Different Diets You Should Try to Build Muscle and Lose Fat
Diets Doing the Rounds in the Fitness World
The advent of the internet has brought a lot of diets you can follow. While there are many diets you can try, in this article, we will focus on some of the most effective diets which can produce the best results.
Keto
The main premise of the ketogenic diet is to eat fats to burn fat. In the keto diet, you follow a high-fat, moderate-protein, carbohydrate-restricted diet designed to make the body burn fat for fuel.
A keto diet can have many physiological benefits like fat loss, improved body composition, reduced inflammation, and increased insulin sensitivity. The different types of keto diets are –
- Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD) – The most basic form of keto.
- Restricted Ketogenic Diet (RKD) – A calorie-restricted version of the standard keto.
- Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD) – A keto diet for people who workout regularly.
- Cyclic Ketogenic Diet (CKD) – Focused on advanced athletes who need a boost of carbs for fuel during training.
- High Protein Ketogenic Diet (HPKD) – Ideal for people who are trying to shed excess fat.
Paleo
If you have always fancied what the prehistoric people ate and dig their diets, the paleo diet is for you. While following the paleolithic diet you will have to skip all the processed food and eat food which occurs in the wild or come straight from the ground.
In paleo, your diet will primarily consist of meat and fish, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and nuts and seeds. Dairy products, cereal grains, legumes, starchy vegetables, fatty meats, and foods which are high in salt content are to be avoided.
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean diet is based upon the epidemiological findings that people who live in Greece, Italy, and Spain and consume traditional diets have a better health than the rest of the world.
In this diet, you’ll be eating plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil. Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods.
The Mediterranean diet was introduced in attempts to reduce and prevent heart disease. The flexible nature of the Mediterranean diet makes it relatively easy to follow and implement for the long-term.
Intermittent Fasting (IF)
If you’re interested in maintaining a lean and muscular physique but don’t want to give up on your favorite food IF is what you’ve been looking for. Intermittent fasting involves going an extended period of time without consuming any calories.
In the duration of your fast, you can only drink plain water, black coffee or tea. Many variations of IF exist, but the most popular involves fasting for 16 hours, then eating all of your food during an eight-hour window called the “feeding window.” This type of IF is called “16:8” fasting. Combined with a well-adjusted diet, fat-burners can accelerate fat loss by enhancing metabolism, reducing cravings, and increasing intra-workout energy.
The best ones even go the extra mile to protect against muscle breakdown.
The right fat burner can:
- Accelerate metabolism
- Increase mobilization of stored body fat (to be used as energy)
- Fight against hunger and cravings
- Reduce muscle breakdown
- Improve lean body mass
- Keep you healthy overall
During your “feeding window” you need to reach the same calorie and macronutrient goals as per your diet plan, provided you’re following one designed as per your goals. IF is one of the best diets when it comes to fat burning.
Atkins
The Atkins diet used to be known by many as the steak and eggs diet. In the old Atkins diet, you ate as much protein and fats as your body could handle while disregarding carbs and overlooking where your fats were coming from.
The Atkins diet has since changed tracks and now focuses on a well-rounded approach to their dietary guidelines and touting the importance of healthy carbohydrates and fats combined with protein. The Atkins diet consists of four phases –
- Phase One – The first phase is the most strict phase and is followed for two weeks. In this phase, you need to include fats and proteins with each meal and restrict your carbs to 20 grams per day.
- Phase Two – The second phase, like the first phase, focuses on weight loss. In this phase, you will include 5 grams of carbs per week until you have only 5-10 pounds you want to lose.
- Phase Three – Phase three is known as pre-maintenance. Here you will learn how to eat in order to maintain your weight in the future.
- Phase Four – This is the maintenance phase where you will have reached your target weight. In phase four you will have arrived at a diet which will help you maintain your weight.
If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM)
Macros are short for the three major nutrients – carbs, proteins, and fats. In an IIFYM diet, you focus on meeting your daily macro goals instead of counting your calories. The IIFYM approach is based on the principle that the ratio between the number of calories you consume versus how much you burn dictates whether you gain or lose weight.
While following IIFYM, the source of the calories is disregarded. You just need to maintain the proportion of calories you get from each macro and you’re free to feast on your favorite food.
Vegan
Veganism has been one of the most talked about and followed diets of the past few years. Vegans are different from vegetarians in the sense they don’t even consume dairy products while the vegetarians do. Vegans disregard anything that is derived from animals be it dairy, meat or leather products. There are certain benefits to turning vegan.
Veganism is more than a diet, being a vegan is a lifestyle. Veganism started out as a way to stop animal cruelty, but soon its health benefits took over. Now many pro athletes have turned vegan and report having improved their performance because of their new diets.
Have you tried any of these diets? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
*Header image courtesy of Envato Elements.
