And the Best Diet Is...None!

Yes, you read the headline correctly. None, zero, zilch, the number of goals Argentina scored in Sunday's world cup final...

Too soon? Oh well...#sorrynotsorry. Anyways, the US News and World Report has just released its annual report of “Best” Diets, where their team of unidentified “experts” analyze 31 diets based on seven criteria. Near the top of the list you find your usual suspects such as the DASH Diet, TLC Diet, Mediterranean Diet, etc.  Then you find odd ones such as Slimfast, Medifast, Nutrisystem, and the like where it is based on the consumer buying and eating their products as directed. (Steps on soapbox) Wouldn’t you think that if their product worked so good that more doctors or dietitians would be touting it and the company would be making it rain like Patrick Cannon?

Also, do you plan on eating/drinking those products for the rest of your life? For one they probably do not taste the best and two they are loaded with a ton of ingredients that even John Travolta can't pronounce…

Ok bad example but still, you almost need a degree in chemistry to get through all of that. Take a look for yourself...

Note: I am picking on SlimFast on this one but I am not saying it’s any better or worse than any of the other diet products.

I mean come on! Dr Oz hasn’t even done a show on one of these and we all know how he likes to hype up unproven weight loss tactics…

 Out of all the things that annoyed me while reading this article, I was at least comforted to see that the Paleo Diet was ranked dead last. Maybe we can finally evolve to the next "hot" diet, perhaps the Pilgrims? (Steps of soapbox)

So what diet is best then?

To start off Dietitians across the world, especially myself, HATE the word diet. Would you want a short-term solution to make you stop smoking for two months and than return to your regular smoking habit? Then why would you want to go on a specified diet for X amount of time, hopefully lose a couple of pounds, go off said diet only to gain it back?

So…what do you recommend?

Healthy lifestyle changes! What are these you ask? These are small, feasible changes that you make to your everyday routine that you can do forever.

For example, switch from white bread to 100% whole grain bread, eating a fruit and/or vegetable at every meal, or not skipping breakfast. These changes may take a little getting use to but soon enough you do them without even thinking.

If you are the type that is just really hung up on diets, an easy one that I would actually recommend is the Deception Diet. Is it really a diet? No. It uses optical illusions to trick your mind into eating less. I came across this article recently on the Deception Diet and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately the US News and World report doesn’t know about this “diet” but you may want to give it a whirl instead of paying to drink or eat unappetizing diet products. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go back to not caring about soccer like the rest of America. Until next time!

Keep it Fresh,

Keep it Green,

Beth