Best Diets for the Average Men and Women in Assignments

What diet is best for the average man or woman?

Every diet has a pro and con to it to some degree. Some are only useable or recommended in extreme circumstances or when mandated by a physician such as keto. Others are rich in certain nutrients but severely lacking in others. (carnivore diet) Many of the popular or fad diets for the average person aren’t advisable at all or maintainable for a long enough period to do more than shed some water weight.
I am going to gloss over some of the more popular diets on the market today and weigh the pros and cons of each which may or may not surprise you as several of these while popular have come under fire for issues they cause.
Ketogenic is one of the most popular weight loss diets with many people looking to lose weight with no shortage of success stories behind it. With a ratio of 75% fats 20% Protein and 5% carbs the point of it is to rewire the body to burn fats for fuel instead of carbs and the heavy fat content shows in the foods traditionally used while on it. Foods such as
- Cream Cheese,
- Almonds
-Coconut
- Fish
These are just a few things all high in healthy fats ensure the body enters a state of what’s known as ketosis which is when your body switches from burning carbs to burning fats. Keto however usually only results in loss of water weight and has the potential to do more harm than good for the body as you have more or less eliminated an entire macronutrient from your diet as well as eating a higher saturated fat content. For the average man or woman, I would not recommend this route because while it does get results it is one of the higher restrictive diets and makes it harder to adhere to in addition to the potential of issues when one comes off of it and reintroduce carbohydrates which on its own if not done gradually and just right will have the body in a shock state.
Atkins:
Atkins Diet is another one this diet is simple to follow and done in stages gradually limiting / decreasing carbs in the intro stage to drop the weight to within a few lbs. of the goal weight before heading into the second balancing stage and then onto maintenance stage for stage three.
Pros to this plan are it is fairly straightforward but it is designed for quick results not sustainable ones.
The cons are the high protein can drive up the cost to perform this diet and if not, enough protein is consumed muscle loss and the possible for ketosis can occur. In addition, the loss of whole grains and dairy result in lowered potassium calcium and fiber levels.
Foods in this plan are high in red meat, full fat creams and oils but at various times liberties are allowed in the balancing and the third and final maintenance stage. This plan while straightforward and easy to follow is again lacking nutrients especially if one is training while on this plan. With 100g carb at max in stage three after starting at 20g though it is done gradually the diet is set up for quick short-term success and no longer-term use.

Paleo:
Paleo or the caveman diet is all about all-natural foods which means the inclusion of lean meats, fish, fruits and veggies, nuts and eggs. This diet is naturally high in protein but comes at the cost of dairies and grains which both give crucial nutrients. While it is simple and straightforward to follow there is little to no evidence it actually offers the benefits those touting its claim and there is no hard record of what cavemen actually at as this diet claims it follows.

5:2 diet: This diet is modeled off the concept of intermittent fasting which is where one eats in a set window of 8-10 hours and fasts for the rest of the time. However, this is more of an extreme vs traditional intermittent fasting. The person following the diet eats regularly for five days a week and then on the other two women only consume 500 calories and the men 600. This right away raises red flags and seems to be an easy failure option. With the number of calories so heavily restricted two days of the week it can cause issues on fasting days or lead to overeating on non-fasting days.
The concept of dieting is easier two days vs a full seven seems easier but while it may be easy to follow and straightforward in theory it is not sustainable and the execution of it seems to create more issues than it solves and the body goes from starvation calories to normal making the body’s metabolism yo- yo as it goes from being fed to starving.

Weight Watchers:
It offers a consistent approach thru the points system and the meetings can be a plus if motivation is needed however both of these if someone is new to dieting or healthy eating in general that mastering the Weight Watchers system or showing up to meetings can be a daunting task and lead to those new to it quitting before any results are achieved.
The weight watcher’s food can also take a bite out of one’s wallet and is not even needed for the program. The biggest issue is while the points system that weight watchers runs off of teaches a bit about caloric values results will be gradual and people will often get discouraged by lack of quick results.
The biggest issue with many of these diets above is they are designed for rapid weight loss and are for most not sustainable long term. Weight loss at its core is simply burning more calories than one eats each day and maintaining what’s known as a caloric deficit. Focusing on this factor vs eating one or two groups of food in order to alter the body may not result in rapid weight loss but it will result in sustainable and consistent loss. The best option for the average man or woman is what’s known as flexible dieting.

The diet one follows just like their bodies should be to each their own. Many of these popular diets are designed to work enmasse’ which while it may work for many it could easily backfire and result in more harm than good. Before altering any diet consult a doctor or nutritionist to find the best happy medium for you. This is often done by figuring out one’s goals whether they be lose weight maintain weight or gain muscle. Ones macro’s or the amount of proteins carbs and fats are adapted to one’s goals and easily altered and monitored while offering a tad more freedom which will enable a longer-term consistent change. Keeping oneself at a caloric deficit can be as simple as keeping yourself at a 500-calorie deficit while going through your day. While tracking one’s macros can be difficult there are plenty of fitness apps or macro calculators that almost anyone with a basic knowledge of a smartphone can master. Setting your macros to your individual goals gives you a personalized plan and how you meet it is entirely up to you. Macros can roughly be calculated by using the following ratios
• To build muscle: 30-40% carbs, 25-35% protein, 15-25% fats
• For fat loss: 10-30% carbs, 40-50% protein, 30-40% fats
• To maintain: 30-50% carbs, 25-35% protein, 25-35% fats

These are just ballpark numbers as macros will change based on a variety of factors body type, goals, sex of the person and any number of other factors. This way also allows the ability to alter and change as you go allowing for the variables day to day life provide.
Each person’s body is unique and no two people will react the same to every set of nutrition or workouts as such any diets that are too set in stone should be avoided if long term use and maintainability are your goals. So many of these diets above offer little to no wiggle room and may not work for everyone whereas flexible dieting and counting macros allows the individual to tweak and alter every aspect as needed and is not dependent on only having certain select things which inevitably breeds resentment of the plan and leads to failure. The key here is not one specific diet but a lifestyle change. Diets are geared toward how fast can we get a person to x pounds in x amount of days but a lifestyle change and macros will allow you not to just get there but maintain it or grow if that is your goal. Lastly with flexible dieting and macros everything is done at your pace and in your hands so you are freed up to get creative but also tighten or loosen things as needed and, on a timetable, best for you as an individual.
Formulas for use in Macro Calculation
For males:

10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5 = REE

For females:

10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) – 161 = REE

From this formula you find your resting energy expenditure which is how much your body burns on its own without any activity

from there you take the resting energy expenditure and multiply it by your activity level
- sedentary is x 1.2 (body’s everyday functions ex. eating, talking, maybe a couple flights of stairs)
- light activity is x 1.375 ( anything that burns an additional 200-400 calories for women and 200-500 for males
- Moderate is x 1.55 ( additional 400-600 calories for women and 500-800 for men)
- Very Active is x 1.725 ( more than 650 calories for women and more than 800 for men)
Using this method allows anyone regardless of goal, activity level, age or gender to know what they need to be eating to achieve their goals macro nutrient wise and also puts the control firmly in the hands of the individual instead of reliance on a program or meetings which while they may help aren’t for everyone.

Last updated March 11, 2019