So I just got off a coaching call with an amazing chek practitioner and we got into talking about the diet crazes of 2021. And it led us to discuss about getting this info out for more people to digest.
For anyone who knows me and or who has worked with me knows I will not favour any type of diet. It really comes back to what works best for you and what gives you the better results that you want.
All the diets discussed I believe are good for someone, The question is - Is it the right diet for you?
Here is a brief overview of the top 2021 diets and how to choose what way to eat for the person you are. The typical ones are still in the list but there are some new ones hitting the top searches today including the DASH diet and the Flexitarian Diet. But the big question is what is the best one for you and this is only a real question what you can answer but. you can start to look at what best serves. you. Below i'll overview some of the most searched diets and some of the most common diets of 2021.
DASH Diet - The dietary approach to stop hypertension (dash) is a newer one to the list of top diets hitting the list today. Its a dietary way of eating promoted by the US based heart, lung and blood institute and the USDA. The diet itself is high consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy. It also includes meat, fish, poultry and nuts and beans. It does limit sugar sweetened foods and beverages, red meat and added fats. This way of eating has been studied to reduce systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Respectively these studies noted changes with this way of eating. It's won many dietary awards for being the best in various categories but its doesn't mean its what you need.
The Flexitarian Diet - The flexitarian diet is a style of eating that encourages mostly plant based foods while allowing meat and animal products in moderation. Its more flexible than going fully vegetarian or vegan. If you want to eat more fruit and veg without totally cutting out meat and animal products this may be the new trend diet for you to try. Depending upon commitment it will give you freedom to eat unto 28 ounces of meat and poultry per week. And for the more dedicated and less meat people dropping down to 3 ounces of meat 3x per week. As with all diets they all have studies that tell you have beneficial they are on reducing hypertension, heart disease, blood pressure, diabetes and weight issues.
Keto diet - Short for “ketogenic diet,” this eating plan is all about minimizing your carbs and upping your fats to get your body to use fat as a form of energy. While everyone's body and needs are slightly different, that typically translates to:
60 to 75 percent of your calories from fat
15 to 30 percent of your calories from protein
5 to 10 percent of your calories from carbs
That usually means eating no more than 50 grams of carbs a day (some strict keto dieters even opt for just 20 grams a day). After about two to seven days of following the keto diet, you go into something called ketosis, or the state your body enters when it doesn't have enough carbs for your cells to use for energy. That's when you start making ketones, or organic compounds that your body then uses in place of those missing carbs. At this point, your body also starts burning fat for more energy. So how do you know you're in ketosis? There are a few side effects that can tip you off, like breath that smells a bit like nail polish remover (seriously), or you can use devices like keto testing strips (which you pee on) or this breath analyzer to tell you. Pros - pretty quick results and good energy levels. Cons not easy eating out, socializing and long term. A good way to cycle.
Intermittent fasting or time restricted eating - One of the most researched ways of eating today is still fasting. This plan doesn't involve eating any style of food with it. It has become super popular with the Ketogenic world or the higher fat style diets but anyone can do this. The golden rule to intermittent fasting is to reduce the window that you eat for. As we have become a society that eats from when we wake up until when we go to bed.
The more popular ways of doing intermittent fasting are eating within a 8 hour window AKA the 16:8, you don't eat for 16 hours and you eat within the 8 hour window. This doesn't tell you what to or not to eat. And you can play with this with all the nutrition types listed here. You can also try changing your eating window time to 6 hours 10 hours and even four hours. Many benefits of this have been listed as increased rate of ketosis, and autophagy, controls blood sugars, reduces inflammation, improved mental function and may help with weight loss.
Vegetarian diet - There are different types of vegetarian diets. What kind of vegetarian do you want to be? Most choose a lacto-ovo approach, turning their backs on meat, fish and poultry, but still eating dairy products and eggs. (Lacto-vegetarians, meanwhile, also nix eggs, whereas ovo-vegetarians also nix dairy; vegans exclude all animal products.). Now, vegetarian is not in my opinion the best way to eat, as chips and pizza are veggie but I down consider them to be great choices. But being a whole food veggie and eating real food is a good start. Now not getting into the ethical mix of farming I can argue on both sides of this. But what this is good for is, getting a great mix of good foods. You'll be guaranteed to get a great mix of fruits, vegetables and legumes and beans. The trick with this is finding the balance that you need. And making sure you get the right amount of protein for your body, Yes this can be done. Down side for me - I love meat and fish. Pro I love salads and some of the vegetarian curries are delicious and I love a good curry. Paleo diet - In its purest form, the paleo diet allows you to eat only those foods that humans ate when they first roamed the planet about 2.5 million years ago. The diet can improve your health by eliminating high-fat and processed foods that have little nutritional value and too many calories. This plan emphasizes loading up on fruits and vegetables that are bursting with healthy vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which fills you up faster so you eat less, helping curb weight gain. The focus is on lean protein, fruits, and vegetables over calorie- and sodium-rich processed foods.
