5 Best Weight loss Diets for Beginners

With over 70% of adults in the United States overweight or obese, it’s no surprise that diets are a hot topic. For someone just starting their weight loss journey, it can be overwhelming to sort through all the information out there. There is nearly a limitless number of diets to choose from, and it can be impossible to know which one is right for you. Some diets are overly convoluted or complex and can cause you to fail before you even have a chance to lose weight. To make things easier, we have developed a list of the best diets for beginners. 

1. Mediterranean Diet

If you like fish and nuts, this is an excellent diet for you. Its premise is choosing healthy fats over bad fats and planning meals around whole grains and veggies. The great thing about this diet is the simple and easy-to-prepare food. There is also no counting calories or tracking carbs. The Mediterranean diet may push you to eliminate many foods you currently enjoy, which will be the most challenging part. Fried foods, red meats, and excessive sugar are discouraged. Quitting these foods will be a hurdle, but the health benefits you gain from doing so will make it all worth it. 

Health benefits of the Mediterranean diet include reducing the risk of heart disease, improved cognitive function, and a lower chance of having dementia. Not only do the foods you are consuming help your overall health, but cutting out the bad fats will also have a direct positive impact on your body. 

2. The Flexitarian Diet

The flexitarian diet is more restrictive regarding the number of calories you are allowed per day but also more open regarding the types of food you can eat. With the flexitarian diet, it is suggested that you only intake 1500 calories a day, with specific amounts at each meal. Breakfast is 300, lunch 400 and dinner 500. You also include two snacks of 150 calories each. As the name suggests, flexitarian is a vegetarian diet with flexibility. Generally, you try to avoid any animal product, but you won’t fail the diet if you give in to your craving for steak every so often. 

The benefits of following a flexitarian diet include:

• Lower risk of cancer.
• A positive impact on the environment.
• Lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Like the Mediterranean diet, the foods you are cutting out are just as important as the foods you are adding in. Increasing your veggies and decreasing fried and oily foods will help you to start losing weight in no time. 

3. Intermittent Fasting

A diet that cares more about when you eat and less about what you eat, intermittent fasting is great for people who struggle to give up specific food groups. However, to get the most out of intermittent fasting, check out what you should eat while on this diet.

Fasting is centered around not eating for a specific time frame. The easiest is 12 hours of eating and 12 hours of fasting. How you choose to fast varies based on your individual goals and tolerance. Some of the more challenging time frames involve fasting for entire 24-hour periods at a time. The benefits of intermittent fasting over other diets are faster fat burning and more freedom when it comes to choosing your food. It can be a difficult diet to get used to, as refraining from eating is challenging. Proponents of this diet say that fasting gets easier with time.

4. WW (Weight Watchers)

The WW diet, formally called weight watchers, is much more complex in terms of food tracking. The great thing about it, however, is the incredible amount of support you get from the WW team. WW is subscription-based, and the more you pay weekly, the more support you get, all the way up to your own personalized coach who will work with you to meet your diet goals.

Like intermittent fasting, WW is set up to allow you to eat whatever foods you want. However, each of these foods has a certain number of points, and you are only allowed a maximum number of points per day depending on your body size and weight loss goals. Unlike fasting, it does not matter when you eat throughout the day, but once you reach your max points, you aren’t allowed any more food. So, it’s important to space your food responsibly. WW will also work with you to try and change your diet to be healthier overall, as a whole, healthy foods are the best thing you can put in your body.

5. Jenny Craig

The Jenny Craig Diet is by far the most expensive diet on our list but also the most convenient. It is an ideal diet for people who are too busy to make meal plans or make homecooked meals. If you have allergies or intolerances, it might not be right for you, as Jenny Craig does not have a lot of special diet options. For everyone else looking for a guided and specific meal course, it is an effective weight loss program. 

After walking through, a personalized sign-up plan, Jenny Craig will deliver food right to your door. You get three prepackaged meals a day and one snack. This is an ideal system for busy people trying to lose weight. There is no guesswork on if you’re getting the right foods and no grocery shopping. Simply eat the meals they give you, do your exercise and watch the pounds fall off. 

Choosing the right diet can be a stressful endeavor regardless of where you are in your weight loss journey. But once you find one that works for you, it can help teach you healthy habits that will last a lifetime. With any of these diets, exercise is a vital part of weight loss as multiple studies have shown that diet and exercise together are the fastest and most effective way to lose weight. Starting a new diet doesn’t have to be intimidating. All of these diets have well-established guides and near limitless information to get you on the path to a healthier and happier you.