There are many diets, but which one really helps, and which is the right one for you? Because the main thing is to feel good in your body, nutritionists are constantly researching concepts that make losing weight effectively and, above all, healthy. We took a close look at the most popular diets. The following nutritional approaches have made it into the ranking of the best diets in Germany. The first place even coincides with the preferred form of nutrition by experts.
Clean eating, fasting, and weight watchers: the 10 most popular diets in Germany.
The diet works on the low-carb principle and was named after its founder Robert Atkins, a nutritionist and cardiologist from the USA. According to Atkins, the body loses weight if you avoid carbohydrates such as bread and pasta and instead consume proteins and fats such as eggs, meat, and fish. Counting calories can be avoided, which is why Atkins fans see the diet less as a diet that is equated with deficiency, but as a low-carbohydrate lifestyle.
The diet uses the dynamics of the body's metabolism. When the body does not have carbohydrates, it burns its own energy reserves first and then the fats, which leads to weight loss. The Atkins diet proceeds in four phases:
Phase one lasts about two weeks. During this time, the metabolism is boosted to the maximum in order to lose a lot of weight quickly. You can consume 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. At best, this is done with vegetables such as broccoli, bell peppers, lettuce, and cabbage. Does that sound a little? Not at all: 100 grams of freshly cooked broccoli has around two grams of carbohydrates. Fruit is taboo at this stage as it contains too much fructose.
Phase two is considered the actual diet. It is also suitable as a starting point if you do not want to lose too much weight. Fruit is also allowed again, but in moderation and not in bulk and not for breakfast, because otherwise, the blood sugar level will rise in the morning. Berries are better because they are low in fructose.
In phase three, 25 grams of carbohydrates per day are allowed again, with the amount increasing by five grams per week. If the weight loss stops, you simply reduce the amount of carbohydrates again by five grams.
Phase four completes the Atkins Diet. The desired weight has been reached, now it's a matter of maintaining it. This phase heralds the long-term change in diet: a lot of vegetables, fish, and fruit are an integral part of the menu, pastries or potatoes remain the exception.
On top of the Atkins Diet, other low-carb diets that are popular today have been built. Atkins will be difficult for anyone who loves fruit.
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Similar to the Atkins diet, the protein diet largely dispenses with carbohydrates and focuses on protein. Exercise shakes, and salads should strengthen muscle growth and shape the body within a short period of time. Heidi Klum is one of the famous fans of the diet, in 2007 she walked the catwalk in lingerie just a few weeks after the birth of her child - thanks to the protein diet. Other Hollywood stars also rely on a protein-rich diet.
The protein diet is uncomplicated and quickly shows results - so it is ideal if you have to shed two or three kilograms in just a few days. Because as with Atkins or Duke, the organism excretes the same amount of water through the reduction of glucose and this is noticeable on the scales. In addition, the diet does away with the annoyance of counting calories.
As the name suggests, the ninth place of the most popular diets relies on a diet that is mainly based on protein sources. However, only low-fat variants of fish, meat, and dairy products are allowed. Those who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet can implement the protein diet with the help of vegetable protein powder. Carbohydrates are only consumed to a very limited extent during the protein diet.
Since proteins fill the body longer than carbohydrates and are lower in calories at the same time, one rarely feels hunger during the protein diet. At the same time, a protein-rich diet stimulates the metabolism and thus burns more calories. The protein diet also avoids another problem of many diets: While the body normally covers the deficit with low-calorie intake by breaking down the body's own substances - in many cases these are also muscle cells - muscle breakdown is counteracted by a protein-rich diet. Because fruit and vegetables are rarely found, you should inform your family doctor in order to prevent deficiency symptoms.
Those who consume a lot of protein (nutrition experts speak of an upper limit of two grams per kilo of body weight) should also drink a lot. Urea is produced by protein and should be excreted in the urine.
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Intermittent fasting (Latin intermittere = to interrupt or suspend) alternates between fasting and the usual diet. The concept derived from therapeutic fasting should be particularly healthy and effective for people who struggle with permanent renunciation.
There are different variants of intermittent fasting, but they always focus on interruption. One relates to daily intervals, the other to weekly intervals. What runs through it like a red thread: people only eat within a certain time frame.
8:16 Rule: It relates to the day. Eating is allowed within eight hours, and fasting takes place in the following 16 hours.
5: 2 rule: It affects the weekly schedule. On five days you can eat as usual, on the two remaining days of the week the food intake is reduced to 500 calories for women and 600 for men. In addition, you drink plenty of water and unsweetened tea.
The background to both types of intermittent fasting is the natural process of autophagy, in which the body's own cells begin to cleanse themselves after 14 hours of not eating. Intermittent fasting also has a positive effect on blood sugar and insulin levels and can also lower high blood pressure. The popular diet is rather a permanent form of nutrition and can be implemented in the long term, as no food has to be completely dispensed with.
Just try out which rhythm suits you. For some people, breakfast is the most important meal without which they can't get going. Others don't mind not eating anything from dinner to lunch.
Almost all solid foods are avoided when fasting. This cleanses the body because it excretes toxins and is thus purified. Fasting also involves doing without little things, because everyone decides for themselves what their fasting period should look like. Even those who do without sweets will see how abstinence can melt the pounds.
In traditional fasting, solid food and alcohol are avoided for a limited time, usually a few days. The Buchinger fasting cure is one of the most popular methods. So-called therapeutic fasting starts with a cleansing of the colon with enemas. You then fast for five to ten days. In addition to water, vegetable broths and juices are allowed as they provide vitamins and minerals. Due to the low stress on the metabolism, the blood sugar level, and blood pressure drop. In order to get energy, the body falls back on fat reserves. Longer fasts lead to the release of endorphins - fasting makes you happy.
