2024 is here and most of you have probably tried a new diet last year. Some of you may have been successful and others may have failed. Here we are going to bust all the myths that surround dieting and help you choose the best diet. According to registered dietician Stefani Sassos, the best way to lose weight is not by cutting out foods from your diet but instead adding the right foods. The diets that are popular in the market like Keto and Whole30 mainly circle around the theme of restricting particular food items or the entire food groups in total.

It has been seen that if you wish to maintain good health and sustain your weight loss for a longer period then the not so popular diets can really come to your rescue. In this article, you will find valuable advice on how to truly cut those calories. The following tips will help you fall into a routine that is actually sustainable to maintain the weight you have lost.

• Water: According to dietician Sassos, water is the first thing in any diet. Having adequate water helps to keep your stomach full and achieve a sense of satiety. People who follow diets without having enough water are often dehydrated and low on energy making their diets fail. The minimum requirement for an adult is at least six to eight glasses of water each day. If you are physically more active, then you can easily add a few more glasses.
• Avoid Added Sugar: Studies have shown that the average American consumes around 77 grams of white sugar each day whereas the prescribed limit by the American Heart Association is only 25 grams for women and 35 grams for men. Sugar gives empty calories with no added nutrition. When on a diet the amount of sugar intake should be checked. You can do this by cutting sugar from your daily order of coffee, replacing sodas and sugary drinks with healthier options and making smart choices when having a desert.
• Stock up on Vegetables: Everyone knows how important it is to have a variety of vegetables in your diet. Dietican Sassos explains that along with nutritional benefits, vegetables also provide you with fibres which keeps you full for a longer duration. It also ensure that you get your daily dose of anti oxidants.
• Exercise: If you have made the right food choices and included foods which are low on empty calories (lean meats) then only half the battle is won. The remaining half has to be won by exercise. It can be systematic gym exercise or even simple walking or running. Climbing stairs is a great way to burn calories too. You should aim at completing at least 30 minutes of any exercise that can raise your heart beats.
• Eat Clean: One should listen to the signs of the body and eat only when you feel hungry. If you feel its not hunger and just a binge eating habit, then put a stop to it immediately. When hungry you should make a smart choice between eating a cookie or a protein rich snack.

(1) The Mediterranean Diet

The most popular diet according to dietician Sassos is the Mediterranean diet. This diet takes inspiration from the life style of nations like Spain, Greece, Italy and France. It includes almost all types of vegetables and fruits. You can also eat beans and whole grains without counting calories. Lean meats and healthy fats like cheese and cured meats are also part of this sustainable diet.

Health experts began to explore Mediterranean diet in the year 2010. The concept of the diet is to emcompass a variety of fruits vegetables and grains to get a daily dose of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It is good for weight loss and lowers the risk of getting diseases thereby improving quality of life and longevity. The curiosity about this diet increased after a study from the University of Barcelona which showed how the diet brought about major changes in the lives of high risk individuals in terms of cardiovascular diseases. It became widely accepted that the diet if effective in preventing disease. The latest study that was published in the Journal of Gut showed that along with improving health, the Mediterranean diet also help to maintain a health digestive system.

In a nut shell, according to Sassos, the Mediterranean diet is mainly about getting down to the basics and embracing all kinds of whole foods. They not only keep your body and mind healthy, but also help in fighting of infections.

(2) The Volumetrics Diet

The volumetrics diet was brought into existence by a group of health experts at the Pennsylvania State University.  It is a very popular diet. The main theme of the diet is to encourage the consumption of fruits, vegetables and lot of water. The diet is measured in terms of volume of food. It works best for those people who often deviate from a diet due to constant hunger pangs. According to Sassos, the smarter way to diet is to make maximum use of the calories available to you. By making a wise choice, you can have a bowl of greek yogurt rather than a cookie. Both the food items give you the same amount of calories but very different levels of satiety. By choosing the yogurt you are actually going to end up feeling more full.

Barbara Rollins PhD who wrote the book The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet says that the diet makes sure you are feeling full and happy at the same time. The high amount of vegetables that you consume provides a great level of fullness and does not make you go searching the fridge for snacks at midnight.

(3) The Flexitarian Diet (Plant Based) 

The Flexitarian diet is a plant based diet and not a vegan one. The reason why plant based is more often recommended is that a vegan diet is tough to follow in those people who are trying to lose weight without addressing other existing health issues. Dietician Sassos is of the opinion that one should not feel guilty if they are unable to go completely vegan and instead choose the next best option and that is a plant base diet.

