When I was in training for Lean six Sigma Master Black Belt, we would frequently ask questions on the tools we were learning, and our instructors would, quite frequently, respond with “it depends”. So much so that there was a running joke, and a printout of an “instructor’s die” that we could cut and fold in to a 6-sided die. 2 of the 6 sides said “it depends”.
So, What *is* the best diet for weight loss?
(Or any other goal for that matter?)
Well, let’s first look at what a “diet” is.
Mirriam-Webster.com defines “diet” as:
- a: food and drink regularly provided or consumed
- b: habitual nourishment
- c: the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason
- d: a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight
I particularly like the a and b definitions. I think of our diet as what we habitually eat and drink.
If you really want lasting change, you must adopt your “diet” as a “Lifestyle”.
So that means… it needs to be sustainable.
In the 1990’s Covert Bailey had a PBS show called Fit or Fat, and in it he described the best exercise as “the one that you will do”.
I think that there’s a lot of truth to that when choosing a “diet” as well.
If you think about diet in terms of “what you eat and drink every day”, and define it as *your* diet, I think you can change the question to:
“What is *MY* best diet for [insert goal here]?”
That is obviously a much more nebulous question to answer.
What if “the best diet for weight loss” involves eating nothing but sardines and cabbage? And you just happen to hate sardines and cabbage. Or maybe your doctor told you to avoid salt?
Ages ago my dad went on a rice and lentils diet. How many ways can you prepare rice and lentils before you just cant eat another rice and lentil dish? Ok, so in all fairness, it was a high carb, low fat type diet intended to reverse his heart disease. But he ate a lot of rice and lentils. And I had no idea how he could do that… every… day…
Honestly. I still don’t know how he could do that.
What is maybe more telling is that he isn’t doing that now. Which means, it wasn’t sustainable, even for him.
And that’s the point. We are all very different. Some people can tolerate eating the same thing day in and day out (I had a coworker at one point refer to this as “dog food”… as in he could eat “dog food – the same thing every day “.) Some people can’t and need/crave variety.
If you’re the latter (like I am), a “cabbage and sardines” diet isn’t going to cut it.
It depends on your food preferences, your associations with food, when you eat, who you eat with etc.
Back to the question. What is the best diet for weight loss?
In terms of science… in order to achieve weight loss, you need to eat fewer calories than you expend. This is known as energy balance.
On the surface, energy balance (calories in = calories out for maintenance) looks really simple.
The reality is that it’s much more complicated. It’s not *really* just “calories in”… it’s really calories that your body actually processes and can use for energy/storage. What that is on any given day, for any person, for eating any food? Well, I don’t even know if we have all the equations to determine that.
And calories out? It’s not go there. You’re body’s ability to burn calories is also unique to you and different on any given day.
But, you are still governed by the energy balance equation. So, one thing is for certain, you can’t gorge yourself all the time and lose weight. And you won’t gain mass if you don’t give your body enough appropriate fuel (stuff your body can actually use for tissue repair.
…… So what’s the best diet?
Should those calories be carbs? Protein? Vegan?
Maybe?
All diets can work. But not all diets will work for every body.
Let’s go back to my preferred definition of diet. It’s what you habitually eat. There’s that word buried in there … habit. If the diet you are utilizing now is not sustainable for you for the rest of your life, it’s probably not the best diet for you…. It might be ok now, but will have to be modified to maintain.
If you ate McDonald’s Big macs every day for lunch and suddenly went on a keto diet (low carb), you probably would lose a bunch of weight. Initially. But what happens when your cravings for fries, chips, pasta or rice kicks in? What if you want that pizza during the game?
What if you are Italian and used to eating rustic breads with olive oil and pastas with tomato marinara? Are you doomed to gain weight the rest of your life? Not necessarily.
Diet is an individual thing.
I have a lot of friends that have had success with Keto. Ages ago, I tried Atkins and failed miserably. Today, I practice intermittent fasting. I say I “practice” it because, it’s a practice. I’m not all that perfect. But it’s working for me, today, with my goals. More on IF and my story here.
There’s a bunch or pre-determined diets out there. What is common to a LOT Of them is the prevalence of whole minimally-processed foods and elimination or reduction of added sugars. Inherently, this reduces calories because the hidden calories of sugars in processed foods adds up. Additionally, highly processed foods may have a bunch of additives that do not agree with you, personally in your body.
So, how do you know what the best diet is for you?
Start simple
Figure out what you might be lacking in the whole, minimally-processed food arena. Try to add some of that. More veggies, fruits, whole grains, meat.
Then, figure out what you might be eating too much that could be holding you back from your goals. Decide if you want/can scale back on some of that consumption.
Have fun and experiment with it. Experiment with new foods. See what you like and dislike, and what you can and can’t live without.
At the end of the day, the diet that works best for you will be the one you can stick to. If you have a goal in mind, you may need to re-evaluate what you are eating and adjust accordingly.