What’s the Best Diet to Lose Weight?
I’ll give ya the answer right up front, and then spend the rest of the post trying to convince you that it’s true, ‘cause it ain’t fun and it ain't the answer ya want but the truth is what it is lady…
The best diet for losing weight is the diet with no end date!
Gain it, lose it, gain it…
It’s exhausting gaining and losing the same weight all the dang time. If you’ve tried every diet under the sun and nothing seems to keep the weight off, this post is for you, sister.
We’re going to talk about the ONLY diet that will work for YOU! And I’ll even break down a few of the most popular ones on the scene so you can decide if you want to dabble with any of that.
But there are a few basic rules to making ANY DIET work for you!!!
So, in true Nikki fashion, the quick answer is that it isn’t quick. Go figure. Hang with me and I promise we’ll get to bottom of it, so you can make the RIGHT changes for you to keep the weight off this time.
(Video summary at the bottom of this post in case ya don’t want to read).
A few fun weight loss facts
Only 5% of people who lose weight on a diet will keep it off! Ugh, that’s frustrating. What’s even worse is that of the people who regain weight after losing it, most will add on more than what they lost. How in the world can this be?
People use these numbers to make the claim that diets don’t work, but that’s not entirely accurate. I get why people say this, but there’s more to the story and just telling you that diets don’t work isn’t super helpful.
What’s even more annoying is that most people who tell you diets don’t work, also don’t offer up much advice on how to get the weight off. So what’s up people? We just don’t diet because it doesn’t work? And we don’t do anything else either? And the weight is going to magically fall off?
Nah – I don’t think so. We obviously have to make changes to what we eat. There’s also a slew of other things that can help with fat loss and have nothing to do with diet and exercise.
Call it dieting, call it food changes, call it clean eating, call it whatever you want…
but you have to change what you eat. PERIOD. And the specifics on what you do aren’t nearly as important as every diet zealot wants you to think.
The keto camp would have you think keto is the only way.
The paleo camp would have you think paleo is the only way.
The vegan camp would have you think eating meat will kill you.
Ok, you get the point, but when we look at the research the clear diet winner when it comes to long-term weight loss is…
THE DIET THAT HAS NO END DATE.
Ugh, you’re so annoyed with me right now. I felt those eyes roll. I heard that mocking voice in your head saying, “Here we go with those lifestyle changes.”
Haha. I agree, I’m even annoying myself by saying it, so you can be annoyed too. But hear me out, because this is one thing I am CERTAIN of, and I never claim to be certain of anything.
No matter how you choose to eat, the food choices you make (either out of habit, craving, or purpose) will dictate your results.
My diet for my entire life was the diet of habit (bad ones), cravings, and absolutely no thought processes to goals whatsoever. A diet designed to make me fat. A diet designed to make me inflamed. A diet designed to keep me coming back for more like the good little junk food crackhead that I was…
The Standard American Diet (SAD). A diet designed to inflame your bowels and give you digestive issues. A diet designed to inflame your skin – in my case flaring up as acne, but it can be any number of skin issues. A diet designed to produce high blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes - you get the point.
Did anyone person sit around and concoct this diet on purpose to produce these things? Of course not! But there is a whole big industry profiting from us consuming little packaged treats, and they’re making a buck on our ever-expanding waistlines.
Now, is anyone “on this diet” on purpose? NO!
But, when we don’t actively put thought into what is going into our bodies, we are in fact choosing this Standard American diet and all of the wonderful metabolic dysfunctional gifts it brings with it. It is a diet in its own right, it’s just a diet we default to because it is the cultural norm around us. The diet that we end up eating when we’re busy, stressed or preoccupied with other important things in life.
It is the Standard…
and the acronym is so ironically true - SAD
SAD = weight gain
Almost any other diet = weight loss
So what’s the problem? If these other diets cause weight loss, why aren’t they working?
Because they’re short-term fixes to a lifelong problem.
If you start a diet with an end goal in mind, be that a specific date on the calendar or a certain number on the scale, what happens after you hit that date or number? Well, if you continue doing whatever you did to lose the weight, you should at the very least maintain what you have lost, if not continue to lose more weight.
But this is not what we do. Instead, we hit our goal and stop dieting. What does that look like? We go back to the SAD diet, which by design causes weight gain. Well, that doesn’t make a lot of sense…
and this is why I’ll say it again, the only diet that works is the diet that has no end date. It is the diet that you can do forever. But that sounds horrible! Who the hell wants to diet for the rest of their life????
I hear that, I feel that. Because we typically think of dieting as really restrictive and just no fun. Well, I wouldn’t do that forever either! So let me elaborate on another point.
Losing weight does not have to be super restrictive! It just has to be better than whatever you’ve got going on right now.
What makes a healthy weight loss diet?
If it doesn’t have to be super restrictive, what does it look like?
Obviously, we can’t go about eating the same garbage we’ve always eaten and expect to magically get different results. We either need to eat less of the same food we’re eating, which I don’t recommend for a number of reasons, or we eat different foods altogether.