The advantage of this diet is that it gives you a great deal of flexibility. You can follow the diet according to your daily lifestyle and health needs without having to stick to something very rigid. The flexible options allow you to go dairy and meat free on certain days of the week. You can have chicken in the middle of the week but the main aim should be to look for plant based options 50 percent of the days. On these days all you have to do is to substitute the meat and dairy items with a plant based alternative.  However at all times, choosing vegan alternatives may not be the best option. Food options like oreos and potato chips are vegan as they are dairy free but not necessarily healthy.

The Keto Diet

After we have understood the best diets of the year, it is now time to go through some of the diets that you should steer clear off. One such diet is the Keto Diet.

The Keto Diet has gained a fair share of limelight as being the one with the most promising results. The meal plan however has been through a lot of controversies. The diet mainly believes in excluding carbohydrates completely from the diet. In this view point, the healthiest diet to be followed has been the Mediterranean Diet. Let us give a thought to the science behind the diet. It is interesting to know that the ketogenic diet was designed mainly as a part of the pediatric epilepsy treatment in the 20^th century. To follow the ketogenic diet one must stop all sources of carbohydrates including vegetables, fruits and legumes.  It also includes restricting lean meats. This thereby forces the body into a state of ketosis. But according to dietician Sassos, eliminating nutrient rich vegetables and carbohydrates totally from the diet, can cause a fair share of damage to the other systems of the body along with reducing your waistline. For optimum functioning, the brain needs carbohydrates which also provide the body with energy. So by not having any carbs in the diet, you might be causing more damage than you are aware of. Sassos explains that the healthier option in this case is to choose the right carbohydrates and prepare them in a healthy manner like avoid deep frying and opt for grilling. Also smaller portion sizes of carbohydrates are a wise decision rather than a complete elimination.

Now the question in your mind is then why and how to people loose weight with keto diet? The answer to this is that in the initial few weeks, the weight which is lost is the water weight. You are also staying away from the added sugar which is definitely helpful. The diet too encourages the use of fruits which are sources of natural sugar. Dietician Sassos has placed an argument that having grains like quinoa, apples and beans etc will provide you with some form of natural sugar and complex carbohydrates. These are a very essential part of the wholesome diet. This again leads to the fact that having a balanced diet is more beneficial than having or eliminating entire food groups.

When we totally cut out carbohydrates from the diet, the diet becomes difficult to sustain. According to Sassos says that a very rigid diet often leads to a failure and that in turn can cause even more weight gain in the long run. The body gets dependent on fat for its entire energy requirement and this could have long lasting and serious side effects.

In order to understand this better, let us take the following situation. In case you a healthy person who begins eating bacon, red meat and a lot of butter, it will certainly have an effect on your cardiovascular system. This method where the weight drastically drops only to go up again is called weight cycling and this has known to have serious effects not only on the body but also the mind of the person. The overall quality of life stands to be affected and this has been noted mainly in teens and young adults. The most dangerous side effect of the keto diet is that once you get off the diet, you are going to experience a rebound phenomenon in the form weight gain.

Fad diets are those that are advocated by celebrities or famous persons. These diets are more like a fashion trend only in the food industry. However it has been seen that in the long run, they prove to be the wrong choice for a planned and sustained weight loss. Dietician Sassos has highlighted the fad diets that are popular these days and the lessons that we can learn from them.

(1)Intermittent Fasting 

This diet involves a period of fasting with a window of eating. There are many options and people follow the 16:8 fasting daily plan or a more strict 5:2 fasting weekly plan.  When you fast for 16 hours in the day, there is a high probability that you will overeat in the eating window. The best time to fast according to Sassos is definitely at night but the fast here would continue till noon almost. During this time if you have an exercise routine, then the empty stomach status would be harmful. Having a proper breakfast would put you in a much better position.

(2) Alkaline Diet

The alkaline diet was advocated by Kelly Ripa and it mainly advocates the use of vegetables and fruits in such a way that the use of vitamins,minerals and alkaline foods is the highest. You will have to el those foods eliminate processed foods and have those foods that have anti inflammatory properties. The meal plans that are designed are quite helpful but the attempt to try and change the ph of the body using food ingredients is not advisable. The diet sticks to the principles of nutrition but the claims made by having only alkaline foods is not totally true and without any actual research. That is the reason why you should stay away from this fad diet.

(3) Dukan Diet 

This particular diet requires you to avoid multiple food items and groups all together but it does not consider the calorie counts at all. Sassos has a fair objection on the validity of this diet because it has not scientific backing. The number of rules and restrictions to be followed is many. However the only positive take home message of this diet is that leans meats and proteins are a filling source of food and having fish, shrimp, chicken etc can help you sty full for a longer period of time.