The answer to the title of this article is “none.” That’s right, no diet plan on its own is very effective for permanent weight loss. You can stop reading right now and go look for another magic bullet or you can stick around and hear the hard truth.
Still here? Great! OK, the only method for achieving permanent weight loss is to combine a nutritionally balanced diet that consists of a calorie count slightly below what you need to maintain your present body weight along with regular exercise. I’m sure you’ve probably heard this a thousand times before, but like any simple truth that’s difficult to accept, it bears repeating. Dieting alone just isn’t going to cut it!
Sure, you can lose a few pounds on a calorie-restricted diet alone, but you’ll eventually hit a point where your body refuses to give up any more of itself. Most people then get frustrated and quit the diet. You know the rest of the story — you put back all of the weight you lost plus a few extra bonus pounds.
Of course what you hopefully want to lose is body fat. Unfortunately, what you wind up losing when you just diet is a combination of water, fat, and lean muscle. The goal is to maximize fat loss while sparing your muscle tissue.
The great thing about exercise is that when consistently applied, you slowly begin to raise your metabolic rate. So even when you’re not active, your body is burning fat. This is the beauty of the “one-two diet and exercise punch” — the exercise keeps your internal furnace running hot and a lower calorie diet forces your body to throw more fat into the fire for fuel.
So what diet should you choose in combination with an exercise plan? How about just keeping it simple? Avoid the following and you should be fine:
* Saturated fats
* Refined sugar
* Preservative-laden foods such as hotdogs and lunch meats
* Keep the following foods to a minimum:
— Ice cream
— Cakes and cookies
— Candy
— Soft drinks
— Chips
— Fried foods
* Cut back on eating out. Pack your own lunch instead of going to KFC or MacDonald’s on your lunch break. The higher-end restaurants have the additional trap of serving ridiculously large portions.
* Speaking of smaller portions — instead of a 22 oz steak, have a 4 oz steak. Better yet, have a piece of fish or a skinless chicken breast.
For the exercise component, chose something that you will enjoy doing at least 4 times a week for 20-40 minutes. It could be a brisk walk, swimming, or my favorite, the elliptical trainer. Just be sure to set aside the time and then make the commitment to yourself to stick with it!
So there you have it. It’s not high tech or glamorous and it won’t have you losing 50 lbs in a week, but it has been proven to work time and time again for countless people who have made it an integral part of their lives.
So hopefully you won’t ever start a diet again without partnering it up with an exercise routine!
