Emotional wellbeing has been top of mind these past couple of years, which is why many people who are looking to lose weight now are embracing diets that have less to do with how they look and more so with how they feel. As nutrition pros have long established, there are diet plans out there that can help you feel great inside and radiate on the outside, without leading to “yo-yo” dieting
Our list of the top weight-loss diets of the new year — which focus on supercharging your heart health, boosting your mood or safely guiding you through a significant physical transformation — help you practice nutrition basics that you can adopt for life, regardless of whether you’re actively dieting or not. A hallmark example is the Mediterranean Diet, a program that went from an under-the-radar trend to nutrition pros’ current crown jewel for what constitutes a healthy and wholesome eating plan. “It’s great as it focuses more on improving your overall lifestyle rather than being a typical diet,” says Fischer, drawing connections to other standouts on this list.
If there’s one recurrent theme in the health industry right now, it’s the shift to plant-based eating. The diets on our list (and all of the top diets named in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 diet rankings, for that matter) emphasize nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits on a near daily basis; this shift can help cut your cardiovascular disease risk and minimize issues like chronic inflammation, but can also end up impacting weight management in the process, Fischer adds.
Regardless of which diet you may or may not choose to follow this year, keep these tips in mind:
- Make sure you eat enough. You may need to cut back on calories to hit a goal, but don’t obsess or overdo it when it comes to keeping track. The latest guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health maintain that a standard range of daily calories for most women is between 1,600 and 2,400 each day (2,000 to 3,000 for men) depending on your activity levels. Diets should never dip below 1,200 calories for women (1,400 for men), Fischer stresses.
or exasperatedly watching pounds trickle back after crash dieting for weeks or months at a time, explains Amy Fischer, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian working within the Good Housekeeping Institute.
- Avoid lots of added sugar. The American Heart Association suggests keeping your sugar intake to below 25g each day (36g for men) which is a lot less than you may think. Start by quitting the habits that can stoke sugar cravings, then try to keep track of the sugar on food labels (it’s more important than calories in most cases).
- Cut back on salty packaged items. Eating too much salt can greatly influence your risk of heart disease and chronic inflammation. Excess sodium hides neatly in packaged, processed meals and snacks, so gradually wean yourself off these grocery aisle staples and opt for whole foods instead. Try to keep sodium intake to about 1,500mg daily, or at least below 2,300mg, to keep your heart as healthy as can be, experts say.
