Many people think about dropping a few pounds and look for a great weight loss diet. Everywhere you look there are ads for quick weight loss diets or a diet pill that seems to magically take 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. A relative gained some weight over the holidays. Rather than going on a fad diet, she joined Weight Watchers – now called WW. When eating out with her recently, she pulled up the WW App on her phone to record her points. She finds the WW plan easy to follow. I have no doubt she is on her way to losing the 7 pounds she gained.
Like this relative, 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 (ranked 35 out of 39 diets). U.S. News and World Report notes , Whole30 lacks scientific support and is severely restrictive according to the experts. This, like so many fad diets, doesn’t work to help you change your lifestyle but offers some quick solutions that aren’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 2022.
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?
Three diets tied for first place: the Flexitarian Diet, the Volumetrics Diet and Weight Watchers (WW). I really like WW as it helps you learn healthier eating habits and helps with lifestyle changes like adding in more exercise to your day.
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| WW ranked as a Number 1 diet for weight loss. |
1. Weight Watchers (WW)= Tied for Number 1 Diet for Weight Loss in 2022 (It was also number 1 for weight loss in 2021). 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. The experts note that WW is focused on inspiring healthy living and improving overall well-being. That includes taking a holistic approach to help members eat healthier and move more.
a. Pros: WW not only focuses on long-term weight loss; it also focuses on healthier living. In 2021, WW introduced a new points system, calls PersonalPoints Program. My relative likes the ZeroPoint Foods list that is actually customized for you. Some ZeroPoint foods may include non-starchy vegetables, oatmeal, chicken, whole-grain noodles, eggs. My relative likes all the ZeroPoint fruits and vegetables, including avocados, on her WW plan. Another big pro is WW has all the food groups and you can still enjoy a dessert.
- PersonalPoints: In WW, you count points, not calories. WW uses its famous PersonalPoints 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.
- NEW: WW now lets you add points for things like drinking more water and exercising.
- 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. The ZeroPoint foods include many fruits and vegetables and may include lean proteins, and whole grains. And you can have dessert as long as you save some points for the dessert.
- Support – you can get support from in-person meetings, from virtual workshops, by working with a personal coach or go it alone and rely on their digital tools.
- 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.
- 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 exercise points. 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 PersonalPoints 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. My relative finds the WW app easy to use and likes “adding points” by drinking more water and exercising. She can hold her phone to a food label and WW counts the points per serving of that food item. However, when making a food with multiple ingredients, one has to enter all the items so a little more time consuming.
Some people also like the face-to-face meetings and weigh-ins while others like my relative prefer the digital approach.
Does it work? Yes, according to the relative that is on it. Her goal was to lose the 7 pounds she gained over the holidays. After 3.5 weeks of WW, she has lost 4 pounds. However, her friend quit WW as they found working the App too hard to do.
2. 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 but allows some meat. 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 exercise tracking like WW offers. It focuses on a 3,4,5 plan: about 300 calories for breakfast, about 400 calories for lunch and about 500 calories for dinner with two 150 calorie snacks. This is about 1500 calories a day. (I would be very hungry at this low-calorie level, although the diet can be “tweaked” for slightly more calories.)
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 = Also tied for Number 1 Diet for Weight Loss in 2022 – Yes, they have 3 diets tied for the number 1 spot. 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). “Free” fruits and nonstarchy vegetables are number one or category one. Then comes category 2 emphasizing whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean proteins. In category 3, you can enjoy small portions of desserts, cheese, higher-fat meats, bread. Most junk food ends up in the 4th category – the chips, candy, cookies and nuts. It is interesting that nuts are put in the 4th 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 1/6th 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. 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.
4. The Vegan Diet ranked 4th place for 2022. 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 fifth.
5. Jenny Craig Diet = The Jenny Craig Diet ranked number 1 in 2021 but is now ranked in 5th place. Jenny Craig drew praise for being easy to follow, nutritionally complete and safe.
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 WW (Weight Watchers), Jenny Craig promotes an active lifestyle and healthier eating patterns. According to a review, the program does not require but encourages exercise. Studies do show you will lose weight on this program, about 1-2 pounds a week, as long as you stay on the program. For those with Type 2 diabetes, they offer a Classic Diabetes plan focused on losing weight and improving blood sugar control. 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. ConsumerAffairs indicated the full-day plan costs about $25 a day not including shipping or about $170 per week. You do get 3 meals a day and 2 snacks to eat. 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 (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! Next week we will look at some of the worst diets for your health. Those fad diets you should say “NO” to.
Sources: notes , Best Weight-Loss Diets , Weight Watchers , experts , PersonalPoints , ZeroPoint Foods , PersonalPoints , WW app , website , ZeroPoint , Flexitarian Diet , book , begin , Volumetrics Diet , The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet , WebMD , you won’t lose weight in a hurry , Best Weight-Loss Diets , Vegan Diet , Jenny Craig Diet , foods , review , Classic , nutritious , costs , Mayo Clinic Diet , Ornish Diet Image Sources: weight loss , WW, Zero point
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