Uncovering the Best Diets For Lasting Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, not all diets are created equal. Here are some of the pros and cons of the most common diet trends to help you decide if one is right for you.

If you have ever looked at all the diet trends and been confused, you aren’t alone. There are many different types of diets on the market and they all advertise maximum weight loss and health benefits. But with so many options how does someone know which ones truly work at minimizing fat and helping drop the pounds for lasting weight loss? Our SureFiz trainer and health coach helps to give a brief analysis of the pros and cons for some of the most popular diets currently trending to help you decide if any of them are a good fit for your weight loss goals.

The Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet (or keto diet) has been trending for the past few years as a diet to promote weight loss. But it has been traced back to as early as 1921, and was used to treat epilepsy. The main concept behind the diet is to eat a daily diet consisting of mostly fats and very low carbs, which puts the body in a state of ketosis, where it burns fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates. Because almost all of the carbohydrates are removed from the daily diet, there are no longer any reserves available, which leads to burning more body fat for fuel. Some types of plans have users eating 70% or more of daily fats, with carbs as low as 5%. Most keto diet followers also maintain a low to moderate protein intake.

While the keto diet is not necessarily restrictive in food groups (for instance, dairy or meats or gluten), it can be a lot harder to follow than it seems. In order to stay in ketosis, the low carb balance must be maintained at all times, which doesn’t allow for any breaks, days off or cheat days to balance out a diet. Over time, the diet becomes extremely hard to maintain and many people cannot stay on it for extended periods of time. Some doctors also have concerns about long term effects of eating such large amounts of fats on other systems in the body, such as the heart, liver, pancreas, etc. For a more in depth look at the keto diet, click here.

Paleo Diet

The Paleo diet is another recent trending diet for weight loss, although it also didn’t originate as a weight loss diet alone. The purpose behind the Paleo diet is that current farming and manufacturing trends have created more processed foods than our bodies can handle and that by eating like our ancestors with whole foods and foods from the earth, we can greatly lower our disease risk and our bodies will be overall healthier. For most people who follow the Paleo diet, weight loss is a side effect of eating less sugar, less processed foods and focusing on more nutrient dense food groups to supply daily fuel for the body.

The Paleo diet can be restrictive, as it doesn’t allow many grains/gluten, no dairy and no added sugars (some natural options like dates can be an exception). The overall focus of the diet is a healthy one, with many people benefitting from eliminating fast food, processed junk food and sugars from their daily diet. This diet can become challenging over time as well, with major food groups being eliminated. The sustainability long term is questionable. If you need to go on vacation or out to dinner, your choices are slim as many restaurants use ingredients that are not considered ok by the Paleo diet standards. For a more in depth look at the Paleo diet, click here.

Whole 30 Diet

The Whole 30 diet is extremely similar in concept to the Paleo diet, with a few more restrictions. Like the other diets mentioned above, the Whole 30 diet was not originally intended as a weight loss diet but was created by Nutritionists Dallas and Melissa Hartwig as an elimination diet to help pinpoint food allergies or food intolerances. The Whole 30 eliminates many high allergen food groups, such as gluten, grains, dairy, beans and legumes, sugar and any processed foods. The main staple of the diet is Meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables, and users are intended to stay on the diet for 30 days, then slowly integrate food groups back in to see if there is a negative response in the body.

The Whole 30 is considered in some ways to be a more extreme version of the Paleo diet, as the Paleo diet will allow some sugars and more grains than the Whole 30. But the Whole 30 concept is also not intended to be utilized for more than 30 days, making it a bit more achievable as a short term weight loss diet plan. For maximum weight loss success on the Whole 30 diet, it is recommended that people transition from the Whole 30 to another healthy eating plan to reduce the chances of gaining all their weight back if they return to how they ate before they began the Whole 30 program.

