We have had quite a few people come up to us and ask “Tell me what a lifestyle diet is! And which one is the best?” So we did some research and have come up with a list of five lifestyle diets that you should consider trying.
Each year, US News & World Report releases an annual ranking of the top diets. They rank these diets on the following factors: how easy they were to follow, nutrition, safety, overall effectiveness for long-term weight loss, and their protection against both diabetes and heart disease.
The first is the DASH Diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and was originally developed to fight high blood pressure. This diet is praised for its flexibility! It offers a balanced eating plan that emphasizes vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds, nuts, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean proteins. When on this diet, you are encouraged to stay away from red meat, fatty sweets, sugary beverages, and foods or drinks with added sodium.
The second is the TLC Diet. TLC stands for Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes. It was created to promote cardiovascular health. US News & World Report praises this diet for greatly improving cholesterol levels as well as being easy to follow. Dieters are encouraged to stay away from saturated fats like fried foods, whole-fat dairy, and fatty meats. The diet is based on a three-part program that incorporates healthy eating, physical activity, and weight management. Using this diet, you can reduce your fat intake to less than 7 percent of one’s daily calories.
In third place is the Mayo Clinic Diet. This is a two-part diet that requires a total lifestyle change. The first part focuses on 15 key habits that you should either keep or ditch. Then, you can move on to part two, which focuses on calorie intake based on your weight loss goals. This will greatly improve your overall nutrition and diabetic prevention/maintenance.
Coming in fourth is the Mediterranean Diet. This diet is based on the eating habits of people who live in areas bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It focuses primarily on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats. This diet has been praised for reducing the risk for heart disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
And last, but not least, is the Weight Watchers Diet. This one is probably the most popular because of their fantastic marketing. For those of you who don’t know, this program focuses on calorie counting through a point system. You can purchase Weight Watchers prepared foods from your local grocery store.
We have a variety of Zip Fitness locations in the Chicagoland area, so make sure to swing by and see us at Zip Fitness. We have an excellent personal fitness training personnel that can help guide you through food and exercise on your fitness journey. Find a location near you, come check out all fitness equipment and tanning beds we have, and talk to our staff about our gym membership deals. See you soon!