Types Of Diets
Which diets are effective and which should be avoided? Learn your dietary options,
weigh the pros and cons, and determine which diet program is right for you.
Fixed-Menu Diet
A fixed-menu diet provides a list of all the foods you will eat. This kind of diet
can be easy to follow because the foods are selected for you. But, you get very few
different food choices which may make the diet boring and hard to follow away from home.
In addition, fixed-menu diets do not teach the good selection skills necessary for
keeping weight off. If you start with a fixed-menu diet, you should switch eventually
to a plan that helps you learn to make meal choices on your own, such as an exchange-type diet.
Exchange-Type Diet
An exchange-type diet is a meal plan with a set number of servings from each of
several food groups. Within each group, foods are about equal in calories and can be
interchanged as you wish/
For example, the "starch" category could:
- include one slice of bread
- 1/2 cup of oatmeal
Each of the above are equal in nutritional value and calories.
If your meal plan calls for two starch choices at breakfast, you could choose to eat
two slices of bread, or one slice of bread and 1/2 cup of oatmeal.
With the exchange-type diet plans, you have more day-to-day variety and you
can easily follow the diet away from home. The most important advantage is
that exchange-type diet plans teach the food selection skills you need to
keep your weight off.
Formula Diet
Formula diets are weight-loss plans that replace one or more meals with a liquid
formula. Most formula diets are balanced diets containing a mix of protein, carbohydrate,
and usually a small amount of fat.
Formula diets are usually sold as liquid or a powder
to be mixed with liquid. Although formula diets are easy to use and do promote short-term
weight loss, most people regain the weight as soon as they stop using the formula.
In addition, formula diets do not teach you how to make healthy food choices, a necessary
skill for keeping your weight off.
Questionable Diets
You should avoid any diet that suggests you eat a certain nutrient, food, or combination
of foods to promote easy weight loss. Some of these diets may work in the short term
because they are low in calories.
However, they are often not well balanced and may
cause nutrient deficiencies. In addition, they do
not teach eating habits that are important for long-term weight management.
Flexible Diets
Some programs or books suggest monitoring fat only, calories only, or a
combination of the two, with the individual making the choice of both the type and amount
of food eaten. This flexible type of approach works well for many people, and teaches
them how to control what they eat.
One drawback of flexible diets is that some don't
consider the total diet. For example, programs that monitor fat only often allow people
to take in unlimited amounts of excess calories from sugars, and therefore don't lead to
weight loss.
Before you Decide
It is important to choose an eating plan that you can live with.
The plan should also teach you how to select and prepare healthy foods, as well as how to
maintain your new weight. Remember that many people tend to regain lost weight.
Eating a healthful and nutritious diet to maintain your new weight, combined with regular
physical activity, helps to prevent weight regain.
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