Note that though nuts and seeds are allowed on this diet, they can be high in calories, and people who want to lose weight will have to limit their nut consumption. This to me has lots of variants depending on how strict you follow. What I love about this its promoting eating real food. It reduces processed and un-natural foods. The cons - technically allows now treats or alcohol etc. I believe in a healthy balance. But this is how I eat most of the time and flip flop with the keto diet. Carnivore diet - T-bones for breakfast, ground round for lunch, rib eyes for dinner. Does this sound like your dream menu — or your worst nightmare? Is a diet consisting of only animal products a simple, healing way to eat or an overly-restrictive regimen. You’ve heard the stories of people finding significant improvements on a carnivore diet with everything from weight loss, depression and anxiety, to autoimmune disease, and many want to give it a try. Beginning with an appreciation of the fact that animal foods represent the most nutrient rich sources of bioavailable vitamins and minerals, these foods form the majority of such a diet, perhaps 80%-90%. These foods might include ruminant (beef, bison, lamb) meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy for those who tolerate it . In addition to these foods, “low toxicity” plant foods may be included for flavor, preference or texture/colour. The overview is a lot of vegetables and fruits are very hard on the digestive tract, and are toxic for the human body. This is backed up by many doctors and studies. I see the science, the facts - its as hard or harder than the keto diet, it can be very expensive. I believe a healthy balance is good and its hard to stick to if lets say YOU LOVE FOOD. But the health improvements on this have been amazing.
Whole30 Diet - The Whole30 is a 30-day fad diet that emphasizes whole foods and the elimination of sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, soy, and dairy. The Whole30 is similar to but more restrictive than the paleo diet, as adherents may not eat natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. I like the reset and eliminating known inflammatory foods, I think is great idea. But what you need to know is what creates a negative response for you. If you know this you can remove those known foods. In a healthy and realistic and achievable way. I love resets, we all yo yo with food and life, having a clean and healthy way of eating and a good reset is a great way to re establish your healthy start point. Atkins diet - The Atkins diet is a low-carb diet, usually recommended for weight loss. Proponents of this diet claim that you can lose weight while eating as much protein and fat as you want, as long as you avoid foods high in carbs. In the past 12 or so years, over 20 studies have shown that low-carb diets without the need for calorie counting are effective for weight loss and can lead to various health improvements. The Atkins diet was originally promoted by the physician Dr. Robert C. Atkins, who wrote a best-selling book about it in 1972. Since then, the Atkins diet has been popular all over the world with many more books having been written. The diet was originally considered unhealthy and demonized by the mainstream health authorities, mostly due to its high saturated fat content. However, new studies suggest that saturated fat is harmless. Since then, the diet has been studied thoroughly and shown to lead to more weight loss and greater improvements in blood sugar, “good” HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and other health markers than low-fat diets.
Alkaline diet - This diet solely focuses on reducing the PH level within your body. Its based off the principles that lowering the bodies pH level is beneficial for weight loss. It aims to help the gut and reduce the impact of inflammatory foods. It puts food types in orders of acidic neutral or alkaline. Within acidic foods are meat, poultry, fish, diary, grains and alcohol. Neutral foods include natural fats, starch and sugars. And alkaline food list includes fruit, nuts legumes and vegetables. Lots of contradicting studies on the benefits with this one as for the validity of the actual ph of the body. As when measured the body has a need for different ph levels in different places. for example the gut, urine and salivary Ph where all different levels when measured in clients on this diet.
GM 7 day Diet - Yes GM is General Motors, rumours have it GM designed this meal plan to help its employees lose weight. The basis of the diet is a 7 day food plan focusing on specific foods each day.
The daily plan focuses on more fruits and vegetables. With a few days with meat. It looks to eliminate all alcohol, tea and coffee. Seeing very little in terms of research etc but its on the list of most researched diets. The only thing I find is that it limits foods and the concern here is with missing certain bio nutrients that the body needs.
Which on his best for you?
Ok the quick answer to this is the one that works. There are too many factors to take into consideration. Like what is readily available. What can you afford, What is easy for you to commit to. What does your body need? Is what you need to be asking? Anything in moderation is ok. I favour to avoid a lot of highly processed foods and favour a more whole real food type way of eating. You need to work out what works for you. What ratio of foods and when will be different for each one of you. The key is to focus on yourself and what makes you feel good and gives you the energy you need. I coach clients to avoid foods 80% of the time that create a negative or adverse response. Adverse reactions are gas, bloating, cravings, IBS symptoms, Bad bowel movements, energy lags, headaches. To name a few. If you focus on what you can digest and feel good with this is the key to happiness. Find out what foods work for you. If the foods you love are not working for you reduce your consumption. If you have any bigger issues reach out and book a consultation. There are many things you can do to dial in your health and wellness with the foods you eat.