Any diet that results in a caloric deficit can produce a lower body fat percentage. There are an almost endless number of miracle or breakthrough diets that are marketed every day, but they all rely on one very simple principle: if you expend more calories than you consume, you will lose body fat. However, many of these diets differ in how to achieve this goal.
The Zone Diet
The Zone Diet promotes weight loss through a specific balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The Zone dieter composes meals with a 40/30/30 ratio of carbohydrate, protein and fat calories, with an emphasis on unrefined carbs and monounsaturated fats. This ratio is believed to promote hormonal balance, particularly with insulin, which causes fat to be burned rather than stored. Proponents of the Zone Diet claim that it leads to greater feelings of satiety, increased energy levels and improved mental function.
The Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet, devised by Dr. Robert Atkins, is the progenitor of the many low-carb diets on the market today. Like the Zone, the Atkins diet focuses on the control of insulin levels through the restriction on carbohydrate intake. In addition, during prolonged periods of low-carbohydrate consumption, the body's glucose levels drop, leading to ketosis, during which fat is burned as the body's primary energy source.
The South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is similar to the Zone Diet in that it addresses the effect that diet has on the hormone insulin. However, it focuses on the types of foods eaten and on meal portions, rather than specific numbers or percentages. The South Beach Diet emphasizes lean meats, fresh vegetables, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, while avoiding sugars and other processed carbs along with alcohol. While on this diet, participants are encouraged to eat three square meals a day along with two to three small snacks to control appetite and prevent over-eating.
Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers is a dieting program that utilizes group counseling sessions and a simple points-based system to help dieters control what they eat. A formula based on caloric, fat and fiber content is used to obtain a points value for any food item. A total daily points value is then determined based on body weight to ensure that the dieter maintains a caloric deficit. The goal of Weight Watchers is to achieve a body mass index score of between 20 and 25, which typically coincides with a reasonably low body fat percentage.
Vegetarian and Vegan Diets
The term vegetarian is used for a broad spectrum of diets, from ovo-lacto vegetarians that consume eggs and dairy to vegans that do not eat animal products or by-products of any kind. Neither category of vegetarian, nor any in-between, consumes animal flesh. Diets of this type are typically lower in calories due to the lower fat and protein amounts achieved by eliminating meat. This may lead to lower body fat percentages.
Other Diets
There are many other diets available today. Many of them are simply variations of other more widely publicized diets. Paleo, high fiber, high protein, raw foods---all of these can be effective body fat loss solutions. The key factor is simply to maintain a caloric deficit over a significant period of time.
References
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Effect of an energy-restricted, high-protein, low-fat diet relative to a conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet on weight loss, body composition, nutritional status, and markers of cardiovascular health in obese women
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