Any way you go about it you must change what it is that you’re consuming on your average day of life. For the most part, any diet that you decide to follow that incorporates whole foods, meaning foods God made, is going to be a major step up from the SAD diet, and therefore give you some degree of fat loss.
In general, there isn’t a whole ton of difference in the results that people get from one diet to another. What does seem to make a significant difference is how you feel about the foods on a specific diet. A diet that you enjoy more will be easier to stick to, and you’ll be more likely to continue on that plan. And that makes it the winner! The diet you can stick to is the BEST diet for you.
In my opinion, whole foods are healthier than processed foods, and making this switch is a pretty simple transition. (Simple does not mean easy, as old habits die hard). But what you include in that whole food diet is up to you. What do you like? Simply clean up your food options. I have a guide on clean eating over in the resource library if you’d like a free copy.
You can put a big dent in your weight loss goals by switching to whole foods, and that is why I like it. You do have to decrease the amount of food you consume to lose weight, but switching to whole foods naturally makes this happen for many people. It’s a lot more difficult to overeat healthy whole foods than it is calorie-dense junk food.
If you aren’t getting the results you want from this alone, or you’re someone who does better when tracking your intake, then by all means go for it! Tracking definitely helps with accountability and it gives you insight into what you ACTUALLY eat. A mini-snickers here and there won’t stall your weight loss, but a lot of these little bites add up and people are usually snacking a lot more than they think.
Writing it down or tracking in a calorie counting app can give you great data, but it isn’t necessary for everyone in every situation. It depends on where you’re starting, what you respond best to, and what your goals are.
Fad Diets
Can fad diets help you lose weight?
I use the term fad diet loosely as I am actually a big fan of some of the more popular ones out there when they are used in the RIGHT context. Keep in mind that most of these do not have any magical weight-loss powers onto themselves. What makes one better than the other will mostly be what you enjoy the best.
So, I’m not going to tell you which one would be best for you, but I will give you a super simple overview of some of the more popular ones around. If you follow one of these, you must either stick with it or move onto basic clean eating when you’re ready to transition off of it, or you will put the weight back on!
Did the diet fail if you lose weight and then go back to the SAD diet? No, you just went back to a diet that is designed to cause weight gain. Don’t do that! It is better to lose the weight slow and steady than to do something drastic (like a really strict diet) and put it all right back on.
But sometimes having set parameters is really helpful when starting out because it eliminates decision fatigue. Having a guide that gives you a list of acceptable foods to follow can seem a little less stressful. Should you try one of these and have it work amazing for you, please fight the urge to think that this is the one and only true way to live - that potatoes and bananas are evil or that anyone who dares eat a legume must be crazy.
Ok, here we go…
>>> Clean eating
This is super basic…if God made it, it’s free game. No natural food is off-limits. I won’t dive too deep since we have the handy little Clean Eating Guide here. To me, this isn’t dieting. This is the basics of how we should eat most of the time for optimal health and weight.
>>> Paleo
Eating like a caveman might not seem too appealing, but when you look at what the paleo diet advocates for, it’s essentially clean eating with a couple of modifications. Typically the paleo diet has you eliminate dairy, grains, and legumes in addition to any processed food. This is a diet focused on food quality, so wild-caught fish instead of farmed, grass-fed beef instead of beef from big ag.
I will say that many people find solutions to their weight and other health issues when following this meal plan. Is it the little extra details that go into it? Maybe, maybe not. But, even if it works well for you, you do not have to be a lifer with this. You can reintroduce foods one at a time and see how your body responds. The key being to keep the concept of “clean eating” that it teaches. Which whole food groups to add back like dairy or beans will be personal.
Who it may be helpful for:
If you struggle with gut issues, anything autoimmune (the AIP protocol is a spin-off of paleo), skin issues, or allergies, it might be worth playing with paleo as a type of elimination diet.
I am not claiming that this diet cures or treats any disease process. Just sharing what some have people have experienced. Always talk to your doctor about any medical issues or dietary changes.
Resources: The Paleo Cure by Chris Kresser and Wired to Eat by Robb Wolf
>>> Whole30
Whole30 is another great whole food option that is very much in line with basic clean eating and paleo. You can find many whole30 recipes since it is a pretty popular diet and they put out a lot of great content.
This diet is super similar to paleo with a couple of little twists.
Resources: TheWhole30 program website
>>> Ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet is the most extreme diet on the low-carb scene. You keep your carbs low enough for your body to make something called ketones. Ketones are these wonderful little things your body makes from fatty acids to fuel your body when you do not have an adequate intake of food or carbs.
I am a big fan of using this as a weight-loss and general health tool (when done right). The diet seems to make it easier to cut back on the amount of food you eat while still feeling very satisfied. For me personally, I enjoy the foods that are allowed on this diet so adherence is easy. And I like the extra health benefits that come along with it, when it’s done in a CLEAN manner and not just binging on cheese and pork rinds all the time.
