New year, new you? You’re probably tired of hearing that by now! We’re well into 2021, and after 2020 turned life upside down for most of us, weight loss management does seem to be a priority for many.

With WFH and online school becoming the norm, mealtimes went for a toss in many households and snacking did become more frequent.

Little wonder then, that weight loss management is a trending search right now. A weight loss diet plan isn’t something you can come up with on your own - the foundation of weight loss management needs to be a manageable weight loss plan, not a random selection of self-prescribed weight loss diet food. 

What Is Weight Loss Management?

Weight loss management is a set of tools, techniques and underlying physiological processes that make it possible for a person to attain and maintain a certain weight. It’s a lifestyle that needs to be maintained, incorporating enough sleep, physical activity and a healthy diet. 

It’s no doubt easy to get swayed by promises of fast and easily-visible weight loss - but ideally, a slow and steady approach to weight loss management is the best option.

Low-calorie diets for rapid weight loss can work if done under medical supervision, but never, ever self-prescribe. 

A manageable weight loss plan is essentially a long-term commitment to making healthy lifestyle changes in eating, exercise and behaviour.

But - what is the best diet for losing weight? There’s no clear answer to this question, since we all have different needs and preferences.

But there are plenty of great options to choose from, and we’ve got you covered! Here’s a list of some of the top diets for 10 weight loss management diets for this year.  

1. Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is well-known, widely followed and quite a favourite, globally. For years now, the Mediterranean diet has consistently made it to the top 10 lists for weight loss management diets. 

Based on the eating habits of some of the longest-living people in the world concentrated around Blue Zones in places like Greece and Sardinia, this diet is a heart-healthy one, incorporating healthy fats, whole grains, leafy greens, fish and even wine.

On a daily basis, dieters are encouraged to have plenty of beans, fruit, leafy greens, and whole grains, and even a glass of red wine.

They can partake in healthy fats such as avocados, olive oil, nuts, and fish at least twice a week. 

Cheese should be eaten in moderation, and red meat only once or twice a week, as this helps in weight loss management.

Indian alternatives for the same are peanut oil, mustard oil, cow ghee, chakki ka fresh aata, along with local, seasonal vegetables. 

The diet is so beloved because it is easy to maintain and quite delicious!

2. DASH Diet

No no, this diet has NOTHING to do with the Kardashians, but is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension!

This is a low-fat, low-sodium diet aimed at lowering blood pressure - but it can work to aid in weight loss management! 

A wide array of foods can be consumed, as long as you are consuming them in the right form. 

1) Fresh fruits like apples, oranges and bananas; add variety with apricots, dates and berries.

2) Vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, broccoli and spinach.

3) Low fat dairy products like milk, buttermilk, yogurt, cheese, sour cream.

4) Grains in their whole form. 

5) Nuts, seeds and legumes.

6) Lean meats, poultry and fish. 

The DASH eating plan encourages dieters to eat whole grains, 2-3 servings of fruit, and 5-6 servings of vegetables.

Also allowed are 2-3 servings of dairy to promote good gut health and up your calcium levels, while aiding weight loss management.

Desi foods you can opt for include unpolished, parboiled, hand-pounded rice, daliya, steel-cut oats, bananas, tomatoes, sweet potato, yogurt and all kinds of lentils or dal. 

3. MIND Diet

This diet was developed around 2015-16 by researchers at Rush University in Chicago, as a way to beat Alzheimer's, dementia and age-related loss or brain function. 

The MIND diet actually combines elements of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet and the blood-pressure reducing DASH diet. The goal was to create a plan to guide patients on what to eat, and avoid, to slacken age-related brain dysfunction. 

The diet revolves around a group of 15 foods - 10 of which benefit the brain (which should be consumed) and 5 of which may hurt brain functioning, which are best avoided. 

The 10 foods you may have include leafy greens, vegetables, nuts, berries, olive oil, whole grains, beans, fish, poultry and wine. 

Dieters should consume 3 servings of whole grains + leafy green salad + veggie every day. Nuts and berries are to be consumed every other day, whole poultry and fish can be eaten at least once a week.

While the MIND diet was not developed keeping weight loss in mind, consuming foods from this diet can certainly help in weight loss management. It encourages you to eat a large amount of greens at least once a day, as well as plenty of seeds, berries and nuts.

