I report, you decide. https://www.ksby.com/news/national-news/report-names-the-best-and-worst-diets-for-2020 U.S. News and World Report released its ranking of 35 popular diets, with the Mediterranean Diet coming in ranked as the No. 1 overall diet for 2020. The Mediterranean Diet is followed by the DASH Diet and the Flexitarian Diet as top overall diets. "The Mediterranean Diet may offer a host of health benefits, including weight loss, heart and brain health, cancer prevention, and diabetes prevention and control. By following the Mediterranean Diet, you could also keep that weight off while avoiding chronic disease," the report says. The Dukan Diet, Keto Diet and Whole30 Diet were named as the worst overall diets for 2020. US News says that the Dukan Diet is too restrictive and that there's no evidence it works. US News said that the Keto Diet ranked as the worst diet for healthy eating. The Mediterranean Diet ranks No. 1 for Easiest Diets to Follow, Plant-Based Diets, and Best Diabetes Diet. The Weight Watchers Diet ranked as the No. 1 diet for weight loss, and as the No. 1 commercial diet. The DASH Diet, which tied to be the No. 2 overall diet, ranked No. 1 for Healthy Eating. "Whether you're trying to lose weight or improve heart health, diets are not one size fits all. The 2020 Best Diets rankings provide consumers with the information and data needed to make an informed decision that helps them – along with input from their doctor or other medical professional – choose the plan that's best for them," said Angela Haupt, managing editor of health at U.S. News. " US News and World Report used a 25-person panel to analyze the 35 diets under consideration. To read the full rankings, click here .
I have been experiencing great results with intermittent fasting using a daily 6 hour eating window and a 18 hour fast. Averaging about 2200 calories a day, well balanced diet. Not losing any strength or endurance, and have lost 10 pounds over the last 3 months from 235 to 225. Goal is a lean 215 or so which I haven't seen since my forties. No real rush to get there as I'm pretty happy with my level of fitness right now, just a goal I'd like to achieve. Maintaining strength and endurance is paramount though.
Nice going. I don't think I could sustain so narrow a window for any meaningful length of time. Mine is closer to 9+ hours. Beyond that, I begin to feel it. (I don't want to "feel it.") Of course, I would only like to lose a couple of pounds of fat or so, and those last few pounds seem to be the most steadfast. And so, I mostly hover near my preferred weight. Do you find it at all difficult to eat within such a narrow time frame? And what do you plan to do when you reach 215?
Actually it's not as difficult as I thought it would be. I started with a 8/16 and after about two weeks went to the 6/18. My eating window is from 9am to 3 pm as that suits my schedule. Evening are not an issue, mornings after I'm up an hour can be a bit of a challenge, but not too bad. I think it's not been all that bad because I'm really not in a severe calorie deficit. What happens at 215? I don't really know, see how I feel, how I look. Honestly I'd rather be a solid 220 than a skinny 215, so I'll assess as time goes on. I was down at this weight about 3+ years ago as a result of an unsustainable diet and crazy workout routine. I was "skinny-fat" and weak AF. I had to put some weight back on, went up to 245 and then began a slower and smarter nutrition plan and more sensible workouts and periods of rest. 235 was pretty easy to achieve, but I was stuck there for about a year and a half. Didn't really want to amp up my workouts, so nutrition became more the focus. Honestly I think this style of eating is sustainable over the long haul. I expect a cheat here and there, some moderate schedule changes from time to time, but all things considered it seems to be something I can stick with.
Another article on the diet thing: (Don't shoot! I'm just the messenger.) Experts Condemn Keto. Will People Finally Stop? https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z3bv94/keto-diet-experts-rank-best U.S. News and World Report ranked the keto diet near-last for the third year in a row, and other outlets have begun to question it, too. Will we finally get over keto this year? For the third consecutive year, the annual U.S. News and World Report ranked the exceeding popular keto diet as one of the worst possible diets to follow. The ranking is culled from medical journals and government data, plus input from a panel of health and nutrition experts; since at least 2018, this review process has placed keto at or just above the very bottom of the list. Yet people continue to follow this diet, shoveling heaps of protein and fats into their mouths and eating so little carbs it makes them physically ill. The core notion within keto (short for ketogenic) is that it forces the body into “ketosis,” where it preferentially burns fat because there is no carbohydrate-derived fuel to use. (Never mind that your body can absolutely burn fat without being in this state of forced stress.) To achieve ketosis, the keto diet advises getting most of your calories from fat, eating moderate amounts of protein, and eating fewer carbs per day than are in an apple. Studies have shown that sort of diet to be helpful for children with epilepsy and people with diabetes, but in an otherwise healthy person, it’s routinely discouraged. As the old adage goes, third time’s the charm!!!!! Even though doctors and scientists have been hollering about this for years, it seems the idea that keto is Bad may finally be working its way into the grander ether. A recent CNN report (published on “National Keto Day,” a thing made up by Vitamin Shoppe) poses the obvious question: how has a diet so despised by health experts remained so popular? “Experts say it's because its legions of fans are focusing on the short-term benefits of fast weight loss, without factoring in possible long-term risks,” CNN reports. And in a recent keto explainer in the New York Times, Whitney Linsenmeyer, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, chalked the diet’s popularity up to America being in “a state of carbophobia;” additional experts warned against the long-term effects (like increased risk of cardiovascular disease) keto might have on the body. Keto can seem like a fun, flirty diet compared to other, even more rigorous options: you can eat cheese, steaks, even hamburger patties. That’s fun! But eating fewer than 20 grams of carbs per day, as the diet advises, is unhealthy and unsustainable, as David Katz, founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, told CNN. (The average recommended range, for comparison, is between 225–325 grams of carbsper day.) Eating so few carbs even sends many new keto-ers into something called the “keto flu,” a sure sign your body is extremely pissed off at what you’re doing to it.
I'd say I'm a Flexitarian at this stage. I didn't even know that definition existed until I read it in the first post of this thread but that describes my diet perfectly. I've had virtually no animal meat since August aside from a crumbled strip or two of bacon every couple of weeks as a seasoning on a baked potato or something like that or an occasional piece of fish. My diet has been mainly fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds. No steak, chicken, turkey, etc. at all. It's been a really interesting experiment so far and I really like it. I also quit drinking last week so we'll see how that goes. My wife can't believe I've made these changes, especially the no-meat thing, because it's been going on for months now with no signs of stopping.
You're practically vegan! Do you ensure you're getting enough of the micronutrients that ~vegans typically lack in sufficient quantity (i.e., B12, etc.)?
How much protein do you figure you get on an average day on a mostly vegan diet? I ask because, although most of my calories come from "vegan" sources, I still eat a bit of poultry (~3 ounces) a few times a week, and have about 3 cups of skim milk a day. Not that I want to overdo the protein thing, but I wonder if I would be getting enough if I didn't "supplement" with the poultry and milk.
Well, this is what I figured going into it: Instead of obsessing over protein intake, why don't I just focus on eating a plant-based diet and then see if any muscle loss occurs as a result? Surely, if I'm not getting enough protein, then I will notice things like muscle atrophy, reduced strength, etc. The short and sweet of it is that I haven't noticed any loss of muscle or strength at all. Go figure. It's quite liberating to jump off the animal protein train and just eat more whole foods. The other day I made a peanut and chickpea stew from a vegetarian cookbook that will make you never want to go back to eating meat again. It was that good.