Avoid Crash Diets, Check Out These 5 Healthy Diets For Weight Loss

Crash dieting for weight loss is not recommended because the weight loss is not long-term.

Ishaan Arora
Written by: Ishaan AroraUpdated at: Jan 27, 2023 14:30 IST
Avoid Crash Diets, Check Out These 5 Healthy Diets For Weight Loss

3rd Edition of HealthCare Heroes Awards 2023

From the General Motors diet to the seven-day juice diet, the majority of the “best weight loss diets” are essentially crash diets. These diets often restrict you to a set number of calories, causing you to lose weight in an unhealthy way. 

Crash dieting causes weight loss that is often temporary and not sustainable. Moreover, crash dieting causes nutritional deficiency, constipation, and can sometimes lead to an eating disorder. So, if you're tired of following a calorie-restrictive diet and looking for a healthy way to lose weight, here are five diets to try.

1 Flexible Dieting

If you're tired of eating salads and the same foods every day, try flexible dieting (FD). FD is the latest diet craze, allowing you to eat your favourite foods the majority of the time while also helping you lose weight. The idea behind FD is that you can eat pasta for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and fries for dinner as long as they fit into your macros. You should calculate your macros and see if you can fit in a cheat meal, according to the diet. Essentially, the cheat meal should be a healthy cheat meal that fits into your macros while also providing some essential nutrients. Remember that you should not go all out with the diet; instead, try to eat healthily 80% of the time and cheat only when necessary.

Also Read: How Much Weight Loss In A Month Is Healthy?

2 Vegan Diet

The vegan or plant-based diet has grown in popularity in recent years due to its alleged health benefits. The vegan diet should be a first choice for anyone looking to lose weight because when you follow a vegan diet, high-calorie foods are automatically eliminated from your diet. Moreover, when you go vegan, your body gets a break from the foods you are accustomed to. Additionally, keep in mind your recovery level; if you are frequently sore, increase your calorie intake; otherwise, eat around maintenance.

3 DASH Diet

The dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet emphasises on fresh produce, whole grains, and low- or no-fat dairy in addition to limiting dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. This diet may improve your health, and if you limit your calorie intake while adhering to the heart-healthy DASH recommendations, you may lower your blood pressure and lose weight.

4 Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a way of life, not a diet. While following IF, you are advised to fast for 16 hours and eat only during the eight-hour window. The IF is based on the idea that when you fast, your body draws energy from its stored fat, which aids in burning stubborn fat. Moreover, you should eat clean during the eight-hour window, and maintaining a calorie deficit with IF can work wonders for you.

Also Read: 5 Weight Loss Tips That Never Work

5 Zigzag Diet

Consider a zigzag graph to understand this zigzag diet. A graph goes up, then down, and then back up. Similarly, when following the zigzag diet, you have a few high-calorie days, one medium-calorie day, and two low-calorie days. For example, you consume 2000 calories the first two days of the week, 1600 calories the next two days, and 1200 calories on weekends. The diet does not include specific foods, but it revolves around the concept of calorie manipulation. The zigzag diet is ideal for people who have reached a weight loss plateau and are stuck on the same weight on the scale.

Image Credit: Freepik

Disclaimer