Early January is the most popular time of the year for people to begin a new diet. But unfortunately, most of them won’t be successful in losing weight. The reason? Many people tend to set diet goals that aren’t realistic for their lifestyles, so they only last a couple weeks and then fall off the wagon. If you’re really serious about shedding some pounds and leading a healthier lifestyle, doing some quick research on different diets can lead you in the right direction to pick the best one for your particular goals.
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For starters, check out U.S. News and World Report’s pick for top overall diet of the year according to nutrition and medical experts, as reported on by Good Morning America. The lucky winner this year? The DASH diet, which has now been rated the number-one diet by U.S. News and World Report seven times. Originally created by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as a diet to help reduce high blood pressure, DASH involves eating foods that are low in sugar, saturated fat and sodium, and has consistently been praised by experts as one of the most effective diets for weight loss. To find out more about the diet, click here.
In second place is the Mediterranean Diet, which emphasizes lots of veggies and “good” fats from olive oil and fish. Lisa Cimperman, a clinical dietitian at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, said that this diet can work because it helps lower intake of sodium and promotes healthy foods in a variety of forms so people don’t feel restricted. However, she said people need to continue thinking about portion size. “Just because these diets contain healthy foods, it still matters how much you’re eating. The Mediterranean diet has a lot of high-fat foods. You can’t eat all the olive oil and nuts that you want without gaining a few pounds.”
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Third place went to the MIND Diet (The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), based on the findings of an Alzheimer’s study that showed people who followed a diet high in brain-healthy foods were less at risk for developing the disease. The diet focuses on 10 brain-healthy food groups, including green leafy vegetables, all other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine.
And four diets tied for fourth place: Weight Watchers, TLC Diet, Mayo Clinic diet and Flexitarian diet. Click here to see the full list of all 38 diets that made the cut.
