5 Types of Diets and Their Pros and Cons

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Diets and Their Pros and Cons

5 Different Types of Diets

A balanced and proper diet, what is it? Is it really that important? How many types of diets are out there? And which one is perfect for you?

These are some of the questions which are probably bugging you right now if you are about to begin your quest for achieving the shape of your dreams whether you want to lose your weight or add on some pounds and tighten up those triceps of yours. But don’t worry, trust me it’s easy, just stay focused and you will have the answers to each one of the abovementioned questions.

Just think about it, how many times in your life you sat in an empty room thinking about some embarrassing incident where you were either ridiculed by your friends or you were a subject of prank just because of your weight or your body type and decided that enough is enough, now I am going to work out and fulfill my desire to posses the perfect body anyone could have, probably about a thousand times or above right.

But the story doesn’t end here you must have tried before and would have dedicated all the time and recourses you could afford and have failed in the worst possible way and this is one of the reasons you have turned skeptic about exercising but wait if you were not able to achieve your target even after doing intense workouts and hard work then probably you were not having the proper diet which is indeed very important.

Most of us think that getting a gym membership will do us good, but people often forget that a balanced diet and regular exercise is the key to success. Diet plays a major role in losing weight. There is a countless number of diets available on the internet. Little to our dismay we don’t know which one will suit our requirements and help us in achieving our targets. People usually try whatever their favorite influencer promotes but, not most of it can help you get the desired result so without wasting any more time let’s check out a few effective diet regimen along with their pros and cons.

  1. MediterraneanDiet

This diet is based on the culture of the Mediterranean countries. When we think of Italy, Greece the first thing that comes to our mind is the mouth-watering cuisines, pasta, pizza and whatnot. But this diet is just the opposite of it. Based on the traditional food this diet include ingredients such as vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, seeds, dairy product, lean meat, fish and olive oil, thus disregarding processed food and artificial sweeteners all along. All of these constituents make a very healthy diet which is rich in omega 3, antioxidant and protein.

Olive oil is monounsaturated oil, which means that it helps the system maintain a proper level of cholesterol. Cholesterol is further categorized into two types, good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. As the name suggests good cholesterol is needed by our body, as it lowers the chances of heart diseases, strokes, and Type 2 diabetes. This diet works well when paired with some physical activities.

Pros: This diet is ideal for losing weight and maintaining it. Mediterranean diet is preferred by many people because of its health benefits.

Cons: Some of the ingredients are on the pricier side.

  1. VeganDiet

The vegan diet is very popular these days. This diet only includes food sourced from plants. Yes, you read it right; vegan diets do not include any animal product, not even dairy products. People are really creative with this diet plan as they come up with different types of alternatives. For instance, the dairy product is replaced with soy milk or almond milk. Eggs and meats which provide us with protein are replaced with beans, pulses and chickpea. A vegan diet is mainly popular because it opposes animal cruelty for human benefits.

Vegan diets are beneficial to those people who want to lose weight fast. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds and vegetable oil are used to make vegan meals. If you want to follow this diet then it is time to say goodbye to cheese, ice- cream and all the products obtained from animals.

Pros: Vegan diet is perfect if you want to lose weight quickly. Controls blood sugar levels and improves the function of the kidney.

Cons: You have to put in all the thoughts before you commit to this diet, as you will have to eliminate the entire dairy and animal product, which are rich in calcium, vitamins and proteins. You will have to find substitute food for these products and manage your meals according to the nutrients.

  1. AtkinsDiet

If you like eating food high in protein and fat, then this diet may be right for you. The diet aims at eating food supplements high in protein and fats but low in carbs, by doing so you will be to losing weight even without quitting your favorite meals.

Atkins diet includes a phase called the induction phase in which you are not supposed to eat any carbs for two weeks. After this phase is over you can add a few healthier carbs such as whole grains, legumes and nuts but make sure your diet still consists of moderate to the low level of carbs.

When you are on a low carb diet, your body will have to use the stored fats as a source of energy and eventually you will start losing weight.

Food that is allowed in this diet includes lean meat, eggs, fish, butter, cheese and the food which are not included are pasta, bread, pizza, potato, packaged snacks and sweets.

Pros: Help to shed weight and lower the chances of cardiovascular disease.

Cons: This diet is based on low carb intake, which can make you low on energy and you can even experience nausea, headaches and dizziness.

  1. PaleoDiet

This diet is based on the eating practices that our ancestors from Paleolithic age developed which mainly included hunting and gathering as farming was not common back then. Our ancestors ate the food which was readily available as it is.

This diet works really well if you want to lose weight without counting calories. It has been noticed that this diet has shown major health benefits as the food which gets eliminated is mainly processed food. The main concept behind this diet plan is that our ancestors never had as many health problems as our generation does solely because of their food choices.

Paleo diet encourages eating meat, fish, eggs, herbs, vegetable, fruits and nuts and discouraging eating dairy, grains, artificial sweeteners, vegetable fat and all the kind of processed food.

PROS:

Promotes a healthier lifestyle

This diet is popular because of its health benefits. Our ancestors never dealt with the kind of diseases our generation has to deal with, so keeping that in mind, this diet plan was created to discourage the modern lifestyle and eating habits.

CONS:

The people who follow the paleo diet are deprived of the nutritional benefits that are obtained from legumes, dairy products, grains, etc.

  1. IntermittentFasting

This diet has a healthier approach than any other diets as it does not have any adverse effect on the person’s metabolism and doesn’t lead to any eating disorders. Most people go for this diet because it doesn’t require you to count your calories or having to cut down your favorite meal.

As the name suggests, you have to plan out the timings of the meal and have to go without food for a set of hours. Fasting means voluntary skipping meals due to different spiritual, health or any other reasons.

There are many ways to do so but, one of the most popular ones is the 16/8 method in which one requires to skip breakfast and eat only between noon to 8 at night. Don’t eat after that because that’s when your fasting period starts which is about 16 hours. But when you do need to eat, try and avoid eating processed food, artificial sweeteners, refined starch and trans fats.

Pros: During fasting, the insulin level drops down which results in the burning of calories. Intermittent fasting is said to be beneficial for Type 2 diabetes patient as the insulin level remains low.

Cons: Prolonged and frequent fasting can cause fatigue, dizziness, headache, hair loss along with low energy levels.

Diet may be a bit difficult to start with but it is one of the most important factors that contribute to a healthier lifestyle. The aforementioned diets happen to be the most popular ones but that doesn’t mean that it will show the same result for each and everyone who tries it. Only choose that one diet, that you think will work best for you.

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