The new year, 2023, has come around and brought a set of new resolutions. After the fear of declining health set in during the pandemic and the lockdown, people have dived deeper into the diet and fitness scene, giving birth to a myriad of trends. To understand this, one needs to first accept that everybody is inherently different from one and other. What works for some people may not necessarily work for someone else. This skew in the pattern inevitably leads to a lot of broadly classified diets that are now swarming the internet at a higher rate.
We at Juvena Herbals, have compiled a comprehensive list of diets that are most trending in 2023 in a way that they cover the most significant pros and cons to help you in making an informed decision regarding the diet and workout routine most suitable to your needs and goals.
Trending Diets of 2023:
1. Weightwatchers: This is a point-based diet system. The points are allotted based on nutritional value of food items. As per studies, an adult human need around 2000 kCal per day to sustain proper bodily functions. This diet approach uses a strictly measured point system.
Pros:
- You can objectively measure your daily/weekly nutrition to keep yourself most closely aligned to your goals/needs.
- There are easy to find guides on the internet to help you make a diet plan suited to your goals.
- Most traditional approach utilized by mostathletes, so a reference point is easy to establish.
Cons:
- Too much of a strict system. It may take more of your mental capacity just to keep track of your nutrients throughout the day.
- Becomes a chore too quickly and hence easy to deviate from.
- There is a potential of using supplements like whey/casein, glutamine etc to align with the strictly measured macro nutrient bracket. These supplements may cause side effects to some people.
- The strict dieting system often leads to cravings. These cravings are one of the biggest reasons behind people being unable to stick to this diet plan for long.
2. Flexitarian Diet: This is just another variation of the weightwatchers diet plan. The difference being in the use of less/no meat proteins and an increased reliance on plant-based proteins. The system is still strictly measured.
Pros:
- A weightwatchers diet plan extremely suitable for vegetarians.
- Lower calories lead to increase in volume, in turn raising satiety levels. The feeling of satisfaction reduces cravings to a great extent.
Cons:
Same as the weightwatchers diet.
3. Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes: The most suitable diet for vegetarians and fruit lovers. If you are looking to cut fat faster, this is the diet for you. The key here is to load up on fruits and green vegetables. The rest of the micro-nutrients are obtained through whole grains. Fruity shakes and smoothies are almost always delectable and can be easily incorporated in your meal plan 2-3 times a day if the dairy is low fat.
Pros:
- High fibre diet that regulates bowel movement.
- High Vitamin C diet that helps cut down fat faster.
- The sugar in fruits keeps your energy up throughout the day.
- Great for runners.
Cons:
- Overall protein intake reduces drastically making supplementation almost completely necessary.
- Lack of protein will also result in a loss of a little muscle. Not suitable for weightlifters or strength athletes.
4. DASH diet: Dietary approaches to stop Hypertension (DASH) have been gaining traction since after lockdown. More and more people have been subjected to depression, stress, and hypertension during those Stay-at-Home days. Stress has a reputation of ruining one’s health in the sneakiest of ways. However, it can be managed by diet alone.
This diet consists of potassium rich foods with a focus on calcium, magnesium, and dietary fibres, helping in cutting down Low Density Cholesterol, improving the overall lung and heart health.
Pros:
- High fibre diet that regulates bowel movement.
- Potassium is great for nervous repair and brain health.
- Calcium and Magnesium increases your bone strength. Magnesium also helps in raising serotonin levels, elevating the mood.
- Magnesium also helps in protein synthesis.
Cons:
- Overall protein intake reduces drastically making supplementation almost completely necessary.
5. Mediterranean Diet: The most trending diet this year. Lowest in trans fats, this is a very well-balanced diet and is suitable for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The diet consists of legumes, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, oils from nuts, omega-3 fatty acids from fish or nuts. The high glycaemic index keeps you full for long time with fewer intake of calories. Vegetarians can substitute meat proteins easily with plant-based proteins like chickpeas, cauliflower, beans, egg plant, and lentils.
Pros:
- Well balanced diet, low in calories and high satiety index.
- Easy to prepare at home and easy online recipes to follow.
- Adaptable for meat lovers as well as vegetarians.
- Keeps cholesterol in check, and great for heart health.
Cons:
- A taste for certain ingredients like egg plants, cauliflower etc needs to be acquired.
- With ingredients like nuts and oils, one can easily go overboard in their consumption, resulting in weight gain rather than weight loss.
- Ingredients are expensive to procure.
In summary, it is better to adapt a diet plan and mix it up frequently with small fractions from other diets to keep things interesting and avoid yo-yo dieting. You can mix and match diet styles and in-turn get the best from them without much of the cons. While doing so, one must simply follow the guideline,” Calories in should always be less than or equal to Calories out.” Just this simple guideline and a basic knowledge of nutritive values of your food will see you in-line with your goals and needs in no time.
Dhananjay Singh
Director: Juvena Herbals
Co-Founder: TTeamBlends (Insta: tteamblends_)
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