What Is The Best Meal Plan For Weightloss?

What is the best meal plan for weight loss? The best meal diet plan is the one that incorporates balance in how you eat when it comes to protein carbs and fats as well as incorporating fiber. Fiber is a great weight loss food because it makes you feel fuller and eat less food.

The Mediterranean diet has been examined by many dieticians as the gold standard when it comes to nutrition. In fact, the American Heart recommends this diet as a heart healthy balanced diet.

What is the best meal plan for weight loss? Photo credit: iStock

The diet is based on food in countries that came from Italy and Greece. The diet is rich in

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Whole Grains
• Fish
• Oil
• Nuts
• Olive Oil

The Mediterranean diet limits trans fats, added sugar, refined grains, and processed meats. Foods that are high in fiber and high in protein are foods that will help fill you up and are low in calories. The result is putting your body in caloric deficit which will help illicit weight loss.

The Health Benefits Of the Mediterranean Diet:

The diet focuses on plant-based foods which studies have shown has been associated with reducing the risk of chronic diseases and increasing life expectancy.

There have been over 5 studies that have shown that the Mediterranean diet has resulted in greater weight loss after one year vs a low-fat diet. Research studies have also shown that it has a decreased risk of mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and cognitive decline.

The Mind Diet

The Mind diet is a diet that has been shown to help people lose weight. The Mind diet combines the Mediterranean diet and the Dash diet to create a diet that focuses on brain health. The mind diet includes eating six or more servings of green leafy vegetables, five more servings of nuts and one serving of non-starchy vegetables. Other foods it encourages multiple times a week are berries, beans, olive oil, whole grains, chicken, and fish.

The diet limits the consumption of red meat, cheese, butter, fried food, and sweets. If you look at the mind diet the reason why it can help you lose weight is because you are eating mostly fruits and vegetables. And fruits and vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients. Eating fruits and vegetables acts as an appetite suppressant and will help you eat less food.

Research studies have shown that the mind diet can help reduce the onset of Parkinson disease, dementia and developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Mayo Clinic Diet

Another diet that has been known to help people with weight loss is the Mayo Clinic Diet. The goal of the Mayo Clinic diet is to replace unhealthy foods with a long-term lifestyle. The diet uses a pyramid to highlight exercise and the foods you should focus on.

Fruits, vegetables, and exercise make up the base of the pyramid. And carbs make up the second layer of the pyramid. And protein, dairy, fats and sweets make up the last part of the pyramid. The diet consists of two phases to kick your weight loss by introducing you to 5 healthy habits.

The second phase is more of a lifestyle change focusing on nutritious healthy food choices and portions sizes. And adding the physical activity component to it. People who have used the Mayo Clinic diet can expect up to 10 pounds of weight loss in the first two weeks.

And up to 2 pounds during the second phase. The main reason why people lose weight on the Mayo clinic diet is because it is rich in fiber foods. And these fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables will make you feel fuller while helping you lose weight.

Any diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables will help you lose weight, it’s that simple.

The Dash Diet is a popular diet that can help with weight loss too. Each day a person that is on the dash diet would consume:

• 5 servings of vegetables
• 5 servings of fruits
• 7 servings of healthy carbs like whole grains
• 2 servings of low-fat dairy products
• 2 servings of fewer of lean meats
• Recommendation of eating nuts and seeds two to three times a week.

Research studies have shown that the Dash diet can reduce blood pressure levels and lower the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. An analysis of 13 review studies showed that people lost more weight over 2 to 6 months vs someone on a control diet.

Another study showed that people who were obese lost more body weight, body fat percentage and overall mass over 12 weeks while on the Dash diet. Additionally, they were also able to preserve their muscle strength on this diet.

“The best meal diet plan is the one that incorporates balance in how you eat when it comes to protein carbs and fats as well as incorporating fiber.” Celebrity Fitness & Nutrition Expert Obi Obadike

The Bottom Line is any diet that promotes fruits and vegetables being its core foods will help promote weight loss. And the Mediterranean diet, Mayo Clinic Diet and the Mind diet do exactly that.

