Hundreds of diet plans exist, each offering a different strategy to help you lose weight. Ultimately, you should choose a plan that involves reducing calories. After examining the effects of four different diet plans on weight loss on over 800 participants over the course of six months, Harvard researchers found that people lost weight when the diet reduced calories, regardless of the combination of fats, proteins and carbohydrates it contained, as published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" in February 2009. Understanding what types of foods are involved in different kinds of diet plans can help you determine if these plans appeal to you, and whether you will be able to follow it for the long term.
Low-Carb Diets
Low-carb diets usually call for you to eat fewer than 40 percent of your daily calories in the form of starchy foods like breads, pasta, grains, potatoes and some vegetables and fruits. Low-carb diets are also considered high protein diets. The Atkins Diet or the induction phase of the South Beach Diet are examples of low-carb diets, notes Every Diet. A diet plan that involves low carbs might start with eggs scrambled with spinach and tomatoes. Lunch would involve a romaine lettuce salad with grilled chicken, cucumbers, bell peppers and a serving of low-fat cheese. A typical dinner is baked salmon with asparagus and a large green salad. Snacks such as low-fat string cheese, deli turkey wrapped in lettuce leaves and canned tuna mixed with lemon juice on celery are eaten mid-morning and late afternoon. Dessert might consist of a ½ cup of ricotta cheese with no-calorie sweetener and cinnamon.
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet features fruits, vegetables, monounsaturated fats, limited meat and whole grains. MayoClinic.com and other health organizations support this style of eating because it can help prevent chronic disease. A diet plan following the Mediterranean diet might begin with fresh fruit and non-fat Greek yogurt. Lunch might include a salad made with chickpeas, shrimp, feta cheese, olives and romaine lettuce dressed with olive oil and lemon and a cup of minestrone soup. Baked or grilled trout with artichokes, whole grain pasta and fresh tomatoes with a glass of red wine comprises dinner. Snack on moderate servings of nuts, hummus and fresh fruit two times per day.
Low Fat
Low-fat diets encourage you to minimize your intake of dietary fat found in meats, poultry, nuts, dairy oils and commercially prepared foods. One of the best known low fat diets is touted by Dr. Dean Ornish in his book "Eat More, Weigh Less." Very low-fat diets call for just 10 to 20 percent of your daily calories to come from fat. A low-fat diet plan begins with a breakfast of whole grain, fat-free cereal with skim milk and berries. A baked potato with salsa, broccoli and green salad makes up lunch. Create a dinner of whole wheat pasta tossed with vegetables and herbs with bread on the side and fruit for dessert. Cut-up vegetables, fresh fruit and non-fat yogurt make low-fat snacks that may be eaten once or two times per day if hunger ensues.
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