You therefore, get the benefit of fibre, healthy fats, Vitamin C - along with brain-boosting nutrients! 

All of the above-mentioned ingredients are great for your overall well-being and function as weight loss diet food. 

Some of our desi foods you can add to your plate as part of the MIND diet include amla, strawberries, bathua, methi, mustard greens, palak, wheatgrass powder/juice, pomegranate, flax seeds, sabja seeds and pumpkin seeds. And, as much as possible, cook it in homemade cow ghee. 

The 5 foods the MIND diet makes you cut out are traditional weight-gain foods, such as sugar, trans fats, fried foods, red meat and cheese. You should also stay away from caffeine, and alcohol. This makes the MIND diet a good eating plan for weight loss management. 

4. WW Diet

The Weight Watchers diet or WW diet is more a system and less a diet that bans/restricts certain foods. The programme uses what is known as the WW SmartPoints system, which assigns point values to foods and beverages based on their nutritional values. 

The dieter is given a certain number of points per day. And you can choose to eat whatever you like, within that point-range.

You can also eat an unlimited amount of 0-point foods (most fruits and veggies and lean proteins such as fish, tofu, beans, eggs, and chicken breast fall into this category), making it quite a flexible system to follow! 

It works well in weight loss management since there is a large variety of 0-calorie, fibre-rich and nutrient-dense foods to choose from. 

5. Intermittent Fasting/5:2

This works in two ways. Some people restrict all their eating for the day to an 8-hour window. While others follow the principle of eating whatever they want for 5 days a week, and “fast” or consume a limited amount of around 500 calories on the remaining 2 days of the week. 

Sticking to a regimen for 2 days in the week, or a fixed number of hours in a day, can be more achievable, and dieters are likely to stick with the programme and successfully lose weight - making this a viable option for weight loss management.

6. Ornish Diet

The Ornish diet was popularised in the documentary Forks Over Knives. It isn’t a vegan diet (vegan diets completely eschew all animal products, including dairy and eggs), but is a largely plant-based, ovo-lacto diet, with a focus on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes.

It allows for the consumption of dairy and eggs, but with a rider: only egg whites, and all dairy products must be nonfat. 

It helps in weight loss management because it is a diet packed with vitamins, fibre and lots of filling plants to keep you sated for longer periods of time, ensuring you don’t reach for snacks in between your main meals. 

Apart from being a good weight loss diet plan, some studies have shown that the Ornish diet can reverse heart disease and have beneficial effects on other chronic health conditions

7. Nordic Diet

Similar to the Mediterranean diet because it’s taken from the eating habits of a particular region, the Nordic diet pulls foods from the eating habits of places like Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. 

It focuses on many of the same food groups as the Mediterranean diet: seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and salt-and-freshwater lean proteins like fish. Processed foods, white sugar and lean poultry and beef go out the window, and instead of olive oil, canola oil is prescribed. 

The Nordic diet emphases hearty, supercharged carbohydrates, in the form of crackers and crispbreads made only from whole-grain barley, oats, and rye.

Indians can adapt this by making roti and desi flatbreads using some of these flours. Berries are also encouraged. 

This combination of whole grains, berries and fruits and vegetables ensures you are getting a fibre-rich diet that can keep you feeling full for longer, thereby helping you in weight loss management.

8. Fertility Diet

Originally developed by professionals at Harvard Medical School for women who were looking to conceive, this diet is great not just to achieve better fertility, but also for weight loss management. 

The diet focuses primarily on vegetarian foods, and limits the intake of dairy, caffeine and alcohol, in an attempt to ease hormonal imbalances in the body that affect conception.

But eating largely plant-based, by default, helps in weight loss management. 

The diet encourages those who follow it to eat more plant-based fibre and protein, in the form of lentils, nuts and seeds.

Since the protein comes from plant sources, it helps reduce inflammation. Choose chickpeas, beans, peas, soybeans or tofu, and nuts. 

9. Volumetrics Diet

This diet was created by Dr. Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutrition at Penn State University. The strategy is to fill up on foods that offer maximum nutrition, with minimum calories. 