If you have any interest in trying any of our Ethical Supplement  products to help you heighten your immune system or assist you with your fitness, weight loss or health goals. You can get a discount below at this link.

https://offer.ethicalinc.com/suppressant-offer/ ?utm_source=blog

References

1. Mancini JG, Filion KB, Atallah R, Eisenberg MJ. Systematic Review of the Mediterranean Diet for Long-Term Weight Loss. Am J Med. 2016 Apr;129(4):407-415.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.11.028. Epub 2015 Dec 22. PMID: 26721635.
2. Mentella MC, Scaldaferri F, Ricci C, Gasbarrini A, Miggiano GAD. Cancer and Mediterranean Diet: A Review. Nutrients. 2019 Sep 2;11(9):2059. doi: 10.3390/nu11092059. PMID: 31480794; PMCID: PMC6770822.
3. Challa HJ, Ameer MA, Uppaluri KR. DASH Diet To Stop Hypertension. [Updated 2022 May 15]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482514/
4. Tuso PJ, Ismail MH, Ha BP, Bartolotto C. Nutritional update for physicians: plant-based diets. Perm J. 2013 Spring;17(2):61-6. doi: 10.7812/TPP/12-085. PMID: 23704846; PMCID: PMC3662288.
5. Dhana K, James BD, Agarwal P, Aggarwal NT, Cherian LJ, Leurgans SE, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Schneider JA. MIND Diet, Common Brain Pathologies, and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. J Alzheimers Dis. 2021;83(2):683-692. doi: 10.3233/JAD-210107. PMID: 34334393; PMCID: PMC8480203.
6. Kheirouri S, Alizadeh M. MIND diet and cognitive performance in older adults: a systematic review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2022;62(29):8059-8077. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1925220. Epub 2021 May 14. PMID: 33989093.
7. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, A High-Carbohydrate, High-Fiber, Low-Fat Diet Results in Weight Loss among Adults at High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 147, Issue 11, November 2017, Pages 2060–2066, https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.117.252395
8. Clark JE. Diet, exercise or diet with exercise: comparing the effectiveness of treatment options for weight-loss and changes in fitness for adults (18-65 years old) who are overfat, or obese; systematic review and meta-analysis. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2015 Apr 17;14:31. doi: 10.1186/s40200-015-0154-1. Erratum in: J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2015;14:73. PMID: 25973403; PMCID: PMC4429709.
9. Challa HJ, Ameer MA, Uppaluri KR. DASH Diet To Stop Hypertension. [Updated 2022 May 15]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482514/
10. Semlitsch T, Jeitler K, Berghold A, Horvath K, Posch N, Poggenburg S, Siebenhofer A. Long-term effects of weight-reducing diets in people with hypertension. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Mar 2;3(3):CD008274. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008274.pub3. Update in: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Feb 8;2:CD008274. PMID: 26934541; PMCID: PMC7154764.
11. Tiong XT, Nursara Shahirah A, Pun VC, Wong KY, Fong AYY, Sy RG, Castillo-Carandang NT, Nang EEK, Woodward M, van Dam RM, Tai ES, Venkataraman K. The association of the dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH) diet with blood pressure, glucose and lipid profiles in Malaysian and Philippines populations. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2018 Aug;28(8):856-863. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2018.04.014. Epub 2018 May 7. PMID: 29853430.
12. Feng Q, Fan S, Wu Y, Zhou D, Zhao R, Liu M, Song Y. Adherence to the dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet and risk of stroke: A meta-analysis of prospective studies. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Sep;97(38):e12450. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000012450. PMID: 30235731; PMCID: PMC6160167.
13. Onvani S, Haghighatdoost F, Azadbakht L. Dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH): diet components may be related to lower prevalence of different kinds of cancer: A review on the related documents. J Res Med Sci. 2015 Jul;20(7):707-13. doi: 10.4103/1735-1995.166233. PMID: 26622263; PMCID: PMC4638076.
14. Perry CA, Van Guilder GP, Kauffman A, Hossain M. A Calorie-Restricted DASH Diet Reduces Body Fat and Maintains Muscle Strength in Obese Older Adults. Nutrients. 2019 Dec 30;12(1):102. doi: 10.3390/nu12010102. PMID: 31905920; PMCID: PMC7019370.
15. Perez-Cornago A, Sanchez-Villegas A, Bes-Rastrollo M, Gea A, Molero P, Lahortiga-Ramos F, Martinez-Gonzalez MÁ. Relationship between adherence to Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet indices and incidence of depression during up to 8 years of follow-up. Public Health Nutr. 2017 Sep;20(13):2383-2392. doi: 10.1017/S1368980016001531. Epub 2016 Jun 23. PMID: 27335121.
16. Oh H, Lee HY, Jun DW, Lee SM. Low Salt Diet and Insulin Resistance. Clin Nutr Res. 2016 Jan;5(1):1-6. doi: 10.7762/cnr.2016.5.1.1. Epub 2016 Jan 29. PMID: 26839871; PMCID: PMC4731857.