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STILL THINKING OF TRYING A POPULAR DIET?

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PALEO: The premise is that if our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t eat it, we shouldn’t either. This means eating a diet of meat, fish, poultry, veggies, fruits and nuts. Not on the menu are whole grains, dairy, legumes, refined sugars and processed foods. The Paleo Diet doesn’t focus on calories but instead on achieving ideal general health.

“If done correctly, the Paleo diet can be healthy,” says Hazen. “Swapping white bread for broccoli is healthy. But adding a pound of beef to each meal is not.”

5:2 FAST: This one is based on the principle of intermittent fasting, where you eat at certain times and fast during other times. On the 5:2 diet, you eat normally five days a week and cut your daily calorie total to about 25 percent of your normal intake for two nonconsecutive days of the week. Calculating that most women eat 2,000 calories a day and men eat 2,500, this allows women 500 calories and men 600 calories on those two fasting days.

ITH SO MANY DIETS AVAILABLE, HEALTHY LIVING TURNED TO KYLE HAZEN, A REGISTERED DIETITIAN NUTRITIONIST (RDN) AND MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS, TO ASSESS A FEW OF THE MOST POPULAR WEIGHT LOSS DIETS.

W“Most people are likely to experience hunger with irritability and mood swings on the fasting days,” says Hazen. “And there’s the potential of overeating on the days directly after the fasting day. And this diet does not focus on healthy eating behaviors on the five non-fasting days.”

VIRGIN: Named for its founder, nutritionist JJ Virgin, this diet is based on the idea that food intolerances cause inflammation in the body and are the underlying causes of weight gain in many people. The seven foods that likely cause food intolerances are gluten, soy, eggs, dairy, corn, peanuts and artificial sweeteners. The premise is that if you eliminate these foods from your diet, you’ll feel better and lose weight. For the first 21 days on the diet, all seven foods are not allowed. After that period and over the next four weeks, you slowly reintroduce one of these foods and see how you react. A bad reaction means you eliminate that food permanently from your diet. There is no calorie counting, but the focus instead is on portion size: A quarter of your plate should be lean protein, a quarter healthy fats, two-thirds leafy greens or veggies and then high-fiber, low-sugar foods.

“While weight loss is a great selling point in this diet, eliminating hidden food allergens can lead to feeling healthier,” says Hazen. “But portion control is just another way to count calories.”

VB6: The acronym stands for Vegan Before 6pm, meaning no animal-based foods before that time. Not a calorie-restrictive diet, it’s based on six principles for better health: eat more fruits and veggies; eat less animal products; eat no or almost no junk or processed foods; cook real food at home with fresh ingredients; choose quality over quantity; don’t focus on weight, focus on health.

“Focusing on eating more fruits and vegetables is never a bad thing,” says Hazen. “But everything you do before 6pm can be undone after 6pm. While there is no calorie restriction, the restriction in the types of food you eat will reduce your calorie intake.”

DUKAN: With four phases, this is a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet with no calorie counting. Instead, you eat from a list of 100 allowed foods with portion sizes determined by how hungry you are. During Phase 1, you’re on a lean protein, no carb diet for an average of five days to achieve quick weight loss. Phase one bans even veggies and seriously restricts fats. The next three phases gradually reintroduce some fruits, veggies and carbs. In the final phase, you have a proteinonly day once a week. The goal is for a gradual weight loss of up to two pounds a only day once a week. The week to promote long-term

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