New year, new you? No doubt, a popular resolution for 2021 is losing weight (Quarantine 15, anyone?), but the challenge is finding the safest, most effect way to do so.
We’ve all tried the newest trendy diet and guess what? We rarely last more than a few days and the results never stick! Fad diets can also be dangerous for your health!
Below, you’ll find 5 of the most popular fad diets. Click the links to learn more about why you should consider a healthier and more effective approach to losing weight.
Keto Diet: Short for “ketogenic,” this diet promises that you’ll lose weight – and especially body fat – based on the insulin-blunting effect of eating a very low-carbohydrate, high fat diet. However, the Keto diet can also lead to high cholesterol, preserved body fat, and lost muscle mass: not exactly the trade-off you’d want for a few lost pounds.
Whole30: The premise of this elimination diet is to eat three "clean" meals a day, made with Whole30-approved ingredients (think: meats, seafood, veggies, and eggs) for 30 days. But just because it ends after 30 days, doesn’t mean that everything about it is OK.
Paleo Diet: The paleo diet aims to bring us back the eating habits of our ancient ancestors, and assumes they were more hunters than gatherers. The diet focuses on high protein consumption while shunning farmed foods, specifically all grains. Paleolithic humans only lived to 35 years on average, should we be taking their diet advice?
Atkins Diet: The Atkins diet promotes eating as much protein and fat as you want while avoiding foods high in carbs (pasta, bread, cakes, fruits). Does minimizing carb intake and maximizing protein really lead to weight loss and better health?
Seattle Sutton: Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating (SSHE) was founded by a nurse and is a meal replacement system that provides 21 servings of food per week. We really had to do our research on this one, and we were not impressed.
OK, so what DOES work?
Diets turn food from what it should be - a necessity and a pleasure - into an enemy and a punishment. We are guilt-ridden if we enjoy eating something “bad” or punish ourselves through deprivation.
Instead of dieting, we should simply be eating more foods that promote health and fewer foods that promote disease. When you eat for health, the weight part takes care of itself. When you eat to lower cholesterol, you’re also eating nutritionally dense and satisfying foods, leading to fewer food cravings and overall lower calorie intake.
At Preventive Cardiology Clinic, care begins with a conversation. We spend time with you to really learn about what symptoms you are experiencing, what your risk factors are, and what you hope to achieve in terms of your health. A typical first consultation with Dr. Klodas takes approximately one hour. During that time, we will go over your general health history, your heart history, your cardiac risk factors and your diet. Please call 952-929-5600 to schedule your consultation today. Learn more.
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