How To Choose A Weight Loss Program
Obesity is an excessive fat accumulation that is dangerous for health. Studies show that almost 40% of adults globally are diagnosed with obesity, which is a very big amount.
That’s why weight loss programs can be extremely useful for fighting obesity, losing weight, and maintaining a healthy weight.
However, there are plenty of weight loss programs available today, which makes choosing a weight loss program overwhelming, especially for beginners.
Not all weight loss programs and weight loss plans are the same, and they work differently for everyone. Choosing a diet and an effective weight loss plan can be difficult when you don’t know the differences between all diet plans.
That’s why I’m dedicating this post to help you choose the right weight loss program for your specific needs and weight loss goals.
How To Choose A Weight Loss Program
Are Weight Loss Programs Effective
Whether or not a weight loss program will be effective depends on your specific needs, how well you choose a weight loss program, and how well you actually execute it.
However, if you’re wondering if they CAN work, the answer is yes. If you choose a good weight loss program that promotes healthy eating, you tailor it to your body, health, and needs, and you follow it well, it can definitely be effective.
Now let’s get into tips for choosing a weight loss program.
Talk to your healthcare provider
The first thing we need to mention is talking to your healthcare provider. It’s extremely important the weight loss plan you choose isn’t dangerous or bad for your specific body and current health.
It’s also important that the diet plan you choose is tailored to your needs, and a healthcare provider can confirm that and give an educated suggestion.
Whether you want to have a professional develop the whole plan for you, recommend one out of a few options you’re deciding between, or just confirm the plan you chose is good for you, is up to you. I always recommend consulting a professional to make sure you’re doing the best for your body and health.
Think about your personal needs
One thing to take into consideration when choosing a weight loss plan is your personal needs.
What your goal weight is, what your body goals are, and so on. Different weight loss programs can give you results at different speeds, so make sure you know your priorities and possibilities.
Don’t do extreme diets
When people decide to go on a weight loss journey, many want to see results as soon as possible, so they resort to extreme diets that make them starve themselves, cut out everything they like, and get them to obsess over what they’re eating.
That is, of course, something you should never do.
The key to losing weight is doing it in a healthy way, where you’re not starving yourself, and your diet is balanced and healthy.
Extreme diets never do you any good. Sure, you’ll lose weight fast, but you’ll end up gaining it all back (possibly even more) because those types of diets aren’t sustainable, and you’ll end up binge eating.
Make sure it’s a long-term plan
Your goal shouldn’t be to just lose weight fast once. Your goal should be a long-term healthy diet. Sure, you want to lose some weight until you reach a healthy weight, but then you want to actually maintain that healthy weight by following a sustainable diet.
That’s why it’s important not to set crazy goals to lose lots of weight in a week, but to make a long-term goal for a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight. You want a healthy diet to be a part of your healthy habits.
Don’t expect instant results
When you’re losing weight in a healthy way, you can’t get instant results. It’s important to know that from the start, so you’re not disappointed. Set realistic goals so you stay motivated.
Setting unrealistic goals for instant results can backfire, as you might lose motivation once you see you didn’t reach those instant results (which is totally normal if your diet isn’t extreme, but healthy).
Take your body into consideration
Some diets are better for certain body types, and also, not all body types can look the same way. Don’t compare yourself to someone else or to their results, as their diet might work for them, but not for you. Or, if they have a different type, they might look different with or without dieting.
Make sure your diet can actually work for your body.
Take your health into consideration
It’s important to take all aspects of health into consideration when choosing a weight loss plan. If your body needs certain ingredients for health, don’t take them away just to fit a certain diet - instead, choose a different weight loss plan.
Think about your lifestyle
Another important thing to consider when choosing a weight loss plan, is your lifestyle. Will you be able to execute that diet? If you’re very often outside of the house, or you don’t have a fixed schedule and it changes daily, not all eating habits might be doable for you.
So when deciding, make sure you’ll actually be able to do that weight loss plan with ease.
Here’s a useful tip: Meal planning is something that can be helpful whatever your schedule might be, and can usually be combined with every diet.
Make sure your diet is balanced
Your body needs all food groups, so make sure your weight loss plan is balanced. Balance is the key to healthy eating.
Weight Loss Programs That Really Work
Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is one of the best diets you can follow, but just when you’re on a weight loss journey, but overall.
It’s a non-restrictive diet, that doesn’t actually determine how much you should eat or what you shouldn’t eat, but focuses on highlighting certain foods and food groups, and eating more of them, such as vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, nuts, proteins, and fruit.
It’s not technically a weight loss program, but many studies have shown that following the Mediterranean diet can actually lead to weight loss.
Plus, it’s very sustainable and focuses on nutritious foods that fuel your body.
Low-carb diet
The low-carb diet is a diet that limits carb intake to the very minimum. It focuses on eating protein and fats, and the way you lose weight is by going into ketosis - a state where your body starts burning fat for energy.
It can be a very effective diet, and it can also reduce PCOS symptoms.
WW (Weight Watchers)
WW is a weight loss program where you count points for foods you eat, and it’s meant to be a sustainable and balanced diet that doesn’t condone extreme dieting. The program is flexible but still good for those who want to lose weight.
Pescatarian diet
The Pescatarian diet is sort of a vegetarian diet that also includes fish and seafood. It’s not technically made for weight loss, but practicing it in a healthy way can often lead to weight loss as well.
Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a diet that switches between eating and non-eating windows. The most common one is 16/8: a diet where you eat for 8 hours, and fast for 16. That gives your body enough time to process the food you ate, burn more calories, and stabilize blood sugar levels.
You can choose when your eating window will be, but the most common ones are from 10am to 6pm, 11am to 7pm, or 12pm to 8pm.
Mayo Clinic diet
The Mayo Clinic diet was developed by the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit American academic medical center. The diet is great for people with diabetes, as it promotes blood sugar management.
Plant-based diet
Plant-based diets are diets where you restrict any animal-based food intake. However, some plant-based diets don’t exclude animal products but limit them to a minimum.
What those diets focus on instead, are vegetables and fruits. That means those diets help with your fiber intake, and they can improve blood sugar levels, as well as cholesterol. Plus, those are nutrient-heavy diets that can also improve your immune system.
DASH diet
The DASH diet recommends a certain serving size for all food groups, and it can help with weight loss, as well as blood sugar management.
The diet promotes eating healthy foods such as vegetables, lean meat, etc.
Vegetarian diet
The vegetarian diet is a diet where you don’t eat meat, but you do eat dairy, eggs, etc. While it wasn’t invented to be a weight loss program, it can still bring good results, as it focuses on vegetables and fruits.
Best Body
I might be biased, but Best Body is my favorite from the list. It’s my own program that helps you with personalized meal planning, seeing results fast (in a healthy way), and being confident in what you eat.