Are You Overweight?
We Review the Best Weight Loss Diets, Pills & Supplements – Ultimate Guide
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Written by Sven Haasbroek, MSc. on December 4, 2020
Being overweight is challenging.
Everyone has an opinion and your friends and family can be extremely judgmental.
In this ultimate guide, we will review the best options for you to lose weight safely and in a healthy way.
There are many weight loss solutions available. But which one is the right one for you?
From pills, drugs, supplements, and diets, they all promise you swift weight loss with little effort.
These products all claim to either help you lose weight or make it a lot quicker and easier to shift those unwanted pounds.
They all tend to work via one or other of the following mechanisms:
1. Reduce absorption of nutrients like fat, making you take in fewer calories
2. Reduce absorption of nutrients like fat, making you take in fewer calories
3. Reduce appetite, making you feel more full so that you eat fewer calorie
Here are the 12 of the most popular weight-loss diets, pills & supplements as reviewed scientifically.
1. The Ketogenic Diet (Most Effective Weight Loss Diet)
Overview
The Ketogenic Diet is a way of eating where a higher percentage of fats, adequate-protein, and low or very-low carbohydrates are consumed. The aim is to use up the body’s glycogen stores so that you move over to metabolizing fat and protein for energy.
In a short period of time, usually within 24 to 48 hours, your body moves into ketosis. Your liver produces a high number of ketones as an alternative fuel source for the brain as well as other bodily functions. The effectiveness of this form of dieting in producing astonishing fat loss results has popularized it across the world. With dozens of pictures showing “before and after” results on social media and medical experts reporting on its health benefits, it’s no wonder that “keto diets” are on most people’s minds.
If weight loss is your main goal, then the ketogenic diet should definitely be one of the ways you try to lose weight before trying any of the other methods or products listed below.
Weight Loss & Health
Based on several studies, it has been shown that people on a high fat, low carb diet (HFLC) burn fat at a faster rate than those with a high carb, low fat (HCLF) diet. The primary driver has lowered insulin levels resulting in the removal of excess water from the body.
We also have a body set weight that is regulated by our appestat. Essentially, our appestat acts in a similar fashion to a thermostat, it regulates the amount of body fat that we carry. If you eat until you’re full then stop eating, your body is working properly. This is an evolutionary adaptation that ensures that you neither get too fat or too thin.
Much the same as you don’t get fat tigers or fat antelope, the natural state of your body is to be in balance, not too fat and not too skinny.
During ketosis, you will experience reduced levels of hunger, which can be extremely beneficial in controlling the number of calories you take in, promoting overall weight loss.
It has also been noted that low carb diets are also very effective in reducing visceral fat, primarily stored in the abdominal cavity. This has significant health benefits, as excess fat around the middle of your body and especially if it is located internally around your organs is associated with poorer health outcomes.
Mental Performance & Chronic Diseases
Ketones produced whilst on a low carb diet are a much more efficient source of energy than glucose. The carbohydrates that you consume, including table sugar, cold drinks, starches such as potato chips, bread, sweets, and chocolates are converted into glucose and used for energy. Excess energy is stored as fat for use when there is no food available.
The only problem with modern society is that there is always food available. So, you never get to use the stored glucose. In fact, you keep on adding to your fat stores year by year until you realize that you’re overweight.
Many studies indicate that an LCHF diet can improve cognitive impairment such experienced with diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Intractable epilepsy has successfully been treated using LCHF diets for decades.
A high-fat diet helps to support the balance of essential omega 3s and omega 6s which are vital for optimal brain function. Additionally, ketosis is able to boost mitochondria production and adenosine triphosphate within the brain’s memory cells, thereby improving mental performance and clarity.
Reduction of Chronic Disease Risk
A ketogenic diet helps boost your body’s defense against a variety of modern diseases. Chronic disease can be mitigated by reducing inflammation, improving mitochondrial function, and reducing excess body fat.
It has been shown that cancer cells require an increased supply of glycogen due to their abnormal mitochondria. Ketosis provides normal cells with ketones but starves cancerous cells, as the cancer cells are unable to utilize ketones for energy due to their dysfunctional mitochondria.
Improved Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is associated with a higher risk of several diseases. These diseases, such as atherosclerosis, peripheral artery disease, various arrhythmias, Coronary artery disease amongst many more are leading causes of death worldwide. An LCHF diet has been proven to be more effective than a low-fat diet in reducing blood pressure. There is some evidence that supports the claim that the LCHF diet is just as effective as taking pills. The combination of weight loss derived from a ketogenic diet, reduced junk food consumption, and higher quality food sources associated with an LCHF diet is sure to vastly improve cardiovascular health and function.
Summary
It’s been proven by a number of studies in the realm of nutritional science, that LCHF dieting can have a very positive impact on overall health and bodily function. Eating LCHF requires discipline, but the health rewards are numerous.
If you have struggled with your weight gain and found other methods to be ineffective then we highly recommend the Low Carb, High Fat Ketogenic Diet as a proven means to finally gain control not just over your weight but your health in general.
References:
https://drjasonfung.medium.com/controlling-the-bodys-fat-thermometer-12e2e69e94dd
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633336/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537084/#article-38819.s4
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30429127/