The "best" diet for weight loss!

So what is the best diet for weight loss?

There is so much discussion on this topic and there are many competing "theories". Usually, the diets that are advertised in diet books, magazines and social media tell you what NOT to eat. There is so much discussion on this topic and there are many competing "theories".

This is why we can have completely contradictory diet books. You can make a case for a low-carb diet, but you can also make a case for a high-carb diet to lose weight. Not only could you write a theoretical case, but both would have examples of success. There will be plenty of anecdotes to support both diets. This begs the question: Can all these methods and diets work? The answer is probably "yes!" As we will discuss in the next section, the basic truth is that the energy balance must be negative. When the energy balance is negative during a weight loss phase and you can maintain your new weight (probably through the same lifestyle changes used to lose it), then success will be achieved.

Unfortunately, it is clear that the success rate of weight loss is not good. Every new diet bestseller that is published has a new theory about what causes weight/fat gain and how to reverse it. It promises that it will be "forever" and tells you to "forget everything you've ever been told" or that "what you've heard is wrong."

Each of these diet books will have an approach that contains some truth, but there may be a really simple truth behind all weight loss programs: stay in negative energy balance to lose weight, and then stick to your new energy intake by eat less. Sticking to the program is the key to success.

“Perhaps we can learn a little from history. Now we have Keto, Paleo, LCHF, High Fiber Vegetarians, Real Food, Wheat Belly as popular books. But what about their predecessors?'

Scarsdale, Ornish, Weight Watchers, Dr. Bernstein, Herbal Magic, Soup Soup, Atkins, Zone, South Beach, Raw Food, Mediterranean Diet, DASH, Jenny Craig, Sugar Busters, Flexitarian, TLC, Fruitarian, Cookie diet, Kangatarian, Hacker's diet, Stillman's diet, Nutrisystems diet ? They are not so fashionable anymore and we don't hear so much about them now. But they were also once the best thing since sliced bread. All of these diets were once called breakthrough, revolutionary, and the answer to weight loss.

Even today, there are still people who follow, swear by, follow and "know" that these diets work. For people who stick to these diets, they undoubtedly work. Therefore, when considering the answer to the question of which diet works (and works best), it is important to take a step back and remember history. All diets have a history of "success" at the individual level, and yet the number of obese people continues to rise. In the following sections, we will discuss some of the keys to losing weight. It will come as no surprise that many of these keys can be found in ALL diets. There is nothing really unique about any of these diets. The key to successful long-term weight loss appears to be related to developing the skills and behavioral strategies needed to make long-term changes in diet, exercise, and overall physical activity.

Most diets target the general population, where we know that physical activity is minimal, overweight or obesity is a real problem, and motivation to change is usually unrelated to performance. If a weight loss program is used by an athlete, there is another extremely important consideration: the ultimate goal is performance. Any weight loss should be performance dependent. This means we cannot tolerate a weight loss program that compromises performance. That would defeat the purpose. So we always have to keep performance in mind and make sure that recovery is adequate, training sessions are still fueled adequately, there is no unnecessary loss of muscle mass, etc. This is yet another reason why simply going on a ketogenic diet, paleo diet, or any other diet is a very bad idea. These diets must be adapted to the specific needs of the athlete!