Low-Fat diets, like the USDA Food Pyramid and most vegetarian diets:
- Info- The most straightforward meal plan: Eat less fat, lose more fat. A gram of fat calories contains more calories (nine) than a gram of carbs or protein (four).
- Works best for- Highly active people, since exercise requires more carbs for energy
- Pros- Makes calories easier to keep in check. All those carbs (whole grains, fruits, and veggies) also boost your daily vitamin, mineral, and fiber intake.
- Cons- high-carb meals raise your insulin levels, which can inhibit your body's ability to burn excess fat.
Isocaloric diets, like The Zone Diet, typical bodybuilding diets:
- Info- you eat almost equal proportions of carbs, fat, and protein (usually a 40/30/30 split). Lowering carb-intake and increasing protein and fat levels can blunt your body's release of insulin after a meal and shows the rise in blood sugar.
- Works best for- Moderately active people who are less than 25 pounds overweight or who
lift weights three to four days a week. - Pros- Relatively low insulin levels, leaving you with few cravings and less hunger. Plenty of protein also prevents potential loss of muscle mass.
- Cons- It's easy to overdo it on fatty foods or to take in way more calories than you?re burning.
Low-Car diets, like Body-for-Life, Protein Power, Atkins Diet:
- Info- Dieters greatly cut back on (or totally avoid) carbs.
- Works best for- People looking to jump-start fat loss- or people who spend the majority of their day sitting around (like at a desk).
- Pros- You get rid of the sugary processed foods that people are most prone to overdosing on, so fat should come off incredibly fast. Even better. When followed strictly, this is one diet that is nearly impossible to gain weight on.
- Cons- The diet is high in fat, including the saturated kind, which is widely considered a factor in heart disease risk. Not eating carbs also causes the amount of fiber in your diet to plummet.
Again, no diet works best for everyone. Review your current level of activity and adjust your food intake accordingly.
This was taken from the Men's Fitness October 2010 Issue