Like the cookie diet, the lemonade diet and the Hollywood diet — will we look back on the top diets of 2015 and laugh?
Dieting is nothing new for 2015. But our world continues to grow more health conscious each year, scrutinizing where the food comes, how it was made (or handled) and — most of all — what the heck is in it. This has led some, like author Michael Pollan, to call these times the Age of Nutritionism — an era in which we have become preoccupied with the nutrient power of food.
More: ‘Diet’ or ‘eating plan’? How language is breaking your health goals
Whether you think these nutrient-dense ideas are a passageway back to the pure and ancient foods of our ancestors or just another fad obsession of today, check out the top trending diets of 2015 that have been spawned from our nutrient-addicted culture.
1. 20/20 Diet
Dr. Phil knows just about everything from couples’ counseling to child rearing, and now dieting. His latest book, The 20/20 Diet, claims that “readers will discover 20 key foods, called the 20/20 Foods, which theories indicate may help enhance the body’s thermogenesis (or caloric burn) and help you feel full.” And dieters have seemed to have much success with the plan, losing 1 to 2 pounds per week, eliminating pounds and waistline inches.
2. Carb cycle diet
“Carb cycling” is a dieting sequence of high-carb and low-carb days. On high-carb days, you can eat starchy things like pasta, rice, bread and potatoes, as long as you get a hard-core weight-lifting workout in. Whereas, on low-carb days (or off-gym or cardio days), you’ll want to lay off the starchy carbs and opt for vegetables, protein and fats.
3. Paleo diet
The Paleo movement, created by Loren Cordain, M.D., is a pretty cool concept that takes dieting way back to ancient times. The Paleo diet encourages people to eat fresh, natural foods, and avoided processed, refined and preservative-laced foods. So, instead of packaged foods, refined sugars and dairy, Cordain suggests eating seafood, grass-fed meats, free-range eggs and fresh fruits and vegetables.
More: 10 Ways to make your next meal more Paleo without even trying
4. GM diet plan
Yeah, that’s right: GM for General Motors. This seven-day meal plan was originally created by GM for GM employees, collaborating with both the FDA and Johns Hopkins University. GM dieters have reported lost 10 to 17 pounds per week on this diet — which includes drinking lots of water drinking and eating fruits and veggies.
5. Military diet plan
“You can lose up to 10 pounds in one week on the Military Diet, without strenuous exercise or prescriptions. And best of all, the Military Diet is free!” its site claims. The diet outlines a three-day plan that includes three square meals, with foods like hot dogs, ice cream, bananas, crackers and coffee.
6. Atkins induction diet
Atkins induction is the first phase of the Atkins diet, lasting two weeks. You basically eat no carbs — OK, you can have up to 20 net grams of carbs, and if you start reading nutrition labels, you will quickly see that that’s practically nothing. (One apple has 25 grams of carbs.) Instead, you eat lots of meat, cheese and eggs — vegans beware!
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7. 7-Day soup diet
Although there are several variations to this diet — the cabbage soup diet, the vegetable soup diet, the bone broth diet, etc. — they are similar in the sense that you eat (drink?) several bowls of the soup each day for a week, while adding in a new food each day like fruit, brown rice and milk. It’s similar to the GM diet.
8. 500 Calorie diet
The 500-calorie diet is just that: 500 calories each day. That’s not easy, as one dieter claims. You cut out sugar, fats, starch and alcohol and focus on eating lean meats, seafood, vegetables and some fruits. Oftentimes, this diet has been converted into the 5:2 diet — which allows you to eat “normally” for five days, but consume only 500 calories during the other two days. (Is it just us, or does this sounds unhealthy?)
9. Zero carb diet
The zero carb diet is like an extreme case of the Atkins induction diet — instead of a 20-carb allowance, you get none. Zip. Zilch. Zero. To not go insane, you’ll reach for fats and proteins to keep your energy levels up. That’s basically meats, fish, eggs and pure fats and oils. Weak willpowers, this probably isn’t for you, as it comes with several side effects that will give you a fast reason to quit.
More: You can blame binge eating on your hormones — not your will power
10. Yes You Can! diet plan
This über motivational and Latin-based diet plan rests on four main components: supplements, nutrients, emotional health and movement. People have lost some major poundage on this diet — good-bye, 168 pounds! To get started, you choose one of two kits — The Food Lover (that’d be me!) or On the Go — and each kit comes with supplements, food, a water bottle and guidelines to keep you on track.
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