Diets to promote weight loss are generally divided into four categories:

Low-fat

Minimize the consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol. It is important to know that dietary fat is needed for good health, as fats supply energy and fatty acids, in addition to supplying fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K

Low-carbohydrate

Reduce weight for short time, such as Atkins’ diet and has relatively high level in protein and fats. Can easily cause ketosis (very unhealthy and dangerous imbalance of homeostasis)

Low calories

500–1,000 calories. Foods high in easily digestible carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited or replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fats and moderate protein (e.g., meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, cheese, nuts and seeds) and other foods low in carbohydrates (e.g., most salad vegetables), although other vegetables and fruits (especially berries) are often allowed. The amount of carbohydrate not allowed varies with different low-carbohydrate diets.

Very low calories

Provide 200–800 calories per day. Very dangerous but frequented.

Long-term studies of dieting however indicate that the majority of individuals, who dieted, regain virtually all of the weight, or gained even more, that was lost after dieting regardless of whether they maintain their diet or exercise program.

Low-carbohydrate diets are also used to treat or prevent some chronic diseases and conditions including: cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and diabetes, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome and polycystic ovarian syndrome

The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a dietary pattern promoted by the U.S. National Institute for Health to prevent and control hypertension. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods; includes meat, fish, poultry, nuts and beans; and is limited in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat, and added fats. In addition to its effect on blood pressure, it is designed to be a well-balanced approach to eating for the general public. It is now recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as an ideal eating plan for all Americans.

Calorie restriction is a feature of several dietary regimens medically approved including the Okinawa diet and the CRON diet.

Okinawa is Japanese island well known by its life expectancy among the highest in the world. The traditional diet of the islanders contains 30% green and yellow vegetables. Although the traditional Japanese diet usually includes large quantities of rice, the traditional Okinawa diet consists of smaller quantities of rice; instead the staple was the sweet potato. The traditional diet also includes a relatively small amount of fish (less than half a serving per day) and more in the way of soy and other legumes (6% of total caloric intake). The daily diet is mainly plant based. Their overall traditional diet would be considered a very-high-carbohydrate diet by modern standards, with carbohydrates, protein, and fat providing 85%, 9% and 6% of total calories respectively. The consumption of meat in Okinawa in 1979 was 7.9 kg per person per year. This may be contrasted with the average consumption of meat in the United States, which, by 2005, included 82.9kg of meat per person per year. Virtually no eggs or dairy products were consumed by the Okinawans. In addition to their high life expectancy, islanders are noted for their low mortality from cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers. One study 2007 compared age-adjusted mortality of Okinawans versus Americans and found that, during 1995, an average Okinawan was 8 times less likely to die from coronary heart disease, 7 times less likely to die from prostate cancer, 6.5 times less likely to die from breast cancer, and 2.5 times less likely to die from colon cancer than an average American of the same age.

CRON diet (Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition) is a nutrient-rich but low calorie diet but represents adequate nutrition model which keeps healthy levels of protein, vitamins and minerals while lowering calories.

Diets can also be used to maintain a stable body weight, or to detox the body. Detox diets claim to eliminate undesirable “toxins” from the human body rather than claiming to cause weight loss. Many of these use herbs, homeopathic remedies, low calorie vegetables.

The line between benefit and health problems is very fine and sensitive, and we have to keep careful approach when intend to start diet. The best is always to keep moderate pattern of nutrition according to individual health conditions.

Let’s Focus On Different Available Top 10 Diets

1 Three day moon diet (expectation: up to 5kg of loss)

It is a liquid diet, related to the phases of the moon. The diet has to be made once a month. It is good to do it at full moon or at new moon, but it is ok at the other lunar phases too. The food for the three-day moon diet, must be prepared so, as to preserve its fresh quality and taste, so do not overdo with spices. In these three days drink as much water – mineral or spring, and fresh squeezed juices. Coffee and alcohol are not recommended.

You can drink herbal tea, iced mint tea, fresh strained citron juice or cup of hot water with lemon and a spoon of honey.

An example three-day moon diet menu:

DAY 1

• After awakening – a glass of water and juice from half an orange
• Breakfast – yogurt and 1 apple
• Late breakfast – juice from orange and lemon
• Lunch – a cup of vegetable juice
• Afternoon snack – herbal tea with honey
• Dinner – a glass of citrus juice
• Before sleep – a cup of tea with honey

DAY 2

• After awakening – a glass of water and juice of half orange
• Breakfast – herbal tea with a spoonful of honey
• Late breakfast – juice from orange and lemon
• Lunch – a cup of vegetable juice
• Afternoon snack – herbal tea with honey
• Dinner – an apple puree
• Before sleep – a cup of tea with honey

DAY 3

• After awakening – herbal tea with honey
• Breakfast – yogurt and banana puree
• Late breakfast – a glass of grapefruit juice
• Lunch – vegetable juice and juice of two oranges
• Afternoon snack – herbal tea with honey
• Dinner – a cup of herbal tea
• Before sleep – a cup of tea with honey

To keep the lost weight after finishing the moon diet, bet on light foods menu. An advice is to cook on steam.