Intermittent Fasting

There are many different ways to follow an intermittent fasting diet approach, but the basic concept focuses on eating within a certain window of time and “fasting” from food during the other hours of the day. One of the most popular ways to follow intermittent fasting is the 16:8 plan, where users will only eat in an 8-hour window of time, allowing the body to fast for 16 hours of the day. During the fasting hours you can drink water, coffee and tea but no caloric drinks or food. The benefits to intermittent fasting go beyond simple weight loss. According to Healthline, “All sorts of processes in the body change when we don’t eat for a while, in order to allow our bodies to thrive during a period of famine. It has to do with hormones, genes and important cellular repair processes. When fasted, we get significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels, as well as a drastic increase in human growth hormone. Many people do intermittent fasting in order to lose weight, as it is a very simple and effective way to restrict calories and burn fat. Others do it for the metabolic health benefits, as it can improve various different risk factors and health markers”.

Intermittent fasting does not necessarily restrict any food groups, but simply requires eating within a window of time and abstaining from foods in another window. Some users combine intermittent fasting with the keto diet to increase fat loss in an accelerated time. For more information on intermittent fasting and whether it will work for you, click here.

Intuitive Eating

The approach to Intuitive Eating is a blend of healthy eating concepts and psychology. It was created with an intention of teaching people to listen more to their bodies and to break the good/bad or on/off pattern that extreme diets can create in people’s mindsets. If followed correctly and intentionally, users can create healthy patterns that will allow long-term success without guilt and shame. The diet does not restrict any food group or promote calorie counting; rather it allows any food as long as you can create awareness in how it makes you feel and to eat only when truly hungry. The basic principles of intuitive eating are: reject the diet mentality, honor your hunger, make peace with food, challenge the food police (in your mind), respect your fullness, discover the satisfaction factor, honor your feelings without using food, respect your body, exercise to move your body and honor your health with gentle nutrition (Health Magazine).

Intuitive eating can help with those overcoming eating disorders or similar challenges with food and weight struggles. As a weight loss plan it may or may not work, depending on individual users and how much they follow the concept of eating for health and eating to make the body feel good. It can be easy for someone to take it too far and eat sweets every day, claiming it “feels good” to eat them. Those who want to use the intuitive eating approach to lose weight may want to combine it with either another eating plan geared towards weight loss or work to educate themselves on healthy eating plans for weight loss to ensure they aren’t continually eating foods that keep the weight on or put them over a caloric level.

Mediterranean Diet

According to U.S. News and World Report Health, the Mediterranean Diet has been named the top overall diet in 2021 for it’s well rounded health benefits. The basic concept behind this eating plan came from the population groups who lived surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and their health statistics. It is not so much a structured diet or restrictive eating plan, rather a guideline to base your general diet around. Many people who follow the Mediterranean diet plan do end up losing weight because the basic premise is around healthy foods for the whole body and all it’s systems. It does not track macros, eliminate entire food groups or require eating in a window of time during the day. The idea is an emphasis on the following foods: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, olive oil, flavorful herbs and spices, fish/seafood a couple times a week and poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt are eaten in moderation. The diet is low in red meats, although it does not eliminate them as an option for special occasions. Red wine is also ok to drink in moderation, as it offers heart benefits.

Overall the Mediterranean Diet can be considered a healthy diet to follow, even for the long-term, as it does not have too many strict rules or eliminations. This diet may not lead to the fastest weight loss, but may help users keep the weight off the longest and live in maintenance with a lot of flexibility. With a large focus on fish and seafood, it does require that those who follow the way of eating do enjoy seafood and/or don’t have an allergy. Otherwise it can be a safe, healthy diet concept to look into for sustainable weight loss and overall health.

The Bottom Line

While there are many diets on the market today, all of them come with a set of pros and cons. There is no “one size fits all approach” when it comes to dieting—many people could find weight loss success on any of these diet plans. The biggest component to weight loss has to do with creating a caloric deficit on most days: fewer calories ingested than calories burned. If you follow this basic approach, you will lose weight. We recommend that you do your research before starting any kind of diet plan, and make sure that the pros outweigh the cons. Always ask your doctor or nutritionist before starting a restrictive diet to make sure you don’t have any underlying conditions that would create a health problem. No matter which diet you choose, we recommend tracking your calories and weighing yourself on your SureFiz smart scale daily so that you can observe your progress and make sure it is truly working for you. Continue to follow our blogs and social media accounts for more advice, diet tips, recipes and workout ideas to help you find the best success in your weight loss journey.