There may be minor withdrawal symptoms if the morning starts without the beloved espresso.
Paleo is more of a way of life than a diet, as it is based on the foods that were available to the people in the Paleolithic. This is where the other name comes from: it is based on the period of the Paleolithic, which began around 2.6 million years ago. While foods such as vegetables, fruit, and meat are allowed in the Stone Age diet, grains, sugar, alcohol, and treated foods are completely removed from the nutrition plan.
The food that was available to our ancestors is groundbreaking in the Paleo Diet. It is assumed that these are most in harmony with our organism and that the human body can process the nutrients optimally - and thus we stay slim, healthy, and fit. The diet of the hunter-gatherers consisted of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, meat and fish, and eggs. The Paleo Diet does without any food that was only available after the development of agriculture and livestock. This means that grain and dairy products, legumes, sugar as well as alcohol, and artificial additives have been eliminated. The low-carbohydrate diet increases well-being and has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system.
If you change your diet for a short time in order to lose a few pounds quickly and then continue to eat normally, you risk a yo-yo effect.
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This is a diet for meat lovers. The ketogenic diet dehydrates and breaks down fat by primarily consuming meat and fats. Carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, and sugar, on the other hand, are strictly forbidden. Many competitive athletes swear by the diet plan.
Keto adopts a mechanism in the body called ketosis. In order to gain energy, it needs glucose, which is obtained from carbohydrates. However, if you do without carbohydrates and instead rely on foods rich in protein and fat, the body switches to the process of ketosis. The liver converts the fats into ketone bodies, which then step in as an energy source. To lose weight with the ketogenic diet: the fewer carbohydrates, the better. Not only are bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice taboo, but also sugary fruits such as grapes, bananas, or mangoes. Instead, fatty foods such as nuts, avocados, salmon, or tuna are on the table with the keto diet. But eggs and meat are also at the top of the menu. How can you lose weight on the ketogenic diet? The ketosis stimulates the fat metabolism and superfluous cushions disappear.
Not everyone is a fan of a meat-heavy menu.
Everything is easier together. This principle also applies to losing weight together, which is what makes the Weight Watchers program so popular. A balanced, healthy diet and a lot of sport are the basics. With the help of points that stand for calories, you can easily see what you can treat yourself to.
Weight Watchers gives so-called SmartPoints to every food. The calories do not play a major role here. The points positively consider healthy nutrients that keep you full longer and those that consist of fat and sugar negatively. The following applies the more protein, the better. Some foods are assigned Zero Points, which can be used as the basis for every meal. These include, for example, eggs, chicken, salmon, corn, or peas. How many points you can eat per day is determined individually in the Weight Watchers membership and varies according to weight and weight loss goal. The community is particularly popular with the Weight Watchers diet. In regular meetings, the members can exchange ideas, motivate and share their successes.
Those who are more successful in a group because of the incentive will surely find what they are looking for here. However, the points program costs.
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If no carb is too extreme for you, you will be happy about low carb. The popular diet does not completely eliminate carbohydrates, but rather reduces them and focuses on vegetables, fish, meat, and fruit (preferably berries).
Generally speaking, one speaks of the low carb when one consumes less than 100 grams of carbohydrates per day. This will stimulate fat loss and with a little fitness, the first results will quickly become visible. The low-carb diet does not use processed sugar, which is found in sweets or soft drinks, for example, and only small amounts of pasta, rice, and potatoes are consumed. The same applies to high-glucose fruits such as bananas, grapes, or dried fruits. Instead, vegetables, meat, fish, and nuts are on the menu of the low-carb diet. Those who eat afterward not only feel full longer due to the increased consumption of protein and fat, but the insulin level also lowers and thus prevents the storage of fat. In addition, with a low-carbohydrate diet, the body switches from burning sugar to burning fat. The low carb diet is one of the three most popular diets that are easy to implement in everyday life and that promises long-term success.
Anyone who has to deliver on the job or pursue a sporting goal will find it difficult to forego carbohydrates because these are important for the energy metabolism of the organs - the brain alone needs 120 grams of glucose per day.
Juices, superfood, and co.: Detox is one of the trend nutritional concepts and is very popular when it comes to losing weight. Detox means detoxification and flushes all harmful substances out of the body.
Detox is similar to fasting. Mainly water, unsweetened tea, juices, and smoothies are consumed over a period of one to seven days. Detox fans, for example, have a detox day once a week on which they only consume liquid food. When detoxing, it is important to prepare the body for the cure and to carefully bring it back to nutrition after detoxification. In addition, alkaline baths can also promote detoxification through the skin during a detox cure and thus intensify the process. A mixture of water and lemon juice is also recommended. This should promote the detoxification of the body, especially in the morning after getting up.
Fruit and vegetable juices don't really fill you up - those who eat too much risk smoothie cushions.
Clean eating is what the name promises: a clean diet. That is why clean eating is once again the top diet. It is also recommended by nutritionists. The rule is the more colorful the plate, the better. Because clean eating attracts with healthy bowls, lots of fresh vegetables and natural ingredients.
Clean Eating means something like "clean eating" and does not mean cleaning vegetables. It is cooked with fresh, unprocessed foods. The popular diet, therefore, does not refer to hygiene but to naturalness. Back to the origins of clean eating. Vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish are on the menu, but whole grain products are also allowed. Instead, all synthetic additives, sugar, flavorings, and colorings are dispensed with. Processed foods are taboo. The goal of clean eating is to combine complex carbohydrates with protein at every meal. The nutritional concept of clean eating does not see itself as a classic diet but rather as a lifestyle that is accompanied by welcome side effects such as weight loss and a better body feeling.
Regular meals are important.
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