The Zone Diet uses the concept of obtaining calories from a ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fats; specifically 40:30:30.  By using this ratio to for your daily meals it promotes balance to your hormones and insulin levels.  A benefit claimed by this diet besides weight loss is that this hormone balance is a natural anti-inflammatory that is good for your heart and health.

Carbohydrates—you should focus on eating fruit and vegetables for your carbohydrate portion of your meal and not the “traditional” meal carbohydrates that we think of such as starches, rice, pastas and grains due to the high fat content.  This should fill up 2/3 of your plate.

Proteins—these should be about the size of a small chicken breast or the palm of your hand (size and width).  This should fill up 1/3 of your plate.

Fats—such as olive oil, slivered almonds, walnuts, peanuts and avocado. This would be an addition or dash to your plate.

The Best Diets That Work Overview

Low to High cost – you can do this diet for a low investment by adjusting your meal planning and grocery shopping; you can research diet details online or buy a book.  Or if you prefer to order some Zone diet foods, snacks and a prepackaged meal plan you can order through the Zone website which would be a Medium to High cost.

Low time – Your time invested is in learning what you should be eating and prep towards all of your meals.

Self discipline – You will need to keep track of what you are eating to ensure that you are following the ratio guidelines.

Weight loss – This diet is suitable to lose a few to a lot of pounds over a period of time.  Also, this diet plan will aid in maintaining weight lost.

Long term – Once you are familiar and develop eating habits for this diet plan it is an easy diet that works.

Other – For some people this diet can be difficult since it requires that you give up carbohydrates such as pasta, rice and potatoes.

After spending time researching your dieting options if you are still unsure of the right diet for you there are online diet program websites that will help to find a diet that is right for you.  eDiets.com is one of the largest online diet programs that exists today.

eDiets.com offers a short personal survey that they will base their diet recommendations on for you personally.  These diet options range from access to dieting tools via their website such as personalized meal plans, support from dieticians, numerous support boards, personal fitness trainers, community support, expert’s advice and meal delivery services.  The eDiets.com site offers support in all areas of your dieting program to aid in your dieting success.

The Best Diets That Work Overview

Medium to High cost – depending on the plan you decide to go with the costs can be medium to high.

Low to Medium time – depending on the plan you decide to go with you might have very low time invested, although it is in your best interest to invest time on the eDiets.com website using the dieting tools you will have access to.  Also, spending time working out per your personalized fitness plan will greatly expedite the success of your diet plan.

Self discipline – if on an ordered meal replacement plan very low self discipline is needed, although you will need to stay away from eating foods and snacks that are not part of the meal plan.  If on a plan where you are responsible to make the meals you will need to stick to the meal plan designed for you.

Weight loss - This diet is suitable to lose a few to a lot of pounds over a period of time.  Also, this diet plan will aid in maintaining weight lost.  There is flexibility to be on the most appropriate diet plan for whatever stage of life you are in.  If you are looking for a ton of help or a way to kick start your weight loss plan you might want to start with the meal replacement program that is sent to your home.  Then transition to the diet plan where you make your own meals to.

Long term – Once you are familiar and develop eating habits according to the diet that is best for you this is an easy diet that works.

Other – This type of diet program offers professional advice and guidance regarding a diet plan that would work best for your needs and lifestyle.  There is support from experts as well as a community of fellow dieters.  Advice from fitness professionals helps to round out this diet plan.

To learn more about how eDiets.com can help you go to their website.

Disclosure: The Best Diets That Work is a publisher of eDiets.com

Calorie Counting is a diet plan that has been around for a long time and has been used by many dieters.  The concept is easy, consume fewer calories than your body uses and you will lose weight.  Although in practice you need some self discipline and determination to make the right food choices to help you succeed.

To lose a pound you must create a shortage of 3,500 calories for your calorie needs.  You can do this through exercise, a reduced calorie diet or a combination of both.  If you reduce your daily calorie consumption by 500 calories or exercise to burn off 500 calories a day you should lose 1 lb. a week.  You can also reduce calorie consumption by 250 and exercise to burn another 250 to achieve the same results.

First thing you need to determine is per your weight, height, age and sex how many calories your body needs a day to function.  This is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).  You can find a number of BMR calculators online by doing a simple Google search.  Use a few of the calculators to help you determine your BMR calorie range as results vary from one BMR calculator to another.

BMR calculator links
www.caloriesperhour.com
www.fitwatch.com
www.bmi-calculator.net
www.health.discovery.com
www.internetfitness.com

Once you have determined how many calories you want to consume daily you need to track what you are actually eating.  Many people will keep a calorie counting journal to write down everything they eat and the calories for each item or meal.  To do this read the packages of the food you are eating and focus on the portions associated with the calories listed per serving.  Another tool is searching online for the calories in foods.  There are a number of calorie counting websites, however just typing “how many calories in ___________” into Google’s search engine will bring up a number of results.

Calorie Counting Websites
www.calorieking.com
www.caloriecount.about.com
www.nutritiondata.com
www.fitday.com
www.thecaloriecounter.com

The Best Diets That Work Overview

Low cost – you can do this diet for free, possible cost is investing in cookbooks with low calorie recipes.

Medium time – Your investment is in research regarding the calories your body needs, calories in the food you are eating as well as journaling everything you eat during the day.

