What makes a diet effective and easy for one person, might not be the same for you.
So, it’s essential to consider individual factors—such as your budget, personal taste and comfort level with cooking—and work with a medical doctor or registered dietitian when searching for the easiest diet to lose weight.
Here are a few things to consider when deciding on an effective diet for you, according to experts:
Avoid any plan that feels overly restrictive, whether that’s in terms of calories consumed or types of foods
Pick a diet that includes foods that are recognizable to your personal food culture
Opt for a diet that emphasizes foods you can find and prepare easily
Make sure the diet includes foods that fit your budget and also promote a sense of fullness, such as high-fiber, high-protein foods like beans and lean meats
If you have a health condition, food allergy or intolerance, make sure the diet incorporates foods that work for you
If you have a family, decide if the whole family can benefit from certain aspects of the diet, and eat together
Determine how much cooking is realistic for you, and that the amount of cooking required by the diet matches your skills, time availability and resources
Know that some days of eating will not be as great as others—and that’s okay in the long run
Once you find a diet that might be easy for you, start slow rather than making big changes
Focusing on foods that can be increased on a particular diet, rather than focusing on which foods have to be removed, can help with overall weight loss, explains Matthew Landry, Ph.D., a registered dietitian nutritionist and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.
Achieving Full Body Health
A positive approach to dieting is to focus on achieving full body health and flexibility in food choices, as opposed to just weight loss. This translates to wanting to see improvements in wellness that extend beyond just the number on the scale. After all, as research continues to show, there is no one right way to lose weight, and there is no one right diet for weight loss.
“Healthy weight loss isn’t about being the thinnest you can be—it’s…