Even though we all know that the easiest way to live a healthy lifestyle is to eat healthful, nutrient-rich food and exercise (…right?), it’s still easy to get swept up in the newest diet craze. Glossy tabloid pages shout out ways to lose seven pounds in seven days, and it’s pretty much impossible to turn on the TV without some celeb promoting some crazy diet plan or sharing secrets to shed those last 10 pounds. Some ways of eating are obviously cray (like the Baby Food Diet, which is pretty much exactly what sounds like), but others are more sustainable; they stop being “diets” and end up just being lifestyles. We at HC asked around and got the lowdown on the newest diet trends: which are worth it, and which you should skip.
1. The Carb Nite Solution
What it’s all About
The Carb Nite Solution is based on carb cycling. First, you lower your carbohydrate intake to 30 grams or fewer per day for 10 days. On the 10th day, you eat less than 30 grams of carbohydrates all day, but are allowed to have an unlimited number of carbs at dinner. This is called the “carb nite.” The alleged reasoning behind the Carb Nite diet is that by manipulating your carbohydrate intake, you take control of your body’s hormonal rhythms to shed body fat, not just scale weight. The diet creator claims that your body produces increased levels of carbohydrate-processing enzymes on the low-carb days that prevent your body from storing fat after your high-carb night. You process the carbs, burn excess calories, and lose body fat—all, purportedly, without having to work out.
Does it Work?
It’s up in the air for the Carb Nite plan—in general, it’s good to pay attention to your carbohydrate intake, especially since all the excess carbs that we don’t burn up end up sending a message to the body to store those calories as adipose tissue (fat). But clinical nutritionist Susan L. Holmberg says that the Carb Nite plan’s most seductive selling point—that once you fix your body’s hormonal rhythms after following the diet for a while, you can return to eating the way you were before—is “ridiculous.” Holmberg says dieters who adhere to plans that say you can “fix” your body and then return to their old habits “[end up at] their original start weights and more because they are back to the same habits that put them there in the first place.”
But Holmberg also says that there are a number of studies that support the idea of carbohydrate cycling as an effective method for weight loss. The high-carb night can “stimulate weight loss [by] kicking… up [calorie intake] temporarily [so] that your body will ‘let go’ of pounds once it doesn’t think it’s being starved.” However, Holmberg says the concept of the “Carb Nite” may be excessive and unnecessary for weight loss. Treating yourself periodically, though, Holmberg says, is a good idea in any eating plan. “Most of us need time off from [eating perfectly] all the time,” says Holmberg.
Especially worrying is the plan’s lack of emphasis on exercise. Any plan that doesn’t promote exercise may result in weight loss, but not health or fitness, which is the ultimate goal. It won’t hurt to try it out, but board certified nutrition specialist Jason Boehm says that while dieters may get “very good results short-term,” it’s also very possible they will “struggle with the plan and eventually return to their old ways of eating.”
The Verdict
The jury’s still out on the Carb Nite plan. Carb-cycling combined with a carb-laden cheat day where you can eat whatever you want will spur weight loss, but it can also be easy to go overboard and difficult to maintain long-term. If you keep your cheat days in check and can maintain eating 30 grams of carbs or fewer everyday, it’s possible you could be successful with losing weight on the Carb Nite diet—but remember, you need exercise to maintain your actual fitness.
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2. The Dukan Diet
What it’s all About
Apparently the reason French women are so slim—and the reason queen-to-be Kate Middleton looked so fab in her Alexander McQueen wedding gown—is the Dukan Diet. The Dukan Diet is a four-phase (Attack, Cruise, Consolation, and Stabilization) plan that centers on a low-calorie, low-carb, high-protein philosophy. As part of the diet, you walk 20 minutes a day for exercise and boost calorie burn by talking the stairs everywhere; you’re forbidden to use escalators or elevators.
In the Attack phase, you eliminate all carbohydrates from your diet. Most sources of lean protein also contain fat, but the goal is to keep your diet composition as close to 100 percent protein as possible. Pierre Dukan, who created the diet, claims that starting the diet is easy because protein and fat keep you so satiated. This stage lasts up to a week.
In the Cruise phase, you alternate all-protein days with protein-and-vegetables days. You are now allowed unlimited amounts of veggies on certain days, but simple carbs (like bread and pasta) are still off-limits. Continue alternating all-protein days with protein-and-vegetable days until you reach your goal weight.
The Consolation phase allows you to relax your diet further. You can add two slices of bread, one serving of fruit and cheese, and two additional servings of carbs every day. You can also have two cheat meals a week. For each pound you lost in the previous stages, you stay in Consolation phase for five days. Dukan alleges that dieters often regain weight because they reintroduce unhealthy foods into their diets too quickly, hence the slow reintroduction of simple carbs, fruit, and dairy.
The Stabilization phase is supposed last for the rest of your life. In the Stabilization phase, you can essentially eat whatever you want (but are still supposed to be mindful of your food and make good choices) for six days a week. On the seventh, return to the Attack phase and eat only protein.
Does it Work?
