If I had a dollar for every time, I was asked one of the following questions….
Should I go vegan? What about vegetarian? What about Paleo, Mediterranean, Keto or low fat diets? Which is the best diet plan for weight loss? Have you heard about the ____ diet?
My answer is always the same….. any diet will work if you can follow it but the problem with most diets is that most people can’t follow them indefinitely. Why do I answer this way? Because almost every single diet plan will work depending on how you follow it.
Almost all diet plans eliminate the same foods. They eliminate processed, energy dense and low nutrient dense foods. No diet recommends cake, candy, cookies, chips, fried food or sugary and caffeinated beverages in excess.
What does every single diet plan have in common? They all emphasize eating more whole foods! That means more vegetables, more fruit, good quality protein, healthy fats and whole grains. They all avoid processed foods (unless they are trying to sell you them but that’s a whole other post). They all emphasize portion control, listening to your hunger and not eating mindlessly.
Follow these rules and the rest is a just a matter of personal preference. Why do I say this? Because we are all individuals with individual likes and dislikes. There is no one perfect eating plan for everyone. If a diet plan is too restrictive for you, making you eat foods you dislike and completely eliminating everything you do like you most likely will not adhere to it.
Listen to your body! Your body will tell you how you should be eating for optimal health as you will feel good and have energy. What’s the trick? Learning how to listen to your body and understand what it is saying to us. That’s where most of us need help and guidance and that’s where working with a dietitian is beneficial.