The food should primary consist of fruits and vegetables, a good choice are carrots, cabbage, zucchini, celery, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. For flavoring the salads, use olive oil and apple vinegar, no salt.

2 Three Day Tuna Diet

(expectation: up to 4 kg of loss)

DAY 1

Breakfast

Black tea or coffee (using -ick – artificial sugar) or water • Either juice or 1/3 grapefruit • 1 slice toast (1/2 to 1 tbsp low-fat peanut butter as spread)

Lunch

1 slice plain toast • 1/2 cup tuna • Water, diet (ick again) soda or black tea or coffee (use diet sugar)

Dinner

2-3 oz. lean meat (fish/chicken) • 1cup green beans • 1cup grated carrot • 1 medium apple • Water or black coffee or tea

DAY 2

Breakfast

Black tea or coffee or water • 1 egg (hard-boiled or poached) • 1 slice plain toast

Lunch

1 cup tuna or cottage cheese • 5 saltine crackers • Water, diet soda or black tea or coffee

Dinner

2 hot dogs or 2 beef franks • 1 cup cabbage or broccoli • 1/2 cup grated or sliced carrot • 1/2 cup sugar-free vanilla ice cream • Water or black coffee or tea

DAY 3

Breakfast
Black tea or coffee or water • 5 saltine crackers • 1 oz. cheddar cheese • 1 apple

Lunch
1 hard-boiled egg • 1 slice plain toast
• Water, diet soda or black tea or coffee
Dinner
1 cup tuna • 1 cup cauliflower • 1 cup carrots • 1 cup melon • 1/2 cup sugar-free vanilla ice cream • Water or black coffee or tea

3 The lemon diet

( for 7 days expectation 5kg of loss)
All it takes is seven days on the lemon diet to cleanse your body, recharge your batteries and drop a jeans size! The main tip in this diet is to drink as much lemonade as we can. Here is the recipe for lemonade and example of one Sunday’s menu. Target is to drink loads of lemonade, from the minute you get up to just before bed. Like water, lemon is excellent at kick-starting your digestive system, helping bowel movements along and eliminating toxins. It’s also a natural appetite suppressant.

How to make Lemon
Diet Lemonade
• 1-1½ Lemons – squeezed (2tbsp of lemon juice)
• 300ml filtered water
• 2 tsp Quality organic maple syrup (or cinnamon stick if preferred)
• Pinch of Cayenne pepper.
Wake-up drink (7:30)
Glass of lemonade
Breakfast (30 minutes after you get up)
Fruit salad (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries)
An apple, a pear, an organic yoghurt and a handful of unsalted, ungrilled almonds
Morning snack
A glass of lemonade.
A banana
A handful of sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
Lunch
Bean or lentil salad with lemon, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil dressing
Afternoon snack
Glass of lemonade
A helping of crudités (cucumber, radishes and celery) OR a handful of dried fruit.
Dinner
Grilled fish with lemon juice.
Steamed veg
1 hour before bedtime
Glass of lukewarm or hot lemonade

Glass of lukewarm or hot lemonade
4 Three day pilot/military diet
(up to 8 kg loss)

Also known as The Military Diet, the 3-day diet is unsurprisingly pretty hardcore. It states that you must follow an incredibly strict plan of under 1000 calories for 3 consecutive days at a time, with a 4-5 day break (if you want to lose more fat).

The 3-day diet meal plan:

One thing you have to know about the 3-day diet is that it won’t ‘work’ if you don’t stick to it exactly.

So that means following it to the letter, portion size is essential and the diet also recommends eating the food outlined, even if you do not feel hungry

DAY 1

Breakfast

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 1/2 grapefruit or juice • 1 piece toast with 1 tbsp peanut butter

Lunch

150g tuna • 1 piece toast • Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener

Dinner

85g any lean meat or chicken • 150g green beans • 125g carrots • 1 apple • 125g vanilla ice cream

DAY 2

Breakfast

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 1 egg • 1/2 banana
• 1 piece toast

Lunch

225g (8oz) cottage cheese or 150g tuna • 8 cream crackers

Dinner

2 beef sausages • 85g broccoli or cabbage
• 65g carrots • 1/2 banana • 65g vanilla ice cream

DAY 3

Breakfast

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 5 cream crackers
• 25g cheddar cheese • 1 apple

Lunch

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 1 boiled egg • 1 piece toast

Dinner

150g tuna • 125g carrots • 140g cauliflower • 175g melon • 65g vanilla ice cream
On top of your eating plan, dieters are also allowed 950ml of water or non-caloric drinks daily.