I do not personally stay in ketosis year-round because I don’t find that there is enough solid evidence to do this. But I know others who do and they seem to be plugging along just fine. The entire topic of keto is quite lengthy, and if you need additional resources please let me know. It is definitely not the magical cure-all that some make it out to be and I am for sure NOT a fan of drinking ketones, but following the diet itself (especially when making a couple of tweaks for fat loss) is a pretty cool tool.
Who it might be helpful for:
People who want to lose weight and tend to do well with low carb, people who have inflammatory issues, and it is being studied for many neurological issues and certain types of cancer.
Keep in mind that just because it’s being studied for certain conditions does not mean we have enough evidence to say it will help. For instance, with cancer, it’s looking like it might help with certain types but actually make others worse. We just do NOT know enough yet! (Which is exactly why a dietician or doctor who has knowledge about such things should be guiding any dietary changes focused on disease states.)
Also, it may not be great for athletes as there is a decrease in athletic performance during the fat-adaptation phase. (And debatable beyond.)
Resource: The Keto Gains website puts out great content and has a handy little online macro calculator.
>>> Carnivore
The carnivore diet seems to be all the rage these days so I thought I’d throw it in here. The only place I see this as an appropriate option is for people who have a wrecked gut and eliminating plant matter seems to decrease the inflammation going on. In its defense as a diet, you can actually get a lot more vitamins and minerals from meat than most people realize.
But…
I am still of the opinion that God made us omnivores for a reason and that if your body tolerates plant matter and thrives on it, you should keep both plants and animals in your diet. They’re different, they do different things, and our bodies seem to thrive on both.
If you have a certain issue you think may be resolved by carnivore I would highly encourage nose-to-tail carnivore. Meaning, you’re eating lots of weird animal parts, not just lean chicken breast. Get some organs, bone marrow, bone broth, etc.
Is it worth experimenting with? Maybe for certain health conditions but I’m leaning towards NO for general weight loss purposes. However, it’s new on the scene. Maybe science will prove me wrong. At the time of this writing, I haven’t seen any data to suggest it will work better than any other whole food diet. That being said, if you like it, it’s still probably much better than the SAD.
>>> Vegan
If you have religious reasons for being vegan, that’s cool and I totally respect that. For the sake of this blog, I’m speaking strictly from a weight-loss standpoint and my stance is that this is NOT the best way to go about losing weight.
Your body does not get adequate protein from plant matter. You have to eat a ton more calories to obtain the same amounts of protein and that protein isn’t even utilized the same way. You will have a honeymoon period when coming off junk food and onto plants that will feel amazing and you’ll definitely lose weight. But in the long run, you run into lower muscle mass and nutritional deficiencies.
If you’re going the vegan route, pay attention to your protein intake and you must supplement with b12. That is not optional (which should tell you that since you must supplement it’s not really the best diet for humans). There are a few other key nutrients that tend to run low for vegans, so if this is the route you’re going I would absolutely bring your doctor or a dietician into the conversation.
Resources: Sorry, my resource for this isn’t in favor of switching to all plants. If you’re considering switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet and the goal is to lose weight - read Sacred Cow by Robb Wolf and Diana Rodgers.
The most important factor to choosing a diet
Whether you decide to go the route of cleaning up your diet and not being super regimented, or you want to strict calorie and macro count, or you want to follow something with general guidelines like paleo or keto, the key to keeping the weight off is that you do NOT go back to the standard American diet.
You must begin to view food as fuel for life. Fuel for having the body you want to enjoy for the rest of your life, that looks and performs in the ways that you want it to. Study the art of creating new habits and habit stacking. Start journaling, start gratitude, start whatever practices you can to make clean eating principals sticks.
Whatever route you go, stick with it if it’s working. If it’s not working, try something else. If you need help, reach out to me or someone else you follow and respect who takes on clients. It doesn’t have to be me! But work with someone who wants to help you nail this down for LIFE, not just for a short-term goal.
Here are a few general guidelines for any meal plan:
>>> Stick to whole foods for life, adjust the details as you go
>>> Pay attention to how your body is feeling.
Are you always bloated, tired, losing hair, or any other weird crap? If this happens the first step is to go to your doctor and make sure nothing is wrong. But, if these happen after you make dietary changes, you’re body is probably missing something!
>>> Enjoy the ride!
Fat loss isn’t one goal to achieve and then move on and forget about it. This is a lifelong process, and it gets easier as time goes on. But we have to be in tune with what our bodies need and give a little attention to our health to keep the weight off.
So have fun with it!
If you want to receive an email series with a lot of info about structuring a great weight loss plan so you can DIY it, you can join my newsletter by opting in on the home page or the resource library.
If you’re ready to jump in and iron out a weight loss plan that works for YOU, check out The Academy.
And for my gals that don’t love reading, here’s a quick video going over some of these principles. (In less detail).
