There are multiple diet “nutrition plans” being practiced today. It can be near to impossible to figure out which would be the best option for you. Do you choose to go carb free, sugar free, gluten free, or should you just count your calories? What is the answer?

In this article, the best nutrition plan for me, I will go over multiple different popular diets. I’ll share who the diets are best suited for, what basic foods you get to eat and don’t eat in the plan. This way you can take the info and compare it to your own lifestyle and goals to determine if it’s the best option for you. As truly the best diet or nutrition plan for you is the one that focuses on wholesome foods and a method that you can commit to following. Then sustaining the plan on a long term basis.

Ketogenic Diet

This diet focuses on getting your body into a ketosis state where it burns fat as fuel instead of glucose. On the average balanced diet our bodies are fueled by turning carbohydrates into glucose and then burning the glucose as fuel. We can only store as much as 2,500 carbohydrate calories, but we can store up to 25lbs of fat which is roughly 100,000 calories. The Ketogenic plan was originally found to help with people who suffered from epilepsy but didn’t fair well on medications. For some reason, which doctors still don’t know, this diet helped epileptic patients. It is currently favored by endurance athletes and military special forces. It can produce weight loss, and increase energy once the body has entered ketosis. This plan has also been shown to reduce inflammation. For some people the body doesn’t adapt well and crankiness or severe mood swings can rear their heads.

What you eat: This is a high fat, low to moderate protein and low carb eating plan. Roughly 75-90% of daily calories come from fat. Then 6-20% come from protein. While only 2-5% calories come from carbohydrates

What you don’t eat: Limit your daily carb intake to less than 50g. This would be grains, fruits and starchy vegetables.

Intermittent Fasting

This diet is basically as it sounds. It focuses on fasting. We all fast when we are not eating like as we sleep throughout the night. However with intermittent fasting it focuses on increasing the length of time in between your last meal of the day and your first meal of the following day. Instead of eating from 8am-9pm, when fasting you’d eat from 1pm-9pm for example. That is depending on which intermittent fasting plan you are following. Some plans have you fasting for a longer period of time throughout the day. Intermittent fasting has been shown to help with burning fat, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, elevate growth hormones levels, and has been shown to counteract degenerative aging. It’s not recommended for people who are prone to eating disorders. Intermittent Fasting may not be the best plan for you if you already don’t do well with long periods in between meals and become irritable, struggle with focus, moody.

What you eat: Eat a normal days worth of calories for your current lifestyle, activity level within the eating time window. This may mean 1-3 large meals within that time frame. It needs to be whole food nutrition, and can be low carb like the ketogenic plan.

What you don’t eat: While you are eating the larger meals fewer times a day they can’t include junk.

Macro & Mirco Nutrient Plan

This plan focuses on tracking your macro nutrients and getting in your micro nutrients by concentrating on whole food nutrition. Macro nutrients are carbohydrates, protein, fat and water. The micro nutrients are the vitamins and minerals that your body receives from digesting the whole foods. All diets have these but when someone is talking about counting their macros and micros this is what they are referring to. A good balance of carbohydrates to protein to fats is 40:40:20 or 40:30:30. So 40:40:20 with caloric intake of 1400 would be 560 calories carbohydrates, 560 calories protein and 280 calories fat. There are multiple apps that can help you track this information. A common one is MyFitnessPal. When properly followed this plan can help you lose weight, gain energy and improve your overall health.

What you eat: Whole food nutrition focusing on single ingredient foods. Focus on filling up with Low-Glycemic Index (GI) rated carbohydrates versus High-Glycemic carbs. Low GI carbs are digested slower, keep you fuller longer, and provide you with longer lasting energy. The High GI carbs are digested quickly and will leave you hungry craving more food in a shorter period of time. Check out this great list of good carbs (Low GI) versus bad carbs (High GI). Eat every 2-4 hours based upon the activity you did before your meal or what you’re fueling for after the meal.

What you don’t eat: Steer away from processed foods as they will be a waste of your macro nutrients since they will not provide your body with the much needed micro nutrients.

Weight Watchers Beyond the Scale

This plan is designed to help people make healthier food choices, get moving and have a better mindset. The Weight Watchers food plan operates around Smart Points. Every food has a point value based on how much saturated fats, sugars and proteins they contain. The higher saturated fats and sugar in a food the more points it will be worth. The higher in protein the lower the points. The target amount of points you can intake daily is based on your gender, weight, height and age. Processed foods will be more points than whole foods like fresh vegetables and fruits.

What you eat: You can eat whatever you want as long as it’s within your Smart Point range for your daily intake. There is an emphasis on focusing on healthier food options as the less healthy options will leave you hungrier. So you will be left hungry or end up going over your points for the day to be satiated.

What you don’t eat: Foods throughout the day that will cause you to go over your Smart Point target. The foods that are high in saturated fats and sugars, processed foods.

