Best Weight Loss Diets for 2021

Many people are thinking about dropping a few pounds and are looking for a great weight loss diet.  Everywhere you look there are ads for quick weight loss diets or a diet pill that magically takes off weight easily.  Despite the claims, most of us know there is nothing easy about losing weight.  Yes, many diets will help you drop pounds quickly only to have those pounds return when you go off the diet.  What most people want is to lose weight and keep it off.  This requires more than a diet, but lifestyle changes like more exercise and more healthy foods.  To lose weight and keep it off, skip the fad diets and try some real diets that have been shown to work.  If you do want to drop a few pounds or more, what are some healthy weight loss diets?  Too many diets promise the world but are not good for your health.  For example, one of the diets ranked the worst is the Whole30 diet.  This, like so many fad diets, don’t work to help you change your lifestyle but offer some quick solution that isn’t viable for the long term.  You may lose some weight but when you go “off” the fad diet, the weight piles back on.  Another poorly ranked diet is the Alkaline Diet.  So, shun these poorly ranked diets and focus on one’s that have been proven to work.  The US News & World Report has once again ranked the weight loss diets in their Best Weight-Loss Diets for 2021.  

Why does US News & World Report rank a weight-loss diet a winner?  The experts ranking the diets not only look for fast weight loss, but also lasting weight loss.  They noted some diets did well in the short term, people lost weight on the diet, but long-term results, not so good.  A diet really isn’t successful if you gain all the weight back that you wanted to say good bye to. They found 11 diets that will help you lose significant weight and keep it off.  The top weight loss diets are covered here.

What Weight Loss Diets were ranked the best by US News & World Report?

1.       Weight Watchers  (WW)= Tied for Number 1 Diet for Weight Loss in 2021 (It was also number 1 for weight loss in 2020).  Weight Watchers scored the highest for overall weight loss and fast weight loss, and experts said it’s a smart, effective diet.  They note you will lose about 2 pounds a week on this diet. 

 a.       Pros:  WW not only focuses on long-term weight loss; it also focuses on healthier living.  It takes a holistic approach to get you to “eat healthier and move more”.  In 2019, WW changed its focus to provide its customers with more flexibility. 

o   SmartPoints:  In WW, you count points, not calories.  WW uses its famous “Smart Points” system in which all the food and beverages you eat have points.  You can track these points on the WW app on your phone.  The WW app provides meal planning tools, has the food tracker for your points, has an activity dashboard to encourage you to move more, and has some coaching to keep you motivated.  This diet doesn’t just focus on counting calories but on making healthier food choices. Unlike many diets, WW doesn’t just focus on cutting calories.  It also helps you choose healthier foods, foods with less saturated fat, less added sugar and more protein.  

o   No Food is off-limits – unlike many weight loss programs, WW doesn’t ban any foods.  Their website says, “Everything is on the menu.”  And they offer ZeroPoint foods that you can eat without worrying about tracking or measuring.  Depending on your “color” level, the ZeroPoint foods include many fruits and vegetables and may include lean proteins, and whole grains.

o   Support – you can get support from a Virtual Coach or from an online orientation and virtual workshops. They will soon reopen their WW studios for in-person meetings.   

o   Healthier eating – in addition to promoting fruits and vegetables by giving many zero points, WW teaches you healthier eating habits.  Learning to eat healthier can lead to lifelong weight loss and not those lose weight quickly and gain it back diets. 

o   Move More – WW emphasizes being active but at your own pace. You not only count points for food, you also count points for exercise.  But not just going to the gym, cleaning your house adds points, mowing the lawn, walking the dog.  Basically, get moving points. WW has their own fitness tracker to track your FitPoints.  And you can sync your fitness device like a watch to their activity tracker. So many weight loss programs focus only on giving up foods and not on adding exercise to your day.  

b.      Cons – some people don’t like all the counting of points but may find the WW freestyle program easier to follow.  A student in my class said their mother was happy counting the points but their dad said he just wanted to eat when out in a restaurant and didn’t want to figure out the points for every food on his plate.  But WW offers a mobile app that has the points for over 285,000 foods and a “Menu Master” to guide you on how to eat healthy when eating out. Some people also like the face-to-face meetings and weigh-ins which aren’t happening now but WW notes their studios will be reopening soon.

1.  Flexitarian Diet   This diet is tied with WW as a number one as a Best Weight-Loss Diet.  An odd name for a diet but it is a blend of being flexible and vegetarian as the diet emphasizes eating vegetables, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and plant-based protein. Not a new diet even though you may have never heard of it.  It actually is from a book published in 2009 called, “The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease and Add Years to Your Life”, written by a Registered Dietitian, Dawn Jackson Blatner.  For those who like their meat, this diet is a compromise as it promotes healthy food but also allows some meat on the diet.  Exercise is encouraged on this diet but the plan doesn’t offer the support of tracking FitPoints like WW offers.

a.  Pros – the experts say is it flexible but meat lovers probably wouldn’t agree with this.  The diet provides a lot of recipes but that is for those who like to cook and make all their food.  Will you lose weight?  Probably but mainly because eating a mostly vegetarian diet you will be taking in less calories. 

b. Cons - For people who like meat, this diet would be hard to follow.  You begin by having 2 meatless days and week and then advance to 3-4 meatless days a week.  To become an “expert” you go without meat for 5 days a week. Many Americans like their meat and this may be too big a sacrifice.  And meat provides a lot of nutrients like iron and high-quality protein.  Additionally, the diet emphasizes lots of home cooking so may not fit everyone’s lifestyle.  If you eat out and are on the go, then this could be a hard diet to follow.  The experts also noted it is not a diet for people who don’t like fruits and vegetables.   

