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The Best Popular Diets

Which of Today's Popular Diets is the Best?

In recent years, there has been an explosion of different diets in America. With so many options available, it can be challenging to choose the right one that fits your lifestyle and health goals. To get you started, let's take a look at some of the most common frameworks used by diet plans today.

First, the ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate protein, and low-carb diet that forces the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In ketosis, the body burns fat for energy instead of glucose. This diet has become popular because it has been associated with rapid weight loss, increased energy levels, and improved mental clarity.

Tuesday, March 19th

2024 Popular Diet Reviews

Weight Watchers Review Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award 5 Star Rating

Weight Watchers

5 Star Rating Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award

There's a reason why Weight Watchers is the #1 diet recommended by doctors: it teaches you how to have a healthy relationship with food, with nothing off-limits and plenty of foods you can eat without tracking. No need to feel like you're starving on this plan. You can also get plenty of support, either strictly through the WW app or with in-person and virtual workshops as often as you like. With more than 500,000 five-star reviews and a proven record of success (when followed, of course), Weight Watchers is our top pick among popular diets today.

Mayo Clinic Diet Review 4.5 Star Rating

Mayo Clinic Diet

4.5 Star Rating

The Mayo Clinic Diet is a popular plan that emphasizes healthy eating habits, regular physical activity, and a long-term approach to weight loss and overall health. The diet doesn't require calorie counting or strict portion control, but instead focuses on making healthy food choices and eating until you feel satisfied. The diet also provides support and resources to help you stay on track. Most clients give this service a five-star rating and say that it helped them lose up to 10 pounds in the first few weeks - all while learning how to establish healthy habits that last a lifetime. You should feel good about giving the Mayo Clinic Diet a try.

Nutrisystem Review 4 Star Rating

Nutrisystem

4 Star Rating

You've seen the commercials, but is Nutrisystem a good option among popular diets? We say yes. It gives you the simplicity of having all of your meals and snacks taken care of, and all you need to do is get some fresh fruits and veggies for extra fullness. There are options for men and women aged 50+, partner plans, and over 130 entree choices that get high ratings from customers. Use the NuMi app to track your progress, and watch it adapt to meet your needs as your metabolism changes. You'll pay at least $9.99 a day on Nutrisystem, but it's a proven way to jump-start your weight loss with portion control and healthier habits.

Noom Review 3.5 Star Rating

Noom

3.5 Star Rating

Noom is a popular diet program that emphasizes behavior change, personalized coaching, flexible food choices, technology- and evidence-based principles of weight loss. If you've never understood the "why" behind your habits, particularly with respect to food, exercise, and stress/sleep, this could be a great choice. However, Noom is meant to be a 12-month program (or less), and its less-than-detailed system for food tracking might not give you the education you need for long-term success. We suggest that you use Noom thoroughly for the first two weeks, so that you can request a refund if you decide it's not the right fit.

Atkins Review 3.5 Star Rating

Atkins

3.5 Star Rating

Atkins was the first well-known low-carb/keto diet. Depending on which plan you select, you could find it to be overly restrictive (just 20 net grams of carbs daily) or only moderately so. Pluses for Atkins include a totally free website that includes meal plans and corresponding shopping lists, an online support community, and the ability to integrate your diet with your fitness tracker. On the other hand, with many fruits and veggies on the no-no list and high-fat foods included on the regular, this diet isn't appropriate for everyone and should be approved by your doctor first.

Lumen Review 3.5 Star Rating

Lumen

3.5 Star Rating

The Lumen "diet" is a weight loss program that is based on a handheld breath analyzer that measures your metabolism in real-time, providing personalized recommendations on nutrition and exercise based on your metabolic rate. While the program is relatively new, it is based on the principles of metabolic flexibility and could be an effective weight loss tool, especially since there are no "off limits" foods. Although it's not your typical popular "diet" plan, Lumen has a lot of potential as it gains experience within the industry.

Whole 30 Review 3 Star Rating

Whole 30

3 Star Rating

Can you go without dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol, and added sugars (even alternatives like stevia) for 30 days? That's what you'll do on the Whole30 diet, which focuses on unprocessed foods like meat, seafood, eggs, and vegetables. This is a fantastic option if you're struggling to pinpoint the source of your allergies or digestive problems. But for anyone looking for a way to lose weight and make sustainable changes, Whole30 is going to be too restrictive.

Jenny Craig Review 2.5 Star Rating

Jenny Craig

2.5 Star Rating

Jenny Craig has been around for over 40 years, offering ready-made meals and personalized support for your weight loss journey. You can choose to buy a 7-dinner package, just breakfasts and lunches, or go all the way with Max Up. Clients say the coaching offered through the Max Up plan is really valuable, but is it worth paying $24.99 a day for the meals and guidance? Maybe not, especially if your customer service experience with Jenny Craig is as disappointing as many members have reported. You might be better off with a rival service instead of this well-known diet plan.

