When it comes to losing weight, figuring out the best diet can be challenging. With so many possible weight loss options, you may find it hard to know where to start. Each diet has its own pros and cons, so it is crucial to know what diet will best suit your lifestyle and preferences. But before you jump on the best latest dieting trend, you should review whether diets really work.
Diets of the Past
Perhaps you have been on the planet long enough to remember some popular best diets of the past? Popular diets from our 20s, 30s and 40s, include:
Some of these dieting plans use science and very restrictive types of food combinations in order to accelerate weight loss.
Others are simply fad diets that encourage crash dieting or super-fast approaches to weight loss by severely restricting intake. You can lose weight on these restrictive diets, but it’s often hard to maintain weight loss over time. And some “Yo-Yo dieters” find extreme eating restrictions mean they gain more weight over time.
Severely restrictive eating plans or ‘crash diets’ often result in massive gains. These ultimately dwarf the weight losses that occur while you’re on the initial plan.
It is usually better to change your lifestyle rather than to go radical on a diet plan. However, some people may feel they need an extreme eating regime to kick-start their weight loss goals.
Do Diets Really Work?
What is the success rate of the best popular diets? Research reveals that 2 -5% of people who start a diet will keep the weight off. There is also data that supports the medium to long-term success of diets that instil a new approach to eating.
Sensible but healthier eating as a lifestyle, not a diet plan, instills a nutritional shift in the consumption of calories. This can help you maintain longer-term weight loss that might allow you to sustain your healthier weight and BMI. It can also help you benefit from the health benefits that come with more nutritional eating.
Eating well doesn’t mean you can’t occasionally indulge in your favourite treats. But daily habits are much healthier when they are sustained over time, rather than short bursts of severe diet restriction. This means avoiding junk foods, processed foods, sugars, and entire food groups such as carbohydrates.
Some diets may be effective for short-term weight loss. As a result, some people consider these before a big event such as a wedding or holiday. It’s important to get a physical before dieting and speak with your nutritionist and GP. However, some diets are potentially damaging to the organs, (e.g., eating too much protein can tax your organs).
The most successful diets involve retraining your brain, and your taste buds, and helping you understand your body better. With a sensible plan and realistic proportions, you’ll learn what works for your body and how to cater to your own health and nutritional needs. It does pay to get professional nutritional coaching, however, by a qualified nutritionist or an informed GP or bariatric surgeon.
Which Diets Really Work?
What makes a diet a good diet is often linked to four things:
- Is it easy to follow?
- How does it work over the short term?
- Can it be maintained over time?
- Does it work with health conditions (chronic illnesses or acute health issues)?
The U.S. News Ranking evaluated 38 of the top popular diets according to various criteria, including the factors above. The assessment found the following popular diets to be the best according to the above categories.
Weight Watchers Diet
Known the world over – and one of the longest-known diet plans out there – is the Weight Watchers system. The evolving yet proven weight loss system assigns “points” to all foods. You have a ration, so to speak. Those groups having a higher sugar, fat, and calorific get a higher points value. Other foods are more nutrient-rich and lower in fat and calories. While this gives you flexibility, you have to learn to choose what you want and what you’ll sacrifice.
The idea with Weight Watchers diets and eating plans is to minimise the volume of high-point foods. It also encourages you to increase foods with low or no points to achieve nutritional and caloric balance.
No food is off-limits. Instead, it is all about balance and peer group support. A motivational speaker at each event, regular weigh-ins, and progress celebrations help with accountability. They have clubs all over Australia. Personal diet consultants also offer motivation and guidance while you are on their plan. It is a bit costly to participate, but you can save money on some foods.
Scores for Weight Watchers Diet
- Short-term weight loss: 4/5
- Long-term weight loss: 3.5/5
- Easy to follow: 3.7/5
- Health benefits/health rating: 4.3/5
The overall rating for the Weight Watchers diet plan: 3.9/5
The Health Management Resources Diet or HMR for short is a calorie-controlled plan. It combines meal replacement shakes with fruit, vegetables, health improvement strategies, and light to moderate exercise. It markets itself as a lifestyle change rather than a diet and seeks to help instill real and permanent dietary changes.
Scores for the HMR Diet Plan
- Short-term weight loss: 4.1/5
- Long-term weight loss: 3.0/5
- Easy to follow: 2.9/5
- Health benefits/health rating: 3.4/5
Overall rating of the HMR diet plan: 3.2/5
Named after the smash-hit T.V. series, the Biggest Loser Diet is a 6-week plan. It works to boost weight loss while targeting disease prevention and reversing the harmful effects of obesity-related conditions, such as:
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Dementia
- Alzheimer’s Disease
It also helps improve cardiac health and your immune system.
The emphasis is on regular means that are rich in fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains. Followers are encouraged to eat mindfully, keep a food journal, exercise, and practice all-important portion control. This was ranked as the number one fast weight-loss diet in the U.S. News rankings.
Scores for the Biggest Loser Diet
- Short-term weight loss: 4.1/5
- Long-term weight loss: 2.9/5
- Easy to follow: 2.9/5
- Health benefits/health rating: 3.9/5
Overall rating of the Biggest Loser TV Show Diet: 3.6/5
The Jenny Craig Diet emphasises the aim of consistent weight loss of about 1 to 2 kilos per week. After this, the focus is on maintenance eating programs.
The Jenny Craig diet itself is simple. The key to this eating regime is to restrict calories, as well as fat – and eat reduced portions.
Pre-packaged meals, recipes, and personal consultants help members reach goals more readily. As a result, it is easy to follow if you buy off their plan. They are also available to help you monitor your weight loss success. Jenny Craig offers frequent one-on-one contact to help keep you on track.
Scores for the Jenny Craig Diet plan
- Short-term weight loss: 4.1/5
- Long-term weight loss: 2.9/5
- Easy to follow: 2.9/5
- Health: 3.9/5
Overall rating of the Jenny Craig Diet: 3.6/5
Seeking Medical Advice
Seek medical advice before embarking on major lifestyle changes. It is also crucial if you have severe health problems like:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Heart or lung conditions
- Kidney or liver disease
Related: Learn about body lift surgery after massive weightloss
Weight Loss Surgery may help
Many patients consider Bariatric Surgery like a Gastric Sleeve or Gastric Bypass Procedure which has a high rate of success in helping patients reduce weight over the medium to long term. Patients who have lost 10 to 100+ kg may benefit from excess skin reduction surgery.
Plastic Surgery for After Weight Loss
Do you want to reshape your body to remove excess skin and fat after a significant weight change? Some fat and redundant skin cannot be removed through diet and exercise. As a result, it must be surgically addressed. This is especially true if your skin is overly stretched due to extreme weight gain, weight loss, or pregnancy. Coco Ruby Plastic Surgery Clinic offers abdominoplasty, liposuction, breast reduction, and arm reduction procedures for post-weight loss.
Further Reading – Our blogs for your weight loss journey
- 6 Tips on How To Lose Weight Before Plastic Surgery
- How to Lose Weight Before Your Plastic Surgery and Why You Should
- Weight Loss Strategies – Best Diet Plans for Obesity
- What’s the Best Goal Weight for Your Physique?
Next Steps
To learn more about our plastic surgery procedures, please complete a confidential enquiry form below. You can also speak to one of our Patient Care Advisors at (03) 8849 1400.
