There are so many different types of diets out there, but which one is the one for you? Which diet will get you to lose fat, or build muscle? Is it low carbs? Read to find out.

You’ve probably heard about the Paleo diet, or the Atkins and so on; but do you really know what each of these are? I’m going to briefly break down the trendiest diets out there, so that you can have a better understanding, and probably choose the one you think you might like. You'll see which one is my favorite, too.

Ketogenic Diet

This diet is also known as Atkins or low carb diet. It basically consists of eating less than 50 grams of carbs a day, so that the body can go into a ketogenic state; and use ketone instead of glucose (carbs) as fuel. To put it into perspective, 50 grams of carbs is about 2 slices of bread! You also have to eat a lot of fat, basically 75% of your calories would come from fatty foods.

There is a huge misunderstanding out there. People believe that the Keto diet will help them lose fat faster, but this is not true. At first, people on this diet will lose weight, but mostly because of water retention.

The Ketogenic Diet will not help you lose fat faster, unless you’re in a caloric deficit. However, there are some health benefits about low carb dieting such as, diabetes, cancer, and seizure treatment.

Paleo

Honestly, I don’t even know who came up with this.

It’s based on the idea of eating like the humans did 2.5 million years ago. Yes, you read that right. A diet based on eating fish, grass-fed meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts.

The common misbelief about the Paleo Diet, is that humans were healthier during the Paleolithic era, but that’s not true. Also, a lot of the data gathered to create this diet is extremely flawed and many ancient societies actually ate some foods that are a big “no” in the current Paleo Diet.

However, the good thing about this diet is that it teaches you about the nutritional values of natural foods like vegetables, good fats, and fruits. On top of that, it recommends high protein, and heavily processed foods, which is a good thing.

Intermittent Fasting

The idea is, you starve yourself for 16+ hours and then feast. Sounds great, right?

Unless you are in a caloric deficit, this diet won’t help you lose fat faster, or lose belly fat; but it does have many potential benefits. There are some research out there claiming that intermittent fasting helps with inflammation and hormone levels.

Also, Intermittent Fasting might help with weight loss because it severely restricts how many calories you can eat, and if you’re like me currently eating 3200+ calories a day, it is very difficult to eat a large amount of food in such a small time frame.

I personally fast once a week for 16 hours, the reason being is beyond the scope of this article. I do it since there are some small benefits in fasting. However, it is not the “magic” diet.

IIFYM/Flexible Diet

Also, known as, If It Fits Your Macros, or eat donuts and Pop Tarts diet. This type of diet has a bad reputation because “fitness models” like to show off eating junk food and claiming that calories are created equal. The reason I say this is because I personally fell into the belief that a calorie is a calorie. In general terms, that’s a true statement, but we must also take into consideration the nutritional value of food.

However, IIFYM works. Period. It’s what I recommend to everyone I help. The reason it works is because, when done correctly, you can take control of what you eat and in the exact amounts that you need. It’s simple, if you want to lose fat then you must eat less calories, and having a controlled IIFYM diet lets you know exactly how much to eat and how much fat, carbs, and protein to eat. Same goes with if you want to build muscle.

In other words, when done correctly, a Flexible Diet will let you know exactly what to eat to reach the goals you want. You can fit a donut, a Big Mac, fruits, beans, etc., if it fits your diet, and if the calories match. Hence the name IIFYM.

Lastly, the beauty of Flexible Dieting is that if you like Paleo, or Keto diets, you can implement Flexible Dieting to adhere to your goals. You will know what you’re eating throughout the day and it gives you the freedom to choose what foods to eat.

In my personal experience, I have found Flexible Dieting work best for me. I have learnt the value of food, macro and micronutrients; and when you build up knowledge you can set yourself up to succeed.

So, how do you eat? Please don’t say you’re a “clean eater.”