Diets
Description
In 2013, Americans spent about $2.4 billion on diets and diet-related products. Millions of Americans go on diets each year. No one diet is right for everyone. What works for one person may not work for another.
Before beginning a diet, look at your own eating and activity patterns. Then set goals for changing some of these patterns, or behaviors. Set goals that are realistic for you, goals that you can reach and maintain.
A good diet is one you can follow for years. It should keep your weight at a good level for you and keep you in good health. Some key features of any good weight-loss program or diet are:
- The diet should be balanced. That means eating a range of foods, including fruits and vegetables, healthy carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
- The diet should not be boring or keep you on the same food for long periods of time. While a weight-loss diet may limit foods you enjoy eating, you should still enjoy eating.
- Weight loss should be gradual. Promises of quick and easy long-term weight loss are rarely true. The truth is it takes time, effort, and motivation to lose weight and keep it off.
Different weight-loss programs and methods
Taking off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) is a nonprofit organization with many local chapters. It promotes healthy weight-loss methods and offers support to its members through weekly meetings. TOPS costs $32 a year and is one of the least expensive weight-loss programs.
Fad diets often promise quick weight loss. These diets often sound too good to be true, and they are. Keep in mind that very few people achieve the results these diets promise. Fad diets also fail to provide ways to keep the weight off.
- Quick weight-loss diets often focus on one specific food or one type of food. They can become boring, and they make eating less enjoyable. This makes it hard to stay on them for long.
- Because no one type of food has all the vitamins and nutrients you need for good health, you may not get all the nutrients your body needs.
Self-directed diets are diets you do on your own, without the support of a program. Most of them are in books or online. Some of these are:
- Dr. Phil McGraw's The 20/20 Diet
- The Atkins Diet
- The Dean Ornish Diet
- The Fast Metabolism Diet, by Haylie Pomroy with Eve Adamson
- Volumetrics: Feel Full on Fewer Calories, by Barbara Rolls, PhD and Robert Barnett
Be cautious about any diet book that:
- Makes unrealistic claims about how much weight you can expect to lose
- Tells you not to eat food from one of the major food groups
- Is based on eating just one food or one type of food
Meal-replacement diets have you replace your normal foods with meal replacements, such as Slim Fast, low-calorie frozen or freeze-dried meals, and liquid shakes. They are designed to help you decrease calories by:
- Controlling portions
- Limiting food choices
Using meal-replacement diets to cut calories can be an effective way to lose and maintain weight loss. Two issues with these types of diet are the cost and the lack of variety of food to eat.
Commercial diet programs include Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, and Jenny Craig. These programs:
- Offer individual or group support, lifestyle changes, and packaged meals
- Are often expensive
Liquid-protein diets, such as Optifast, can cost about $2,000. People who complete these programs may lose close to 10% of their weight. For example, someone who started 200 pounds loses 20 pounds, on average. But many people regain over half of the lost weight over time.
Medically-directed programs are offered by some hospitals. These are usually led by one or more of the following health care professionals: a dietitian, nurse, behavioral psychologist, or medical doctor.
- Most of them include teaching ways to change your eating and exercise behaviors.
- Before having weight-loss surgery, you may be asked to take part in this type of program.
You can also talk with your health care provider about the pros and cons of weight-loss medicines.
Reviewed By: John E. Meilahn, MD, Bariatric Surgery, Chestnut Hill Surgical Associates, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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