All About Intermittent Fasting and How to do it

Intermittent fasting has become one of the most popular lifestyle trends for weight loss and improving overall health

What is intermittent fasting?

Is it the same as starvation? According to DietDoctor, fasting differs from starvation in one crucial way: control. Starvation is the involuntary absence of food for a long time. This can lead to severe suffering or even death. On the other hand, fasting is the voluntary avoidance of food for spiritual, health, or other reasons. It’s done by someone who is not underweight and has enough stored body fat to live off. When done correctly, fasting should not cause suffering, and certainly never death.

According to Healthline, intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It does not specify which foods you should eat but rather when you should eat them. It is not a diet in the conventional sense but more accurately described as an eating pattern. Common intermittent fasting methods involve daily 16-hour fasts or fasting for 24 hours, twice per week.

Fasting itself has been practiced from thousands of years ago by different cultures and religions. People who still fast for cultural or religious reasons claim that fasting improves their focus, concentration and clarity. There’s also a ton of promising intermittent fasting studies done on rats. They are all reporting positive results-such as weight loss, improved blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugars. However, according to Harvard Health Publishing, the studies in humans almost across the board have shown that intermittent fasting is safe and incredibly effective, but really no more effective than any other diet. Aside from that, many people find it difficult to fast and keep it as a lifestyle.

How does intermittent fasting work in weight loss?

When we fast, there are several things in our body on the cellular and molecular level. One of the things is that our body will adjust hormone levels to make our stored body fat more accessible. The food we eat is broken down by enzymes in our gut and eventually ends up as molecules in our bloodstream. Carbohydrates, particularly sugars and refined grains, are quickly broken down into sugar that our cells use for energy.

If our cells do not use the sugars, we will store it in our fat cells. Sugar can only enter our cells with insulin, which brings sugar into the fat cells and keeps it there. When we stop eating, our insulin levels go down and our fat cells can then release the stored sugar, to be used as energy. The entire idea of intermittent fasting is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and long enough that we burn off our fat. Not only that, when we fast, our human growth hormone levels go up and our body’s cells also change the expression of genes and initiate important cellular repair processes. So scientifically, there are major health benefits in fasting aside from weight loss.

A 2014 study found that this eating pattern can cause 3–8% weight loss over 3–24 weeks, which is a significant amount, compared to most weight loss studies (1).

How to do intermittent fasting correctly

According to Healthline.com, there are few different ways of doing intermittent fasting. The main idea is splitting the day or week into eating and fasting periods. During these fasting periods, you eat either very little or nothing at all.

These are the most popular methods:

The 16/8 method: it involves skipping one of your meals in a day (typically breakfast or dinner) and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours only. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.
Eat-Stop-Eat: it involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week.
The 5:2 diet: you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally on the other 5 days.
Alternate-day fasting: you fast every other day.
The warrior diet: you eat small amounts of raw fruits and vegetables during the day and eat one huge meal at night.
Spontaneous meal skipping: simply skip meals from time to time when you feel like it (spontaneously).

By reducing your calorie intake, all of these methods should cause weight loss as long as you do not compensate by binge eating during the eating periods. The 16/8 method is the most popular intermittent fasting method. People find it to be the simplest, most sustainable, and easiest to stick to. If you have ever eaten dinner, then slept late, skipped breakfast and gone straight to lunch on the next day, then you have probably already fasted for 16+ hours.

During fasting, you still can drink zero calorie liquids such as black coffee, tea, water, and other non-caloric beverages. You may also have supplements which are best taken with meals.

