Healthy Diets for Fat People

More than half of all adults living in the United States are overweight, the Weight-Control Information Network states. Being overweight greatly raises your risk of developing chronic diseases such as sleep apnea and hypertension. If you're overweight, check in with your physician to discuss treatment options. Additionally, you may want to consider trying a healthy diet for fat people.

Vegetarian Diet

Adhering to a vegetarian diet that limits or excludes meat and animal products such as cheese and dairy can help you drop the pounds in a healthy way, MayoClinic.com reports. A vegetarian diet works because vegetarians tend to eat fewer calories than meat eaters. However, you must make healthy food choices for the vegetarian diet to work. Healthy vegetarian foods such as whole grains, fresh produce, beans and nuts should form the basis of your new diet.

Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is an eating plan modeled after the healthful diets of nations like Greece and France. In a research study of 3,000 adults published in the December 2004 "Journal of Nutrition," Helmut Schröder of Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica found that adults who ate a strict Mediterranean diet had lower body weights than those who ate a typical Western diet. The foundation of the Mediterranean diet is fish, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, red wine and fruits and veggies. Mediterranean dieters strictly limit processed foods, red meat and sugary snacks.

Low-Carb Diets

Low-carb diets ask followers to limit high-carb foods such as grains and fruits and sugar-filled treats such as candy and baked goods. Christopher D. Gardner of Stanford University Medical School compared the low-carb Atkins diet to the low-fat Ornish eating plan. In a study published in the January 2007 issue of "JAMA," Gardner discovered that followers of the Atkins diet lost more weight at the end of one year than low-fat dieters. Additionally, Atkins dieters improved heart disease risk factors such as high bad cholesterol as well as the low-fat group.

Caveman Diet

The caveman diet attempts to simulate the eating pattern of human ancestors who lived in the paleolithic era. The diet eliminates modern foods such as fast food, grains and dairy. Caveman dieters subsist on meat, eggs, fish, fruits and vegetables. Tommy Jönsson of Lund University compared the caveman diet to a traditional diabetic diet in a group of diabetic volunteers. Caveman dieters lost more total body weight and improved risk factors for cardiovascular disease more than those who ate a diabetic diet.

References

• Weight-Control Information Network: Statistics
• Journal of Nutrition": Adherence to the Traditional Mediterranean Diet Is Inversely Associated with Body Mass Index and Obesity in a Spanish Population
• MayoClinic.com: Vegetarian diet: Will it help me lose weight?
• "JAMA": Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women
• "Cardiovascular Diabetology": Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study