Diet to Go Review 2 Star Rating

Diet to Go

2 Star Rating

Diet To Go can completely eliminate the need to go to the grocery store, with ready-made, frozen entrees that can cover three meals a day, seven days a week. There are five different menu plans, including options for vegetarians and diabetics. While some customers love this service for the convenience, others complain about the quality of the food for the price - which can be as much as $225 per week plus delivery fees. You should look at Diet To Go's higher-rated rivals before you take the leap here.

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Next, the paleo diet is based on the principle of eating like our ancestors did during the Paleolithic era. This diet focuses on eating whole foods such as meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts while avoiding processed and refined foods. The paleo diet has been associated with weight loss, improved gut health, and reduced inflammation.

Foodies particularly like the Mediterranean diet. It's based on the traditional dietary patterns of that region, focusing on eating whole, plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains, while also including moderate amounts of fish, poultry, and dairy. The Mediterranean diet has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, improved brain function, and a longer lifespan.

One of the most buzz-worthy diets at the moment is intermittent fasting. This isn't a diet in the traditional sense but rather an eating pattern that involves alternating periods of fasting and eating. There are various methods of intermittent fasting, such as the 16/8 method, where you fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour window. Intermittent fasting has been associated with weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, and reduced inflammation.

And that's not even scratching the surface. You could track your macros, go vegetarian or vegan, experiment with Whole30, and the list just keeps going. Feeling overwhelmed already, trying to figure out which diet is right for you? Take a deep breath, and keep these three criteria in mind to sort out the choices:

  • Commitment. How much will you have to change about how you currently eat (and live in general) to follow the diet? Will you have to spend a lot of time prepping food, tracking what you eat, or paying someone else to do that for you (in the form of pre-made food that you buy)? You may be ready to make a drastic change; just check your commitment level first.
  • Results. How well does the diet you're considering work for people who have tried it? What can you reasonably expect to see, both short- and long-term? Are there any guarantees in place, even though your results may vary?
  • Cost. Some popular diets don't require anything more than paying attention to what you're buying at the store and how much of it you're eating. Others are a complete system that includes buying ready-made meals and snacks. Make sure you understand what you'll be spending with any diet plan you're considering.

To help you get your nutrition on track, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked some of today's most popular diets. It can be confusing trying to sort out all of the options, and we're confident that this information will help you find the right approach for you - for your budget and your lifestyle!

The Best Popular Diets Compare Popular Diets Compare Popular Diet Reviews What are the best Popular Diets Best Popular Diet Reviews

Popular Diet FAQ

Some of the most popular diet plans have been around for a while, including WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers), Nutrisystem and Atkins. Others are newer to the industry, like Noom and keto.
The best place to start is by being completely honest with yourself. What has worked in the past, and what hasn't? Do you need to have everything spelled out for you meal-by-meal, or would you find that stifling and likely to make you quit? Whichever diet you choose, the "best" one will always be the one you can stick to!
Absolutely! Many people feel the same way and want everything to be done for them, more or less. Nothing wrong with that! You'll probably want to look for a diet like Nutrisystem, South Beach Diet, or Medifast: you will buy ready-made meals and snacks and use them as the foundation of your nutrition, at least for the first few stages of your progress.
Not at all. There are many popular diets that teach you how and what to eat, but you get to do the shopping, preparing and cooking yourself. Being on a diet doesn't mean you have to eat ready-made, heavily processed foods!
Paleo and keto are two very popular diets right now. Paleo is sometimes known as "the caveman diet" and prioritizes eating the kinds of foods that hunter-gatherers did: meat and fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables (except for corn), some fats and oils, and natural sweeteners. Keto aims to help your body burn primarily fat as its energy source and usually allows for less than 5% of your daily calories to come from carbohydrates. Both diets place strong emphasis on whole foods and healthy fats, eliminate legumes and grains, and they don't allow refined sugars. The big difference: keto allows dairy and soy but cuts out most carbs, while paleo encourages fruits and vegetables but doesn't include soy or most dairy products.
That depends on which diet you choose. Most experts say that tracking what you eat is the best way to make sure you know how much you're eating; people tend to overeat by a lot and not realize it. But, if you don't want to track your food, consider following one of the popular diets that uses ready-made meals: all the work is done for you!
Many popular diets will have a quick initial drop in weight: if you're drastically changing your eating habits, reducing your caloric intake, and exercising more, you could see a fast drop of 5-10 pounds in the first week. But, before you get too excited, understand that much of that weight loss will be water, not fat. If you want to lose weight and, more importantly, keep it off, slow and steady really does win the race. A healthy rate of weight loss after the initial "whoosh" downward is usually considered to be 1-2 pounds per week.
Not necessarily. If you choose a diet plan that doesn't include the food - in other words, you're getting a nutritional plan, coaching or other support, and maybe an app for tracking your food, water, and exercise - expect your costs to be $50-$100 per month. If you opt for a diet that includes the food, like South Beach or Nutrisystem, you'll pay around $300 for 4 weeks of food. (But remember how much you WON'T be spending at the grocery store or bringing home takeout!)
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