3. Volumetrics Diet = Number 3 Diet for Weight Loss in 2021 – Odd that since they have 2 weight loss diets tied for number one, they don’t have a second-place weight loss diet so they jump to number 3.  The Volumetrics Diet is tied with a Vegan Diet. Volumetrics earned high marks for being safe and nutritious, and experts said it could have positive effect on heart health and diabetes.    

a.       Pros – this diet is focused on foods loaded with nutrients, not loaded with calories.  Thus, more fruits and vegetables which are low in calories but full of nutrients.  A nutrition professor from Penn State University, Barbara Rolls, is behind this diet.  She divides foods into 4 groups – not the basic four, but new groups based on energy density (or calorie density).  Nonstarchy fruits and vegetables are number one or category one.  Then comes the starchy fruits and vegetables along with grains, cereals, low -fat meats and other low-fat foods.  Junk food ends up in the 4^th category – the chips, candy, cookies.  It is interesting that nuts are put in the 4^th category as nuts are a healthy food choice.  Cost is a pro as there are no expensive foods to buy.  You do need to buy a book to give you guidance on what to eat and cook on this diet. US News and World Report recommends “The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet” book that provides information on the energy density food groups. 

b.      Cons -  You have to keep track of what food is in what category.  If you choose a higher calorie food, you might be able to eat only a portion of it to fit into your daily allotment.  Thus, if you eat a large bowl of soup, you can then only eat 1/6^th of a cheeseburger. (WebMD).  Exercise is not a major focus although the diet encourages walking.  You add 150 steps a day with your first goal of 1,000 steps a day and then increasing your daily steps to 10,000 a day.  WebMD notes that on this diet, “you won’t lose weight in a hurry.”  You can read a lot more about each diet at the Best Weight-Loss Diets website and by going to the websites of each of the above programs. My con – if one has to buy a book to learn how to follow a diet, it is too complicated for me. But the book has recipes for those who like to cook and need guidance on following this diet plan.

3.  The Vegan Diet  tied with the Volumetrics Diet for 3rd place for 2021.  But US News and World Report noted it is restrictive and hard to follow.  You can read more about it on the US News & World Report website.  But since it is so restrictive, we will move on to the diets ranked fourth.

5.  Jenny Craig Diet = The Jenny Craig Diet ranked Number 5 for Diets for Weight Loss in 2021    Jenny Craig drew praise for being easy to follow, nutritionally complete and safe, but experts were lukewarm about its potential to bolster heart health or help diabetics.

a.      Pros – this program offers meals that come to you with calories already counted for you.  These prepackaged meals not only restrict calories but restrict fat and have smaller portions.  They also provide recipes so you can make foods that fit into their diet program.  In addition to the prepackaged foods, you can enjoy fresh fruits and veggies and low-fat dairy foods.  As shown in their commercials their foods include pizza, cake, spaghetti, and steak.  Like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig promotes an active lifestyle and healthier eating patterns.  For exercise, the goal is 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise about 5 days a week.  Studies do show you will lose weight on this program, about 2 pounds a week, as long as you stay on the program.  For those with Type 2 diabetes, they offer the Jenny Craig for Type 2.  The diet is nutritious and one will get enough protein, fiber, potassium and calcium following this diet plan.  Which is not true for many diet plans. 

b.      Cons – cost – you will pay for the pre-packaged food. US News & World Report notes the cost for the “Complete Weight Loss” plan is expensive at $21 a day.  That amounts to $630 a month.  You do get 3 meals a day and personal coaching.  Another plan called the “Essential Meal” plan costs a little less at $19 per day or $570 a month.  The “Simple” plan costs about $13 a day or $390 a month for breakfast and lunches.  So, this diet plan is not a cheap way to lose weight.  You can eat out occasionally, but the program is based on Jenny Craig foods delivered to you or for you to make.  A male student in my class chose this diet to lose weight for a future mountain climbing trip.  He lost weight, but said he was quite hungry at times and this made the diet hard to stick to.   

There are more weight loss diets in the Best Weight Loss Diets rankings including the Mayo Clinic Diet and the Ornish Diet.  The best diet is the one that works for you.  One you can follow and stay on.  One that not only results in weight loss but lifestyle changes that help you keep off any weight you do lose.  WW or Weight Watchers teaches you how to eat healthy and encourages more exercise.  No wonder it is a number one diet year after year.  WebMD has good advice to follow: to prevent disease and stay active for life, you do need to exercise.  So be sure to add this into your new lifestyle! (Jenny Craig Review). Next week we will look at some of the worst diets for your health.  Those fad diets you should say “no” to.   

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