What are the side effects of intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is certainly not for everyone. According to DietDoctor there are certain people who should not try intermittent fasting, such as:

People who are underweight (BMI < 18.5) or have an eating disorder like anorexia.
People who are pregnant
Breastfeeding mothers
A child under 18 years old

There are some people with the following conditions who can probably fast, but may need medical supervision:

People with diabetes mellitus type 1 or type 2.
People who take prescription medication.
People who have gout or high uric acid.
People who have any serious medical conditions, such as liver disease, kidney disease, or heart disease.

For normal and healthy people, hunger is the main side effect of intermittent fasting. In the beginning, they may also feel a little weaker and their brain may not perform as well as they are used to. But this is just temporary. After some time, your body will adapt to the new eating routine.

According to Healthline, there is some evidence that intermittent fasting may not be as beneficial for women as it is for men. Some studies in rats have found that intermittent fasting can make female rats emaciated, masculinized, infertile and cause them to miss cycles. There is no human study on this topic yet. However, there are a number of anecdotal reports of women who experienced absence of menstrual period when they started doing intermittent fasting and went back to normal when they resumed their previous eating pattern. For these reasons, women should be careful with intermittent fasting. Especially if you have issues with fertility and/or are trying to conceive, consider holding off on intermittent fasting for now.

Intermittent fasting is not something that anyone needs to or should do. Some people do not like the adjustment of lifestyle and it can be difficult to maintain, especially in their social life. Intermittent fasting is great for some people, not others. The only way to find out which group you belong to is to give it a try. If you enjoy doing it and find it a sustainable option of dieting, it may be a good idea to keep it.

If you need another option than dieting to lose weight, you could tune in the SureFiz app because we are going to launch meal plan features that are personalized and adjusted based on your body composition data. Subscribe to our newsletter to get yourself updated.

Source: Healthline, DietDoctor, Harvard Health Publishing

Four Simple Tips To Have A Healthy Holiday

Holidays are no excuse to give up on your diet plan. You can still make progress in your weight loss and fitness journey.

The holiday is the toughest season for those who are trying to lose weight. Most people just give up and block these three months to not caring about what they eat. It is understandable though. It is not so fun to always feel cautious and anxious about the food whenever you try to enjoy holiday dinners with family. Refusing certain meals would be perceived as rude behavior in some families. There are ways to get away from that though. Here are the tips to have an enjoyable healthy holiday.

1.) Try intermittent fasting

4 Tips To Have A Healthy Holiday

Image source: intermountainhealthcare.org

This is optional because fasting might not work for everybody. Studies have shown the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight loss and blood sugar control. Intermittent fasting puts your body in ketosis. According to WebMD, ketosis is a process that happens when your body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy. Instead, it burns fat and makes things called ketones, which it can use for fuel. In addition to helping you burn fat, ketosis can make you feel less hungry. It also helps you keep muscle. However, if you are interested in doing intermittent fasting, do not just do it on holiday months. Start a few weeks to a month before to let your body adjust to the changes due to ketosis. If you can, try to decrease the eating window to 8 or 6 hours. You can do it anytime in the day. Some people like to eat at night, some people like to eat in the morning. But make sure you have stopped eating heavy meals 2 hours before bedtime.

2.) Start with the soup

When the dinner starts, do not go heavy right away. Start with the soup. A Penn State study shows that eating low-calorie soup before a meal can help cut back on how much food and calories you eat at the meal. The results show that when participants in the study ate a first course of soup before a lunch entree, they reduced their total calorie intake at lunch (soup + entree) by 20 percent, compared to when they did not eat soup. The study tested whether the form of soup and the blending of its ingredients also affected food intake and satiety. Soups tested included separate broth and vegetables, chunky vegetable soup, chunky-pureed vegetable soup, and pureed vegetable soup. While researchers thought that increasing the thickness or the amount of chewing required may have made certain forms of soup more filling, the results of the study show that low-calorie soup is filling regardless of its form.

