Looking for the best diets? Most of them can be explained very quickly and simply. There are many different types of diets that people choose to follow and a lot of the time you just need to know the basics to see if a diet will suit you. One of the most important parts to your weight loss success is finding a diet that fits with your tastes and your lifestyle. For example, if you love a nice steak, you won’t have much success in trying out a diet that’s vegetarian.

So rather than have you buy a ton of books, we will take a look at some of the most popular best diets and what they entail:

Low Carbohydrate Diets

Low carbohydrate, or “low carb” diets are a pretty popular choice for many people. These include the Atkins diet and the South Beach diet, though each one has slightly different rules.

In a low carb diet, you spend the first week eating VERY few carbohydrate foods. The diets even go so far as forbidding the so-called “healthy carbs”, such as brown rice, fruits, and vegetables. This works because the body uses carbohydrates for energy first. If you don’t eat carbohydrates, then your body is forced to use its fat stores for energy. Many people report losing up to ten pounds in the first week, but that type of rapid weight loss is not usually sustainable long term.

While the eating plan seems a bit drastic at first, after the first two weeks, you are able to begin eating certain types of carbs again. Throughout the diet, however, you should still avoid sugary foods or processed foods. The types of carbs that you are “allowed” to eat are healthy carbs.

Vegetarian Diets

If the low carb approach seems like too much meat to you, try one of the popular vegetarian diets, such as the raw food movement, veganism, Eat to Live, or the McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Plan.

In these diets, meat is of course not allowed, but you can eat unlimited amounts of vegetables and other healthy carbohydrates. Some specifics do vary — Eat to Live restricts carbohydrates to one cup a day, for example, while the McDougall plan restricts fats.

These diets can be very healthy and can cause a lot of weight loss. To do it right, though, you have to focus on eating a lot of vegetables. If you fall into the trap of eating too much pasta as a replacement for meat, you may not see your weight decrease.

Calorie Counting Diets

Calorie counting diet plans are the most traditional type of plan. Some plans, such as Weight Watchers, allow you to count your own calories and enjoy whatever foods you want to eat. Other plans, such as NutriSystem, prepare meals for you so that you are restricting calories, but don’t have to bother with all the calorie counting.

Calorie counting diets can be successful because they force you to take a look at the foods that you are eating and reduce the amount. This results in weight loss. They also allow for a bit of “wiggle room” with what you eat. If you want to eat a candy bar, for example, you simply have to make sure that you count that and “make up” for it either through another meal or through exercise.

Technically, you could still lose weight by following a calorie counting diet and only eating junk food. However, you’ll be hungry most of the time. The better way to do this is through eating healthy foods, which keep you full longer. Again, think green — go for the vegetables.

Crash Diets

Crash diets are those that significantly restrict the amount of calories that you can consume, usually to unhealthy levels. Popular examples are the Hollywood Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, and the Three Day Diet.

Crash diets are a short term solution that does not work in the long run. In fact, by restricting calories so drastically, you’ll mess with your metabolism, causing it to be even harder to lose weight. Crash diets are not among the best diets because you almost certainly will put all of the weight right back on after.

For more detailed information about individual diets, you can go to our home page at Free Online Diet Reviews and access reviews of tons of different diets for free. Find the best diets there.

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Filed under: Weight Loss Diets

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