By restricting your daily calorie count to under 1000 calories for 3 days straight, this diet claims that you kick-start your metabolism, burn fat and lose weight fast.

The thing to remember is that unlike the 5:2 diet, the 3-day diet has to be completed in 3 consecutive days. That means restricting your calorie count for quite a considerable time, unlike the 5:2 diet which says you can space out your ‘fasting’ days.

For these 3 days you follow a strict meal plan, which the diet advises you do not stray from at all to get optimum results.

Unusually there is no diet book, no group, or a website on this diet to explain exactly how following this plan actually works and boosts that metabolism. So let’s find out

The 3-day diet meal plan:

One thing you have to know about the 3-day diet is that it won’t ‘work’ if you don’t stick to it exactly. So that means following it to the letter, portion size is essential and the diet also recommends eating the food outlined, even if you do not feel hungry.

DAY 1

Breakfast

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 1/2 grapefruit or • 1 piece toast with 1 tbsp peanut butter

Lunch

150g tuna • 1 piece toast • Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener

Dinner

85g any lean meat or chicken • 150g green beans • 125g carrots • 1 apple • 125g vanilla ice cream

DAY 2

Breakfast

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 1 egg • 1/2 banana
• 1 piece toast

Lunch

225g (8oz) cottage cheese or 150g (5.5oz) tuna • 8 cream crackers

Dinner

2 beef sausages • 85g broccoli or cabbage
• 65g carrots • 1/2 banana • 65g vanilla ice cream

DAY 3

Breakfast

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 5 cream crackers
25g cheddar cheese • 1 apple

Lunch

Black coffee or tea, with 1-2 packets artificial sweetener • 1 boiled egg • 1 piece toast

Dinner

150g tuna • 125g carrots • 140g cauliflower • 175g melon • 65g vanilla ice cream On top of your eating plan, dieters are also allowed 950ml of water or non-caloric drinks daily.

5 Dukan diet

(for long term diet recommended in obese person who needs to lose more than 10kg)
Divided into phases: pure protein attack phase 3-10 days to initiate weight loss with Meat (beef and veal), poultry without the skin on (apart from duck and goose), lean ham, fish, seafood, fat-free dairy products, water, tea and coffee can all be eaten in whatever quantities you want. All other foods are cut out. And then Cruise phase to control it with all above mentioned foods and vegetables (apart from potatoes, rice, sweet corn, peas, lentils, green beans and avocadoes). For long term use follow the consolidation phase (maximum 1kg loss per week) when is important to return to normal eating as slowly as possible to avoid the dreaded yo-yo effect, reintroducing forbidden foods gradually. Allow for 10 days of consolidation for each kilo lost initially fast then controlled.

A typical day during the Dukan Diet attack phase

Breakfast

Unsweetened coffee or tea, either 1 or 2 low-fat yoghurts (fruit yoghurts if desired) or 200g fromage frais, and either 1 slice of turkey or ham with the fat cut off, or a boiled egg, or a bran pancake.

Snack:
1 yoghurt or 100g of fat-free fat fromage frais (optional).

Lunch

Seafood sticks, crab, 1 turkey escalope, and either 1 helping fromage frais or a bran pancake.
Snack: 1 yoghurt or 100g fat-free fromage frais (optional).

Dinner

Chicken liver or a hard-boiled egg, fish or shellfish, 1 yoghurt.

6 SONOMA diet

As with any diet, there is a The New Sonoma Diet is a lifestyle.
Sonoma is a region in California, USA with special climate, like in mediterraneanne basin, with similar nutrition habits like this region. It’s a way of living that infuses you with health and energy, so you can feel great, look your best and do everything you’ve always wanted to do. It’s a way of eating that treats meals as celebrations, that encourages you to indulge in the healthy pleasures of delicious mouthwatering foods. It’s a way to lose weight quickly and permanently while, perhaps for the first time in your life, truly cherishing your meals.

The Sonoma Diet is divided into three distinct “Waves.” In wave 1 (the first ten days), you’ll naturally recalibrate your body and turn around bad eating habits. Wave 2 is the main segment of the diet, where you’ll stay until you reach your target weight. Wave 3 is the maintenance program of the diet and begins when you’ve met your target weight or other health goals. You’ll continue to enjoy Sonoma-friendly foods as well as such occasional indulgences as snacks and desserts.

7 The Blood Type diet

It is the new approach: The blood group diet dates back to the 1980s when naturopaths came up with the new idea. Knowing your blood group can help you find a diet that suits your body, making it easier for you to lose weight naturally and without yoyoing. This is suggested as way of life, not just reducing diet and for each blood group (0, A, B, AB) you will obtain very clear list of allowed and forbidden nutritions.