By combining what you eat in a day with a serving of fresh, seasonal veggies, you’ll find the energy density go down, even as the nutrient density remains the same. 

So, you get all your key vitamins and minerals, you get high fibre, you repair your gut, and you feel sated for longer, reducing those pesky in-between cravings, which is a key factor when it comes to weight loss management. 

This diet works because it helps you get fit in a much more sustainable manner, without any feelings of deprivation.

10. Flexitarian Diet

For those who find it difficult to stick to one kind of cuisine or food group, flexitarianism is a saviour.

100% lean-meat, or 100% vegan/plant based diets can feel restrictive to many people, which is where the flexitarian diet comes in - and it is a good tool for weight loss management. 

It is a flexible vegetarian diet that makes room for a healthy balance of plant-based foods, responsibly-sourced meats, and quality fats, ensuring fullness and optimum nutrition, without feeling bored or deprived. 

What Is The Best Diet For Weight Loss - 2021?

We’ve given you a roundup of what some of the most popular and effective diets are - but there really is no answer we can give, with finality, as to what the best diet for weight loss for the year is. 

Each individual is unique, with a specific body type and disposition - and there is no one-size-fits -all solution. This is something we believe in strongly at Nutrition By Lovneet. 

We take your lifestyle, existing health conditions and goals into consideration, and tailor a plan that’s unique to you.

And if you’re interested in any of the above diets, we can always work to incorporate some of those elements and foods into your plan for weight loss management!

For more information related to our services, visit nutritionbylovneet.com. 

Check out our weight loss management and other detailed plans here.

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FAQ's

What is weight loss management?

Weight loss management is a process - it includes tools and techniques, and takes into consideration a person’s underlying physiological processes that make it possible to attain and maintain a certain weight.

It’s about following a lifestyle that incorporates enough sleep, physical activity and a healthy diet. 

What is Mediterranean diet?

The Mediterranean diet is based on the eating habits of people living along the Mediterranean region, particularly Sardinia and parts of Greece, where inhabitants are known to have long life spans. It is a diet that incorporates healthy fats, whole grains, leafy greens, and fish.

Plenty of beans, fruit, leafy greens, and whole grains can be consumed everyday. Healthy fats such as avocados, olive oil, nuts, and fish can be consumed at least twice a week. Cheese can be eaten in moderation, while red meat should be eaten only once a week. 

What is the DASH diet?

An acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, this is a low-fat, low-sodium diet aimed at lowering blood pressure - but it can work to aid in weight loss management. Fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products, whole grains, lean meats, poultry and fish, nuts, seeds and legumes can be consumed. 

What is intermittent fasting or 5:2 diet?

With intermittent fasting, people restrict all their eating for the day to an 8-hour window. With 5:2, people follow the principle of eating whatever they want for 5 days a week, and “fast” or consume a limited amount of around 500 calories on the remaining 2 days of the week.

Is the Fertility diet good for weight loss?

It was developed by professionals at Harvard Medical School for women who were looking to conceive, but this diet is also good for weight loss management. 

The diet focuses mainly on vegetarian foods, and limits dairy, caffeine and alcohol, in an attempt to ease hormonal imbalances in the body that affect conception. But eating largely plant-based, by default, helps in weight loss management.

Is a flexitarian diet best for non-vegetarians?

Yes. For those who find it difficult to stick to one kind of cuisine or food group, flexitarianism is a the best option. It is a flexible vegetarian diet that makes room for a healthy balance of plant-based foods, responsibly-sourced meats, and quality fats, ensuring fullness and optimum nutrition, without feeling bored or deprived.

Is the Volumetrics diet good for weight loss?

The Volumetrics diet has a strategy where the dieter fills up on foods that offer maximum nutrition, with minimum calories. Each meal is to be combined with a serving of fresh, seasonal veggies.

Overall, the energy density goes down, while the nutrient density remains the same. You get the right amounts of vitamins and minerals and lots of fibre. The diet also helps repair the gut and keeps you fuller for longer, helping reduce cravings. 

Which is the best diet for weight loss? 

Any of the diets mentioned above can help you lose weight. Once you define your goals and we understand your lifestyle and unique disposition, we can come up with the best plan for you.

For more information related to our services, visit nutritionbylovneet.com. 

Check out our weight loss management

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