Best Diet for Losing Weight

The best diet for losing weight is the one that suits your lifestyle and needs.  I know that doesn't sound helpful at first glance, but it's true, and here are some examples.

• Love your pasta, fruits and breads?  You won't do well on a diet that severely restricts them or eliminates them altogether.
• Have a problem with portion control?  You might find a diet with pre-packaged meals helpful.
• Do you need the motivation of meetings to keep you on the straight and narrow?
• Are you always hungry and have raging cravings just a few hours after a snack or meal?

As you can see, there is no one best diet for losing weight.  There are some smart choices, though, to consider.

Love Pasta and Bread?

Then you don't want a diet that eliminates or severely resticts either one.  For example, the Atkins diet would definitely not be for you!  You might find some of the other popular diets, like Sonoma, South Beach and low GI will be hard for you at first.  These diets tend to restrict complex carbs for the first 2 to 4 weeks.

What might be good for you?  Weight Watchers does allow bread and the packaged foods diets like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem have pasta dishes.

The Portion Control Police

This may be the best diet for losing weight for you if you can make decent choices, but you simply eat too much of it.  You know, 3 ounces of chicken ends up being 6 or 7 ounces.  Lean meat tends to mean a whole steak.  And what's a serving of whole wheat pasta for you might end up being 5 servings by the book.

In this case you might benefit from getting pre-packaged meals.  Two well-known choices are Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem. The food is delivered to you and all you need do is eat it.  The first few meals you sit down to might be a shock to you -- how small the packages seem!  But it's all about portion control and nutrition.

The downside is that these can be fairly expensive, especially Jenny Craig.  If you have the willpower and motivation, here's a way to try it on your own for a much lower cost.

Best Diet for Losing Weight -- Accountability

If you are the type of person who needs the motivation and accountability of meetings, three leading choices are Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly).

All three have sensible diets for losing weight.  The downside may be that if there aren't any meetings available in your area.  Weight Watchers seems to be available in most locations, though.

Another plan you might want to consider if you want some accountability but you'd rather do it online -- check out eDiets.com or dietwatch.com.

Attack of the Cravings

If you tend to be hungry and have cravings, the best diet for losing weight for you might be something like a low glycemic index (GI) diet.  Low glycemic foods, along with proper amounts of protein and fat, tend to reduce cravings a lot, or even eliminate them. 

Low GI foods don't raise your blood sugar levels too high or set you up for a crash later on (which is where the cravings start).  The downside is that most "white foods" are off the list -- white bread, white sugar, regular pasta, etc.

There's a book called the Low GI Diet Revolution you might want to pick up, if this sounds good to you.  Nutrisystem is low glycemic as well.  South Beach is also pretty low GI.

What's Best for You?

You're need to think long and hard about what you can stay on now, and what it will teach you for the future.  Sure, a diet and losing weight means making compromises -- if it were easy, you'd be thin already. 

Take the time now to evaluate what is best for you, and you'll be far more successful on your weight loss journey.

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What About Diet Pills?

There is good news and bad news.  Yes, there are diet pills that can help you lose weight.

The bad news?  You'll still have to diet and exercise.  The pills work with your weight loss plan, not in spite of it!

High Protein: Is it For You?

You might also consider a high protein diet plan, albeit one without all the extra fats common to a lot of them.

Quit Fadding Around

Tired of Fad Diets? Join DietWatch - Transition to healthy lifestyle. Lose weight and keep it off for good.