8 The UnDiet

(90 day diet plan): long term diet plan

Breakfast

Fruit. Do not mix fruits!

Lunch

You can eat beans, peas, soybeans, corn, rice, potatoes, boiled or steamed required almost no fat. Authorized and slice of bread (whole wheat or white), a salad of various vegetables, cooked vegetables. On this day also consume broth, but it is made of fresh vegetables or vegetable bouillon cube.

Dinner

the same like the lunch but half of it!
The legumes day is an important part of the UnDiet (90 day diet) do not miss it, because without it you can not achieve the desired effect.
What is the secret of the 90 day diet? The UnDiet or 90 days diet is based on the principle of selective feeding. During the observance, you can eat all the necessary nutrients of the body namely meat, pasta, sweets and dairy products, fruits and
vegetables and other fats carbohydrates.
In practice, you can eat anything, but you’ll just have to follow a schedule and rules for their consumption.
The duration is not random and exemplary: it is exactly 90 days (not three months).
When you walk through the 90 day cycle, you can repeat the treatment, but after a certain rest, which is 90 – days.

9 Atkinson diet

Indeed, Atkins is often called the“Father of Modern Low-Carb Diets”. The essence of the Atkins program is
1) a diet of lower carbohydrate intake to intervene into what Atkins reckoned to be the underlying causes of overweight and 2) mechanisms to tailor the diet to the individual.
Total carbohydrate intake is counted, without much regard to where it comes from, though in Atkins for Life he had begun to talk more about advising less glycemic carbohydrate. Still, added sugars and refined grains are pretty much off the list for the rest of your life (which is the norm with low carb diets).
Amount of Restriction:
It starts out with a lot of restriction in the Induction phase. After that the amount of restriction is tailored to the individual, depending upon their response to the diet.
Amount of Structure:
The phases are quite structured, with detailed instructions on adding small amounts of carbohydrate. Within that structure, however, the dieter has a lot of choice about what to eat and how much.
Individual Variation:
The program focuses on helping people find their individual carbohydrate tolerance levels. Atkins also introduces a concept he called “metabolic resistance,” which will partly determine this level.
Learning Curve:
The biggest hurdle is simply learning how many grams of carbohydrate are in each food you eat. Atkins diet gives carb counts of many common foods.
The Atkins diet has four phases: Induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and maintenance. The length of these phases depends mainly upon how overweight a person is and how they respond to the diet.
Emphasis is on wise carb choices, with sugar and refined grains remain to be “highly” controlled and avoid.
Always take care about intake of:
• Grains and anything made with them, including bread, cake, pastries, or anything else made of flour
• Any food that includes added sugars, which is most processed food
• Fruits and fruit juices
• Dairy products, except for cheeses and cream in limited quantities as noted on the acceptable foods list
• Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, beets, corn, etc. (starchy veggies are listed at the bottom of the low carb food list)
• Legumes (beans and peas)
• Deli salads, which often have added sugars
• Alcoholic beverages
• Nuts, in large amount

10 Chrono diet

programmed according to endocrinology circadian rhythm
This diet is based on the principle that our body absorbs food differently, depending on the time of the day at which it is consumed according to endocrine glands function.
Chrono Nutrition as a way of eating, not just diet, and it is developed by French doctors, at the late 80-ties. As gourmands themselves, they made a diet where everything is allowed but according to time of the day.
Also called diet by the hour, this diet will guarantee you the loss of 5 – 7 kilograms in two weeks, while respecting the principles of a healthy and balanced way of eating, without causing the well-known, painful hunger that may arise during a slimming regime.
Although it seems strange, breakfast should be rich in foods with high fat
content. A rich breakfast helps you avoid the feeling of fatigue that usually occurs a few hours before noon. They proposed typical menu as a starting point, from which you can diversify your nutritional plan during a week of diet.
Breakfast
20 grams of butter. Tea or coffee without milk or sugar, 70 grams of bread (contains slow-acting sugars, also known as complex carbohydrates, which is an excellent fuel for the body), 100 grams of cheese of your choice (you can vary as much as you want, any kind of cheese consumption is allowed)
Avoid: foods containing fast carbohydrates (pastries, cereals with added sugar); lunch will be based on animal protein and carbohydrates, but it should not be too consistent, in order to avoid causing the sensation of fatigue and sleep.
Lunch
Rice, pasta or potatoes prepared in steam
Any kind of meat of your choice.
Dinner
appetizers of all kinds, desserts (sugar-based products), dairy products and bread; in the evening, the body’s production of digestive enzyme reduces and digestive processes are slower. Dishes should be very light. It would be excellent if you could skip this meal of the day from time to time!
Dinner
• Fish or seafood or light meat
• A serving of vegetables cooked by steaming or grilled,
• Avoid: dairy products, sugar-based products and alcohol