Whole 30

This diet was originally created as a short-term nutritional reset to help end junk food cravings and unhealthy habits. Also to help heal the digestive tract, balance the immune system and build a healthy metabolism. The Whole 30 plan has been shown to be a good way to determine if you have a food sensitivity and narrow down the culprit. Many health issues can stem from food intolerance and sensitivities so after 30 days of the Whole 30 diet where you remove all traces of sugar, alcohol, grains, dairy and legumes you know how your body feels without those foods. Then as you gradually add foods back you can identify the triggers of mental, emotional and physical ailments. On the Whole 30 plan there is no calorie counting, and you should only eat “good food” when you are truly hungry. You can check out more of the specifics in this plan in The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom. When following the plan weight loss can be a side effect.

What you eat: You can eat whole foods like fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meats, seafood, nuts and seeds, and healthy oils.

What you don’t eat: You eliminate alcohol, dairy, grains, legumes (including peanut butter and soy), added sugar, carrageenan, added sulfites, msg, junk food, and anything you can’t pronounce. Also it’s frowned upon to create treats or snacks that would replace ice cream like coconut milk ice cream, even with Whole 30 approved ingredients, as the program works to change your relationship with food.

Paleo Diet

This plan is based upon the idea of what the caveman would eat. It’s foods that hunters and gatherers would consume on a daily basis. The Paleo nutrition plan is said to decrease the body’s glycemic load, increases nutrient and vitamin consumption, give a more healthy balance of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids, and provides the optimal amounts of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. The thought is when we developed as a culture from hunter and gatherers to farmers our bodies didn’t go along with this transformation. Where our bodies would prefer meats, fruits and vegetables as a culture we rely on grains for a large portion of our daily caloric intake. With the Paleo plan there isn’t counting calories, and it’s suggested to go for grass-fed meats, organic, and avoid pesticides, antibiotics and other chemicals. With following this plan weight loss can be a side effect.

What you eat: You can eat whole food nutrition consisting of preferably grass-fed meats, wild caught fish, cage free eggs, nuts, fruits, vegetables, natural oils like olive, coconut and avocado (even tallow and lard), and tubers like sweet potatoes and yams.

What you don’t eat: Avoid anything that comes in a box, bag or jar on the Paleo diet. No dairy, grains, legumes (peanuts, soybeans, beans, or lentils), vegetable oils, sugars (real or artificial, although I did read some accept honey), or alcohol (with the red wine being the closest to paleo friendly. Also potatoes are mainly excluded from the plan but can have on occasion.

Portion Fix

This plan was created to help take the guess work out of portion sizes, focusing on whole food nutrition, all while not taking away any food groups. It’s almost everything in moderation. The portion fix plan allows you to keep all of your favorite foods, teaches you how to tweak recipes to make them healthier, and fit into your daily portion allotment. Each day you get a certain number of proteins, fruits, vegetables, starchy carbs, healthy fats, seeds or dressings and healthy oils. The amount of containers you get to fill each day are based on lifestyle (sedentary/moderate/active), current weight, and goals. By focusing on the whole food options and recipes you are left fighting less cravings throughout the day and full by the time all the containers have been eaten. When following this plan you can lose weight, gain muscle and tone coupled with exercise.

What you eat: Whole food nutrition focusing on single ingredient foods or recipes created from single ingredients. You get lean protein, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, nuts/seeds, and healthy oils everyday. As treats you can have chocolate and alcoholic beverages.

What you don’t eat: Highly processed foods that are high in added sugars and unhealthy fats.

Hopefully this overview has helped you to have a better understanding of some of the more popular diet plans buzzing around today. Please comment below if you have followed any of these nutrition plans and your experience with them. Also I’d love to hear your experience.

If you have any questions please comment below or send me a message.

Thank you for taking the time to read the Best Nutrition Plan For You. If you found this information useful please share it on social media or with your friends and family.

Check out blogs in the Best Diet and Exercise Series: Part 1

References:

Murphy, T.J. “Is the High-Fat, Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet Right for You?” Outside Online. N.p., 03 Oct. 2016. Web. 27 June 2017.

“The Ketogenic Diet Might Be the Next Big Weight Loss Trend, But Should You Try It?”Health.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2017.

“A Guide To The Most Popular Diets Of 2017.” Into The Gloss. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2017.

“Why Intermittent Fasting May or May Not Be For You.” Legion Athletics. N.p., 23 Feb. 2017. Web. 27 June 2017.

“6 Popular Ways to Do Intermittent Fasting.” Authority Nutrition. N.p., 04 June 2017. Web. 27 June 2017.

“Macronutrients and Micronutrients.” Diet Database. Diet Database, 26 May 2016. Web. 27 June 2017.

Thedolcediet. “Micronutrients Matter: 5 Keys To A Great Diet.” Bodybuilding.com. N.p., 13 Feb. 2017. Web. 27 June 2017.

Overall, Best Diets. U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, n.d. Web. 28 June 2017.

“Here’s What You Can and Can’t Eat on Whole30.” Kitchn. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 June 2017.

“Everything You Need to Know About the Paleo Diet.” Health.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 June 2017.

“The Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet.” Nerd Fitness. N.p., 27 June 2017. Web. 28 June 2017.