In the way of weight loss, probably, but in leading a healthy lifestyle? Not so much. Holmberg says that the Attack phase probably does do a good job of cutting out any foods you might binge on and probably stimulates rapid weight loss, but that weight loss would be the “rapid water loss that any high protein/low carb diet stimulates.” But the reintroduction of “everything” is potentially dangerous in that it doesn’t actually force you to understand the foods that trigger unhealthy habits for you as an individual. This specificity is, as Holmberg says, the “real rub for any long term success… the challenge is always from the starchy carbs,” and the Dukan Diet doesn’t really offer any way of managing them past the Consolation phase.
The Verdict
Skip it. Again, while limiting carbs isn’t a bad idea, the key to any successful diet is its sustainability. The Dukan plan is too one-size-fits-all and doesn’t offer any way for individuals to tailor their eating plans to their own needs. In addition, excluding any singular food group from your diet, even for a short period of time, isn’t good for your body.
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3. The Paleo Diet
What it’s all About:
With the CrossFit craze, the Paleo Diet (also known as the Caveman Diet), which the CrossFit website mentions as “perfectly consistent” with CrossFit principles, has seen a noticeable increase in popularity recently. The Paleo Diet is pretty simple in execution: you only eat foods that could be hunted or gathered during the Paleolithic era, which, unsurprisingly, consisted of healthful, whole foods and no processed junk. Proponents of the Paleo Diet dine exclusively on lean meats, seafood, eggs, nuts, fruits, and veggies. By default, people who are Paleo are also gluten- and dairy-free, which might make for some difficult transitioning if you’re used to having milk in your coffee or pretty much any kind of bread, pasta, or rice. Legumes are also forbidden because Paleo proponents claim that they cause inflammation and inhibit nutrient absorption. Starchy tubers like yams and potatoes are point of contention for some Paleo enthusiasts, with some saying you should avoid them completely, and others saying that you can enjoy a baked potato every once in a while, but that you should limit your consumption to a few times a week.
Does it Work?
Generally, yes. Los Angeles-based nutritionist Emily Dingmann is a fan of the Paleo Diet because “it focuses on real foods: quality protein, good fats, and healthy carbohydrates,” which she says is “an ideal way to look at [eating].” Dingmann says that she would recommend the diet to her clients because many people have found the plan “sustainable for the long-term because they feel good and aren’t hungry” because of the lean sources of protein and healthy fats that abound in the Paleo diet. However, eating Paleo can be restrictive and especially limiting in your social life because it makes it difficult to do things like eating out and occasionally grabbing drinks with friends. In addition, completely eliminating foods like dairy from your diet opens you to potential nutrient deficiencies. Paleo completely eliminates the notion of enjoying our not-so-healthful faves like brownies, chips, and candy in moderation, but a modified, individualized version of Paleo-style eating, perhaps with an occasional cheat meal or day, could allow for more freedom.
The Verdict
It’s definitely worth a shot. The Paleo Diet is rich in plant foods and lean sources of protein, the cornerstones of a healthy eating plan. Also, while eating Paleo may be restrictive, this may be a good thing in the long run. With her clients, Holmberg has found that “the better [people] eat all the time, the lower the threshold of what constitutes a treat.” That is, the longer you eat healthful food, the less you’ll crave processed junk foods. After a while, a Paleo diet cheat might end up being a low-fat yogurt instead of French fries. If you’re still up in the air, check out our article about the Paleo Diet.
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4. The Eat-Clean Diet
What it’s all About
If you’ve ever stumbled upon “fitblrs” on tumblr, you’ve probably seen a couple of posts about “eating clean,” probably along with a hipster-cool graphic telling you, “it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.” On the Eat-Clean Diet, you eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean sources of animal protein, and healthy fats, like nuts or olive oil (which basically includes everything on this list of healthful foods you should add to your diet). You avoid processed foods, particularly refined flours and sugars and saturated and trans fats. To keep your metabolism running, you eat five to six small meals a day (between 200 and 300 calories each), get your eight cups of water per day, and never skip meals. Cheat meals, where you can indulge in all the things normally forbidden by the Eat-Clean Diet, are allowed are once a week. On her website, Tosca Reno, author of The Eat-Clean Diet book series, stresses that regular exercise complements eating nutrient-rich food to achieve optimal health.
Does it Work?
Yes. Eating whole, unprocessed foods and getting regular exercise are the tenets of a living a long, healthy lifestyle. Holmberg agrees with what Reno claims is “right” to eat, adding that you will “feel well and your appetite will be managed” and that you won’t have to actively count calories if you follow the guidelines of Reno’s plan. Eating clean most of the time and occasionally treating yourself (as the weekly cheat meals allow) allow for a sustainable plan that Holmberg says her 20 years of experience have shown her are necessary for weight management.
The Verdict:
Definitely give it a try. The Eat-Clean plan can be restrictive, but it does include everything that Holmberg says is essential to a healthy way of eating, in addition to stressing that exercise is key to a healthy body. Plus, the allowance of a cheat meal makes it easier for you to stick to this diet since you won’t be completely depriving yourself of your favorite foods.
According to Boehm, although all the plans have their strengths and weaknesses (some more than others), “the most important thing for dieters is to find some thing they can comply with for the rest of their lives.” If you feel like the way you’re eating has an end date, you won’t actually change your lifestyle. Although this is true, it’s also important that you look for a plan that is balanced and not too restrictive. Remember that everyone’s body is different and will react differently to various plans. If you keep these things in mind, we’re sure you’ll find the perfect plan for you!