Which Diet is Best for Fat Loss?

​Maintaining healthy levels of fat within your body is essential for your overall health and wellbeing. But it can prove a little more complicated than you’d initially imagine. There are, of course, plenty of fat loss nutrition diets out there that you can choose from. So, which prove effective?

Let’s take a look through a few to determine which could be best for your fat loss journey!

​Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean Diet gets its name from the type of eating popular in the Mediterranean countries. In a typical Mediterranean diet, you can expect to find a lot of:
 

• Fish
• Seafood
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Healthy Fats

 
This diet, of course, is high in Omega 3 fatty acids. This may sound counter-intuitive when we’re claiming that it’s a diet for fat loss. But these are the right kind of fats your body needs. They are healthy and can promote weight loss success! The Mediterranean diet has also been shown to improve hormonal imbalances, which is an extra bonus for women!

​Vegetarian / Plant - Based Diet

Increasing numbers of people are becoming vegetarian and vegan, which means increasing numbers of people are thriving on more plant-based diets. First, let’s focus on the difference between vegetarianism and veganism:

• Vegetarian - vegetarians don't eat animals themselves, but they may eat animal products like dairy. They don’t eat anything that is a part of a once-living creature. So that means no meat, no fish, and no products like gelatine (which is often found in sweets and marshmallows).
• Vegan - vegans cut any animal products from their lifestyle. Anything that was once part of an animal or came from an animal is eliminated. This means no meat, fish, or gelatine (like vegetarians). But it also means no dairy, no eggs, no honey, or anything else animal-derived.

 
Now, many people will adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle on moral or ethical grounds. Many will argue that animals should not be killed for human consumption. Many will say that animals should not be farmed, and their products should not be taken away from them for human use.

Many people will also point out that vegetarianism and veganism are better for the planet. These are all extremely valid points. But it’s also important to remember that vegetarianism and veganism can be much healthier lifestyles and diets in general!
When it comes to fat loss, going vegetarian or vegan can seem like they fit the bill perfectly. The removal of fatty meats from your diet means you will immediately cut out a whole load of saturated fats that translate into calories.

You will also be encouraged to consume more vegetables and plant-based protein. The latter can be found in tofu, tempeh, seitan, edamame, lentils, chickpeas, nuts, seeds, and spinach, as well as various other sources.

The vital aspect to remember is that going full vegan comes with a high risk of vitamin B12 depletion and not eating meat could see you develop iron deficiency. So, while you will naturally eat much fewer calories and likely lose weight as a result; you also would like to keep a close eye on your vitamin and mineral intake.

Ketogenic Diet

Chances are that you’ve heard the terms “ketogenic” and “keto” being thrown around a lot lately if you’ve been looking into fat-busting diets. But what does the ketogenic diet do?

Well, the keto diet is a diet for fat loss that takes inspiration from fasting. Fasting itself is a process that people from around the world have been practising for centuries. It entails abstaining from food completely or partly (essentially starving yourself) for set periods.

However, ketogenic diets aren’t complete fasting - they incorporate certain aspects of fasting that have proven to have certain health benefits without starving you. It is a diet that encourages your body to enter a state of ketosis.

During ketosis, your body’s fat supplies are used for energy rather than the carbohydrates that you consume. When following the diet, you will reduce the daily calories derived from carbs to below 10% and significantly increase the levels of fat in your diet (70%+) while maintaining a moderate protein intake.

This means that when your body requires energy, it will burn the fat from your diet and then move onto reserves of fat in your body. You will have enough energy to function well but can experience weight loss success through reduced weight and reduced measurements.
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The ketogenic diet comes with high health risks when someone doesn't know what they are doing. Originally it was developed to help manage conditions like epilepsy and required continuous supervision from medical professionals. For that reason, I can't emphasise enough that if you want to experience with any highly restrictive diet, like keto or even going vegan, I highly recommend working with a nutritionist or registered dietitian at the beginning.

Slimming World, Weight Watchers, etc.

The success of groups such as Slimming World and Weight Watchers are on the rise. These groups promote specific diets that can encourage weight loss and fat loss. Part of the success of following these diets is that the social aspect of meeting up with people in a group and saying whether you’ve gained weight and lost weight encourages you to actually stick to the diet, rather than cheating and snacking as and when you please.
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However, the diets themselves can prove hugely successful too! They provide you with easy to understand rules and guidelines that will help you to incorporate fat loss nutrition into your lifestyle.

Wrapping Up

​All the above methods have one aspect in common. One way or other they will help you to eat less which is the key to seeing weight loss results.

While it's relatively apparent how eating less meat can make you eat less overall, the ketogenic diet has a hidden secret; they will never recommend you to count calories, but what will happen is you will stop having cravings and feel much less hungry in general due to the low carb and high fat intake. You can call it a natural calorie control.

At the end of the day, any well-thought-out diet that controls the number of calories in your diet is going to help you to lose weight in one way or another. All of the above options could prove fruitful for you so long you are able to sustain them for long enough to see the results!
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Just remember to consult a doctor before getting started with a new nutrition regime, especially if it's highly restrictive in any way. If not else, understanding the risks of each option will keep you on your toes to ensure you are doing the right thing for your body. Plus, if it turns out that you have an underlying issue causing weight management problems, that will need to be addressed first.