These 5  Diets Plans Work fast

As advice from the NHS says, “If you’re trying to lose weight, the safe weekly rate of weight loss is between 0.5kg and 1kg. That’s between around 1lb and 2lb a week. Lose weight faster than this and you’re at risk of health problems that include malnutrition and gallstones, as well as feeling tired and unwell.”So whether it’s lockdown weight gain you’re trying to shed or just looking to transform your diet, these 3 diet plans are the diets that actually work

1. High protein diet plan

High protein counts calories work quick – and more effectively than others. Studies from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show that a higher a of protein increases the level of fullness you feel. This is because protein works to increase the hormones GLP-1, peptide YY and cholecystokinin and decrease the ghrelin hormone, which causes hunger. It additionally attempts to expand your metabolic rate while sleeping.

Foods that are high in protein are also easily-accessible, with plenty of high protein breakfast ideas out there. This diet doesn’t require a special plan either, other than the standard calorie deficit if you’re looking for optimum weight loss. Foods with a particularly high protein count include:

• Eggs (6g of protein per egg)
• Nuts, especially almonds (6g of protein per 28g)
• Chicken (53g of protein per chicken breast)
• Oats (11g of protein per 128g)
• Lean beef (25g of protein per 85g)
• Tuna (27g of protein per 142g)
• Lentils (18g of protein per 198g)
• Greek yogurt (17g of protein per 170g)

2. The 5:2 diet

Just one of the ways to get into intermittent fasting, the 5:2 diet plan is one of the most popular diets that work fast out there. It involves fasting, which is eating a restricted number of calories for two days of the week and your maintenance calorie level for the other five. While some people have said that your calorie target on fasting days should be around the 600 mark, founder of the diet Dr Michael Mosely has also said that 800 calories on fast days is a good number to aim for to achieve results.

This comes largely from research on similar types of short-term, low-calorie diets of around 450 to 800 calories per day. One study from 2017  found that both rapid weight loss and long-term weight loss plans “caused reduction in waist circumference, hip circumference, total body water, body fat mass, lean body mass, and resting metabolic rate (RMR)”. They did find, however, that those who lost weight slowly over time retained more muscle mass than those who did it quicker.Intermittent fasting may be difficult when you get going and the 5:2 diet should only be attempted for a limited amount of time before going into your maintenance phase. But, it’s a successful way to drop pounds quickly.

3. Palaeolithic diet plan

The Paleo diet plan is all about going back to the basics and has long been cited as one of the diets that work fast. This plan involves eating mainly whole foods, vegetables, fruit, lean meats, nuts and seeds, similar to how hunter-gatherers would have eaten all those millennia ago. Much like the detox, the Paleo diet also restricts particular foods, including processed items, grains, sugar, and dairy in some circumstances.

One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition  found that a Palaeolithic diet “resulted in greater short-term improvements in metabolic syndrome components than did guideline-based control diets.” This means that the diet was found to be better than standard portion and calorie-controlled diets at improving our metabolic rate, which helps us to burn calories outside of exercise

Another set of research from 2016 on people with type two diabetes found that the diet improved fat mass and metabolic balance, improving insulin sensitivity, glycemic control, and leptin.

There’s also multiple studies that suggest the Paleo diet could be more effective for weight loss than similar ones, such as the Mediterranean diet or low-fat diets. One study from 2013 which looked at the difference between the Paleo diet and the diabetes diet suggests this might be because the Paleo diet is orientated around high-protein foods. These are more filling and help you feel satiated for longer

4. Low-carb diets

It’s not recommended to cut carbohydrates completely from your diet. As Constantinos says, “you still need to be consuming the right foods to achieve your [calorie] deficit. Having a healthy balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates is the essential backbone of your diet.” 

However, there are plenty of low-carb diets that have hit the headlines over the years for being effective diets that work fast to help people lose weight. Our bodies break down carbohydrates and fat into sugar, which then gives us lots of energy. These diets are based around the idea that if we don’t eat carbohydrates then our bodies will used fat which has been stored for energy instead, allowing us to lose weight quickly.

The most popular ones include the Atkins diet  and the ketogenic diet  However, these are two of the more drastic diets as they cut down carbohydrate levels to less than 10% of total calories. According to the Dietary Guidelines for American , this should normally be a minimum of 45%. So while these diets may have their benefits, be sure to consult a health professional beforehand if you’re thinking of taking one on.

For a less restrictive version of the ketogenic diet, many prefer the lazy Keto Diet which is significantly less restrictive and you don’t have to track all your macronutrients.

5. The 16:8 diet plan

A similar plan to the 5:2 but with a different time scale is the 16:8 diet plan, which uses similar theories of calorie restriction to create a diet that works to help weight loss quickly.

The 16:8 diet plan stems from the 8 Hour Diet book by author David Zinczenko and editor-in-chief of Men’s Health, Peter Moore. They suggest that a longer fasting time between eating gives the body the time it needs to process the food and burn away any extra fat. Also called the 8 Hour Diet, this type of intermittent fasting breaks the day up into two parts – a 16 hour period and an 8 hour period. For the larger portion of the day, you eat and drink nothing but water, coffee and other unsweetened drinks. Then for eight hours, you eat all your meals and snacks.

While the 16 hour period may seem like ages, this is stretched over your regular sleeping time so you’re only fasting for about eight hours in actuality.

A 2014 review into 16:8 fasting shows that it’s a good alternative to traditional methods of getting into a calorie deficit. It also helps to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and aids weight loss in people who are overweight or obese.

Another Study from 2018 found that this 8-hour eating window could also help to reduce blood pressure in adults who are obese.