?
There is strong evidence that many different types of diets can help people lose weight.
However, some diets can lead to more dramatic weight changes than others. Some diet plans may also provide larger improvements in health indicators, such as blood sugar control and heart disease risk factors, compared to other types of diet.
It’s also important to find a diet that you like and can follow. If you see your diet as a long-term healthy lifestyle change, rather than seeing it as a quick fix, you’re more likely to lose weight and keep it off.
We have ranked the most popular weight loss plans by their effectiveness for weight loss and, secondly, by improvements in health indicators, based on the strength of the evidence to date.
Each diet received a score on a scale of 1 to 5 for its effects on weight loss and for changes in health, with a combined total score of 10. It is important to consider that any scoring system of this nature may involve some level of subjectivity, and the exact scores can, of course, be the subject of debate.
We also describe diets, along with their advantages and disadvantages.
If you’re ready to lose weight and maintain those values, read our detailed review of the 10 best weight loss programs and find out which one is best for you.
1. Keto or very low carb diet
What do we choose as the best diet in terms of weight loss, improved health indicators and sustainability? The keto or very low carb diet.
Basic principles of the keto diet
A ketogenic (keto) diet minimizes carbohydrate consumption, and allows for more generous amounts of protein and fat.
Carbohydrates are found in starches (bread, potatoes, pasta), sweets (cookies, cakes), milk and fruit, among other foods.
On a ketogenic diet, you reduce carbs to the point where our body stops using glucose as a primary source of energy and instead primarily uses fat, either the fat you eat or the fat that’s stored in your body. This state of fat burning is known as ketosis.
The keto diet emphasizes the consumption of adequate amounts of protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese or tofu) to which fat is added, such as butter or olive oil to give it flavor and provide satiety. Vegetables that grow above ground are also included in most meals. Sometimes nuts and small amounts of berries are also included.
How many carbs can you eat to get into ketosis? The amount varies between people. However, in studies, ketogenic or very-low-carb diets typically have less than 50 grams of total carbs per day.
2. Low carb diet
Basic principles of the low-carb diet
A low-carb diet provides between 50 and 130 grams of total carbohydrates per day. It’s more than a keto or very low-carb diet, but considerably less than the estimated 200 to 300 grams of carbs most people eat every day.
A low-carb diet includes all the foods on a keto diet — meat, eggs, vegetables that grow above ground, fats, and berries — plus a few others that are slightly higher in carbohydrates like fruits, carrots, and possibly small amounts of starchy foods, like sweet potatoes.
Weight loss
In a review of studies lasting between eight weeks and 24 months, researchers concluded that low-carb diets often lead to greater weight loss than low-fat diets.
In several of those studies, people who ate low-carb diets without calorie restriction lost more weight than those who ate low-fat diets with calorie restriction.
3. Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting involves going without eating for prolonged periods. It includes time-restricted eating (skipping one or two meals each day) and alternate-day fasting (eating one day normally and fasting or eating too few calories the next).
Unlike other weight loss plans, intermittent fasting specifies when you eat rather than what you eat.
Weight loss
Reviews of studies exploring time-restricted eating and alternate-day fasting have shown that they are as effective or more effective than daily calorie restriction in losing fat and improving health indicators.
A review of clinical studies found that although alternate-day fasting or chronic calorie restriction led to similar weight and fat loss, people who followed alternate-day fasting retained more muscle mass than those who followed a low-calorie diet each day.
Health Benefits
A 2019 review of studies found that intermittent fasting lowered blood sugar and increased insulin sensitivity compared to control diets.
In one study, people with type 2 diabetes who practiced intermittent fasting for 12 months improved their blood sugar control as much as people who followed calorie-restricted diets.
One problem with studies on intermittent fasting is that people are advised to eat whatever they want during non-fasting periods and this could include processed foods high in sugar and other refined carbohydrates.
Regardless of how often you eat, getting adequate essential nutrition — especially protein — and limiting less nutritious foods is important for sustainable weight loss and overall health.
If you’re practicing intermittent fasting, choose nutritious, minimally processed foods when you eat.