3.) Pick the high-protein food

When it is time to dive into the main course, go for high-protein food such as turkey breast, salmon, pork loin, meatballs, or beef steak. High protein foods make you feel full longer and satisfied so you will eat less and cut down on snacking. High protein foods not only help you build and maintain lean muscle mass, but also give you extra nutrients like B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium. You do not have to completely avoid your favorite holiday foods. One tip is to skip the foods you can eat year-round, like chocolate chip cookies. Instead, taste the special treats you can only get this time of year, like gingerbread. If you really want to have chocolate chip cookies, it’s also okay. Just remember, everything in moderation.

4.) Never stop moving

The holiday season is typically packed with a lot of free time. Make use of this free time by moving. You can do simple things like cleaning the house, preparing meals, decorating, or doing laundry. Walk the dog (if you have one), or just go for a walk or a run in the neighborhood. Do our recommended free Youtube workouts or you can try our stairs workout if you are not in the mood of going outside.

It is a little tricky but definitely doable. Do not let the holiday season set you back. A little set back is okay but do not settle there. Get up and work on it. The weight loss journey is never easy. You will have some setbacks. But believe in yourself. You will get there. Be strong and keep on going.

Pros and Cons of Fasted Cardio in Weight Loss

What is fasted cardio and is it better for success in a weight loss program?

Fasted Cardio has become a buzzword in recent years in the fitness world, but what is it really? And can it be part of an effective weight loss routine? Overall, a simple definition of fasted cardio is a cardiovascular exercise that increases your heart rate sufficiently after depriving the body of food for longer than 8-12 hours. Most often this involves a first thing in the morning workout, as that is commonly when people skip meals for this length of time. Many athletes and avid gym-goers use this technique to increase their potential fat burning capacity.

What Does Science Say About Fasted Cardio?

The concept behind fasted cardio has to do with fuel storage. When a person has fasted overnight, the body doesn’t have fast energy (food) or quick reserves ready to go. Because of this, the metabolic system has to tap into fat storage in the body, and supporters believe that this leads to higher fat burn and overall weight loss. But what does science say? According to Women’s Health, “a meta-analysis from 2018 found that eating before a workout helps people perform aerobic work for longer than in a fasted state, though skipping a snack pre-workout could potentially have some metabolic advantages”. Other studies have found similar results and led to some inconclusive answers for those seeking fasted cardio in their weight loss. Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, C.S.C.S, a graduate program director of human performance and fitness at Lehman College states that an “important note to consider is how your body uses fat. First, there’s fat oxidation,which means actually burning fat. And then there’s fat breakdown, where fatty acids get released from fat cells and then move throughout the body. It’s questionable whether fasted cardio actually works to burn more fat, even if it does break it down. And those fatty acids are just returned back to fat cells for storage”.

What Does This Mean for a Workout?

One thing to keep in mind is the variability of workouts. A short, 30 minute elliptical session needs a lot less fuel than a 20 mile marathon training run. Trying to fast before cardio with a long training session ahead could lead to low performance, lack of energy and endurance or even digestive disturbances if too much depletion happens too fast. And many people find it to be very exhausting. It can be hard to put full effort forward in any routine when the fuel tank is running on fumes.

There are people on both sides of the fence when it comes to fasted cardio. Some love it, some hate it. With inconclusive evidence proving that it actually aids in overall fat loss, the bottom line is to go with what works for you. There are people who simply cannot have food in their stomach before a workout due to stomach sensitivity, so in those cases trainers recommend eating at least 1-2 hours before a workout. This gives the body adequate time to process and breakdown the foods eaten without causing gastrointestinal distress. The calorie amount depends on the length and intensity of the workout, but in general a small meal or snack consisting of 1-200 calories will suffice. Some good pre-workout snacks could be a banana, a small piece of wheat toast with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 cup of grapes, a small handful of almonds, etc. These foods all fill the body with necessary nutrients and give the body enough fuel to power through a tough workout session.

Weight loss programs, trends and diets can be challenging to understand, especially with how much information is available. SureFiz can help! Our intuitive weight loss program can help you with goal setting, redirect your path with our “GPS of weight management”, and give you advice along the way! Be sure to check us out and join our SureFiz team to see your results grow and weight loss success happen!