The calorie restriction diet

This is about as simple as a diet gets, and although this may not seem obvious, calorie restriction is perhaps the best for your body in the long run! By reducing the stress on your digestive and immune systems, dieters can add years to their life.

Calorie restriction: basics

- Foundation

"Less Calories In = Less Weight On"
Scientists estimate that 1lb is equivalent to 3500 calories. So cut your calorific intake (or increase your exercise) by 3500 calories and you should lose one pound! Its simple to understand but it works, and the benefits are more wide-ranging than just weight loss.
In fact, calorie restriction has been shown to improve health, reduce aging, reduce blood pressure and have a host of other benefits!
You see, overeating puts stress on your body by making your organs work harder. Over a lifetime the cumulative stresses of years of big meals can really take a toll on your body.

- Diet

Just count the calories and eat less of everything! There's no real restriction on the types of food you eat, but just remember to keep watching those calories!
Use the Calorie Calculators from the link on the left to work out what level of calorific intake you should be aiming at. And don't cheat yourself (no midnight trips to the fridge!).
It takes a while to learn the calorific content of foods, but its well worth it. Ask any model how many calories there are in a meal and he/she will tell you. Just by knowing this, you will actually find yourself turning down fatty foods without even thinking about it.
If you need to fill up but are restricting calories, here are some of my favorite snacks:
- Low calorie Jell-O
- Thin crisps with sliced banana
- Protein bars (Zone and Luna bars - great chocolate substitutes!)

Calorie restriction: Pros

- The diet is easy to understand.

- There is little restriction on types of food you can eat.

- Longer life, better health, lower blood pressure and more!

Calorie restriction: Cons

- Dieters rarely feel full

- You're always counting calories, and need full knowledge of the calorific content of every food!

- Careful of restaurant foods. They are full of hidden butters, creams & oils!

Blood type diet

There are 4 blood groups - A, B, AB and O - and we each belong to one of them. The blood type diet dictates that each blood type has a susceptibility to certain diseases, benefits from specific exercises and should only eat certain foods.
The blood type diet has become enormously popular recently, and makes a lot of sense intuitively to many people. Many find that by switching their diet, the weight falls off while hardly trying.

Blood Type Diet: Basics

- Foundation

The blood type diet comes from the evolutionary theory of blood groups, first proposed by William C. Boyd. It states that our blood types have evolved in the same way as our species. In other words, we can draw a line from the earliest blood type, O, through history to the most recent, AB.
The order of evolution dictates the diet for each blood type. The idea is that we should look back in history and try, to some degree, to replicate the diet from the time of each blood type's evolution.
Much of the theory of the blood type diet rests on the actions of lectins, proteins found on the surfaces of foods that react differently with certain blood types.

- Diet

Here are the recommended diets for each blood type:
Blood Type O Diet (The Hunter)
The earliest blood group, associated with the hunter, tending to be muscular and active. So Type O dieters should stick to a high-protein diet heavy in meat but light on vegetables. Dairy and wheat products will lead to weight gain and should be avoided if possible. Coffee is also a strict no.
Blood Type A Diet (The Cultivator)
Type A evolved when humans began to build settlements and cultivate the land. The Type A diet therefore moves away from meat and emphasises vegetables. Carbs are fine, but meals should be very low fat. Dairy is also to be avoided, but coffee is beneficial.
Blood Type B Diet (The Nomad)
Blood type B supposedly evolved at a similar time to A, but is associated with a nomadic lifestyle and the herding of livestock. Dairy products are therefore an important part of this diet, along with a limited amount of meat.
Blood Type AB Diet (The Enigma)
Blood type AB is the most recently evolved type, and as you might expect its a combination of diets A and B. It is the most balanced diet, with a mixture of dairy, vegetables and meat.

Blood Type Diet: Pros

- There is no calorie counting on the blood type diet. You find the foods that suit you and can pretty much eat the quantity that you want. Your body is able to process these foods very efficiently.

- The blood type diet is inexpensive. You just need to buy the book, or even do some research online.

Blood Type Diet: Cons

- The blood type diet has no scientific studies to back up its claims. Some scientists dispute the effects of lectins that William Boyd proposes.

The low carbon diet

This diet is amazing. You will never feel hungry again yet still lose weight. This is not a gimmick or the latest fad. The diet has been around for decades. Most people will lose 10-30 pounds in the first month with this diet! How do they do it? They eat all the meat, cheese, eggs, and fats (like butter and oils) until they are full. There is no calorie counting or using tasteless low fat foods. There is no starvation in this diet. What is the trick you may ask? Limiting carbohydrates in your daily food intake.

If you don't know what the low carbon diet is, where have you been for the last 10 years!!
This diet becomes the most popular of all the 'low-carb' diets and is used by dieters all over the world, including celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker and Minnie Driver.
I have used the Atkins diet many times, and in fact even when not dieting strictly I always try to follow some of its basic rules, like cutting down on carbs.

Diet: Basics

- Foundation

Eating refined carbohydrates, particularly sugar, flour and corn syrups causes the obesity. This is the main fodation of this diet. It reduces the intake of carbs, so that the body stops burning glucose and starts burning fat.
It also tells us that we need not worry about saturated fats, and that trans fats are what should really concern us.

- Diet

Here's the best part of this diet, and one of the reasons why it is so popular - followers can eat reasonable quantities of meat, cheese, vegetables, nuts and fish. So you can keep eating those burgers!
Now the tough bit - foods that are restricted in this diet include potatoes, fruit, rice, pasta, bread, caffeine, alcohol. So you may need to put your social life on hold for a while.

- Phases of diet.

The low-carb diet follows 4 stages:
1. Induction - the first and hardest phase, involving a carb intake of less than 20 net grams per day. Followers often report the greatest weight loss in this phase. (Its not easy to stick to 20 grams though)
2. Ongoing Weight Loss - an increase in carb intake of about 5 grams per day.
3. Pre-maintenance - a consolidation phase of diet, where carb intake is increased to the new long-term level.
4. Lifetime maintenance - long-term maintenance of the lower weight at this new lower carb intake. Here's the rub - you've got to stick with it! Changing back to your old eating habits can result in a very fast weight gain.

Low carb diet: Pros

- This diet can and does result in rapid weight loss. I have had some amazing results, especially when aiming to lose a quick 10lbs after the holidays.

- It is fairly easy to follow, and allows followers to eat many delicious foods (meat, cheese etc) that other diet restrict.

- There is little calorie restriction, so dieters rarely feel hungry in this diet

Cons

- Fall in energy levels with lower carb intake.

- Deviation from the diet, i.e. eating carbs again, can put the weight back. After this diet

- No alcohol can sometimes really cut back on your social life!