When it comes to weight loss, there is no shortage of fancy diet plans available on the market that promise you results in record time. They come complete with charts, diagrams and complicated guidelines to follow. Although they may be effective, these diets can all become quite overwhelming. Simple weight loss diets take an approach that is less complicated and often just as effective.
Significance
Obesity is a growing problem, not only in the United States but in the entire world. This condition is characterized by having excessive amounts of body fat. According to the Mayo Clinic, complications that can arise from obesity include osteoarthritis, heart disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, depression and cancer. Following a simple weight loss diet can help lower the risk of these unwanted conditions.
Prepackaged Diet
Nutrisystem is a type of diet that revolves around the glycemic index (GI). This is a rating of how fast carbohydrates cause your blood sugar levels to rise. Carbs that are low on the GI chart help keep you feeling full and they give you sustained energy levels. With this diet, you eat three main meals and two snacks a day. These meals contain low GI carbs. What makes this diet simple is the fact that the meals are prepackaged and they get shipped right to your door. Oatmeal, granola bars, scrambled eggs with peppers and mushrooms, cereal and soy crisps are examples of meals and snacks. They also have deserts available like pudding and chocolates.
Medifast
Medifast is a diet plan that is geared toward obese people. It consists of a 5 to 1 plan where you consume five meal replacements a day and one whole food meal that they coin as "lean and green." The meal replacements are either shakes or other products that they have available like nutrition bars, pudding, soup and oatmeal. The whole food meal consists of 2 cups of vegetables or salad and a small portion of lean meat. Meals are consumed every 2 to 3 hours and you must drink at least 8 cups of water a day.
Body For Life
The Body For Life plan was created by Bill Phillips. This plan includes a dietary approach coupled with a workout program. Although the diet might be a tough adjustment, the concept behind it is rather simple because you do not need to count calories. What you do need to do is control your portion sizes. You eat six meals a day spaced 2 to 3 hours apart. Every meal has a portion of carbs and protein. The way you figure the portion sizes is by simply using your hand as a reference. For example, your closed fist would represent a portion size for a yam and your open hand would represent the size of a chicken breast. There are also meal replacement shakes that are factored in. You alternate between whole food meals and meal replacements. By the end of the day, you end up eating three meals and three shakes.
Change One
The Change One Diet was created by Reader's Digest. The main idea behind this plan is that you simply change one bad lifestyle and eating habit each week for 12 weeks. You then continue on the healthy habits for a lifetime. This diet is done in an online format and it begins after you set up a personal profile. The best thing about this diet is that it is gradual. People who have a hard time making drastic changes can benefit from this plan.
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