Self discipline – You will need to keep track of the calories you are consuming daily and focus on staying within the calorie range needed for your body without formal accountability.

Weight loss – This diet is suitable to lose a few to a lot of pounds over a period of time.  Also, this diet plan will aid in maintaining weight lost.

Long term – Once you are familiar and develop eating habits for the calories you actually need this is an easy diet that works.

Other – You have the flexibility to eat whatever you want whenever you want.  However, you must stay in your calorie range to ensure weight loss.  Doing a combination of a calorie reducing diet and regular exercise is the best way for a health diet plan.

The Sonoma diet is for those who love gourmet food and to cook.  This allows you to eat many of the things you enjoy while focusing on portion control.  Another focus of the Sonoma diet is slowing down to fully enjoy the food you are eating.  There are meal plans to follow or you can make your own plan using various food lists.  One perk of this diet is that it allows you to have a glass of wine each day.

The diet is broken down into 3 phases or waves.

Wave 1
During the first 10 days of the diet you will be breaking your body’s habit of sugar and refined flour consumption.  These are the things that have contributed the greatest to your weight gain.  During this wave you will lose weight the quickest.

Wave 2
This is where you will be until you reach your weight goal.  During this wave foods will be reintroduced that where abstained from during Wave 1.  This phase offers a steady and consistent weight loss.

Wave 3
After you reach your goal weight you will move into Wave 3 to focus on maintaining this weight.  You will continue to eat the Sonoma style foods as well as enjoy an occasional splurge on desserts and snacks.

The Sonoma Diet is good if you like fruits, vegetables, wine and healthy foods.  You will be encouraged to stay away from sugar and trans fats.  The diet is focused on nutrient dense foods in generous proportions which are more filling.

This diet focuses on 10 “Power foods”

Almonds
Bell Peppers
Blueberries
Broccoli
Grapes
Olive Oil
Spinach
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Whole grains

The Best Diets That Work Overview

Low cost – Initial investment in a few books that explain the Sonomia Diet and cookbooks.

High time – Your investment is in research regarding the diet steps and following new recipes.

Self discipline – Initially it will need to be high while you are going through Wave 1 of the diet.  It will be less during Wave 2 but you still will need to be able to keep track of the appropriate foods consumed as well as follow the guidelines presented in this diet without formal accountability.  During Wave 3 you will still need to exert self discipline in following the diet guidelines to maintain your weight loss but will have added flexibility to some of your choices.

Weight loss – This diet is suitable to lose a few to a lot of pounds over a period of time.  Also, this diet plan will aid in keeping off what you lost.

Long term – Once you are familiar with various foods to use as well as avoid this diet is categorized as easy diets that work.

Other – While most diets restrict or reduce alcohol consumption this diet permits wine.

The Glycemic Index, one of the diet plans that work, is based on foods that have been ranked 0-100 for the way they impact your blood sugar levels when being consumed and digested.  Foods that are digested and release sugar slowly have a low Glycemic Index (GI), whereas foods that digested and release sugar quickly have a high GI.  This diet also focuses on reducing fat consumption in your food choices.

Dieters following this diet are encouraged to eat foods with a low GI to feel full and satisfied for a longer period of time.  These foods tend to be lower in calories as well.  Basically it is suggested to swap the high GI foods you are currently eating for low GI foods.  This simple change will help consume less food and calories since you are replacing foods that ultimately leave you hungry sooner in the day.  This is why the Glycemic Index diet is one of the diets that work.

Here are a few examples of high GI foods you currently eat with suggested low GI replacements:

* eat wholegrains and unrefined flour instead of refined flour

* eat barley, bran and oats instead of sugary cereals

* eat more fruits and vegetables (except potatoes) instead of high GI snacks

This diet is beneficial for those with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and other cardiovascular disease.

One thing to consider is the “Glycemic Load (GL)” of food.  To determine the Glycemic Load you should use this formula: GL = GI x the amount of carbohydrates divided by 100.  The GL takes into consideration the quality of the food as well as the quantity.  Some dieters find the GL more helpful in their Glycemic Index diet and other stick to the GI.  One concern with using the GL is that the calculation may distort the concept of this diet.  If you are looking at a type of food that has a higher GI than what you should be eating but a low quantity of carbohydrates then you are not getting the full benefits of the Glycemic Index diet, also these foods often times are high in fat.

You should try to eat at least one low GI food at each meal.  Of course the more you eat the better the impact to your blood sugar levels.  Also, your plate should follow these percentages 40% complex carbohydrates (whole grain cereals and bread, most fruit), 30% lean proteins (fish, chicken, tofu) and 30% healthy fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil).

The Best Diets That Work Overview

Low cost – Initial investment in a few books that explain the Glycemic Index diet and have GI Food Lists.

High time – Your investment is in research and making determination of GI ranks in all foods consumed.

Self discipline – You need to be able to keep track of GI for the foods consumed as well as follow the guidelines presented in this diet without formal accountability.

Weight loss – This diet is suitable to lose a few to a lot of pounds over a period of time and will aid in keeping off what you lost.

Long term – Once you are familiar with the GI of various foods and have adjusted your eating habits to focus on these types of food this is categorized as easy diets that work.

Other – Some food packages now list their GI which will help you make decisions while on this diet and developing appropriate food choice habits.