nutrition trends

From Carb Cycling to Macro Counting: Do These 4 Diets Live Up to Their Weight Loss Claims?

As the new year approaches, we’ve been sharing roundups of our Diets Decoded series, highlighting the pros and cons of some of the most popular (and not-so-known) diets out there. The thing is, most healthy diets—from paleo to Mediterranean to keto—share many of the same basic principles. All involve eating whole foods (as opposed to packaged and processed ones) and filling your plate with quality sources of protein, healthy fats, complex carbs, and vitamin-, mineral-, and fiber-rich vegetables. However, each proposes a slightly different path that leads to fulfilling those principles. “For each individual, the healthiest diet is an approach to eating that fuels your body and mind and fits into your lifestyle,” says Nutritious Life founder Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN. “Eating empowered, one of the eight pillars of a Nutritious Life, means listening to your body and focusing on the diverse, delicious, healthy foods you can have rather than what a hard-to-follow diet says you can’t have.” This week’s Diets Decoded roundup takes a look at diets touted specifically for their weight loss abilities. We digest them for you, highlighting their pros and cons, and offering actionable advice and a bottom line. If one of your New Year’s goals is to find an eating plan that helps you lose weight, read on for a rundown on four of today’s most popular weight-loss diets to see if they fit your life as part of a holistic approach to weight loss. 4 Weight-Loss Diets—and Whether They’re Right For You Carb Cycling Diet Think of carb cycling as keto’s more approachable cousin. Instead of abandoning carbs altogether, (which, let’s be real, can be really hard for most people) this adapted way of eating involves cycling between periods of low-carb and high-carb intake. The diet started years ago in the bodybuilding and fitness communities as a way to burn fat and build muscle more efficiently. But now, an increasing number of athletes and trainers have been following it to induce occasional ketosis, while still feeling properly fueled for heavy days at the gym or endurance activities. Others have been touting its potential weight-loss benefits. Wondering if carb cycling might work for you? Read on for our Carb Cycling Diet decoded. CARB CYCLING DIET Sirtfood Diet The Sirtfood Diet promises to help you lose seven pounds in seven days. It made headlines last year after singer Adele said it was the secret to her weight loss. This diet’s foundation rests on research surrounding sirtuins (SIRTs), a family of proteins found in the body that may play a role in metabolism, inflammation, aging and chronic diseases. Certain polyphenols (plant compounds that act as antioxidants) may increase levels of sirtuins in the body. Diet founders, Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten, say they modeled the diet after the eating patterns of “the slimmest, healthiest and longest-lived populations around the world, known as the Blue Zones.” They refer to SIRTs as your body’s natural “skinny genes” and have have named the foods high in these polyphenols as “sirtfoods,” claiming they will activate mechanisms controlled by your body’s SIRTs to burn fat. When combined with calorie restriction, the founders claim your body will produce higher levels of sirtuins, which will result in greater weight loss. Color us intrigued. But, is it safe—and, more importantly, sustainable? We have the Sirtfood Diet decoded. SIRTFOOD DIET Macro Counting Diet You’ve probably heard fitness influencers or healthy eating enthusiasts talk about “counting their macros.” But what does that really mean? Essentially, they are monitoring how many grams (and calories) they consume from the three macronutrients—carbohydrate, protein and fat. The idea is that if you create a calorie deficit and properly proportion how much of each macronutrient you eat in a day, you’ll achieve your desired weight and, at the same time, reach other health goals—including maintaining or building muscle. To calculate your calorie needs and macro proportions, the specific target numbers will depend on sex, age, physical activity and weight and fitness goals, so there’s no one-size-fits-all formula. Curious about counting macros? Here we have Macro Counting decoded. MACRO COUNTING DIET The Dukan Diet Created by Dr. Pierre Dukan, a French doctor who specializes in weight management, the Dukan Diet promises to help you lose weight quickly and permanently, all while being able to eat as much as you like. The Dukan Diet is a high-protein, low-carb and low-fat diet that is divided into four phases. Two phases to help you shed the weight, and two phases that help you keep it off. The length of each phase depends on how much weight you want to lose in order to reach your “true weight,” which the diet describes as the weight you can reach without struggling or restricted eating. Before you start the diet, you’ll need to calculate this true weight using a variety of factors such as age, gender, weight history, and bone structure. Sounds like a dream? We took a deeper dive to decode the Dukan Diet and its pros and cons. (Images: Shutterstock) THE DUKAN DIET

Diets Decoded: The Sirtfood Diet

We’re going to let you in on a little secret. Most popular healthy diets that are touted for weight loss—from Paleo to Mediterranean and vegetarian—share many of the same basic principles. All involve eating whole foods (as opposed to packaged and processed) and filling your plate with quality sources of protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and vitamin-, mineral-, and fiber-rich vegetables. (Again, we’re talking about the ones that fall somewhere on the healthy spectrum, not unhealthy fad diets like, ahem, the Grapefruit Diet. However, each proposes a slightly different path that leads to fulfilling those principles. In this column, we’ll be breaking them down for you one by one so you can figure out which (if any!) is right for you. We’ll quickly explain the facts and then provide quick, actionable tips on how to follow the diet as part of a Nutritious Life. The trending Sirtfood Diet promises to help you lose seven pounds in seven days. It made headlines when singer Adele said it was the secret to her recent weight loss. But, is it safe — and more importantly sustainable? We have the Sirtfood Diet decoded. RELATED: Diets Decoded: The Elimination Diet What is the Sirtfood Diet? This diet’s foundation rests on research surrounding sirtuins (SIRTs), a family of proteins found in the body that may play a role in metabolism, inflammation, aging and chronic diseases. Certain polyphenols (plant compounds that act as antioxidants) may increase levels of sirtuins in the body. Diet founders, Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten — who refer to SIRTs as your body’s natural “skinny genes” — have named foods high in these polyphenols as “sirtfoods,” claiming they will activate mechanisms controlled by your body’s SIRTs to burn fat. By combining these sirtfoods with calorie restriction, the founders state your body will produce higher levels of sirtuins, which will then result in greater weight loss. What You Eat The top 20 sirtfoods include a variety of nutritious foods such as kale, strawberries, parsley, dark chocolate, arugula, turmeric, soy, walnuts, blueberries, coffee, and red wine. WEEK 1 The first phase of the diet lasts one week. During the first three days, you’re restricted to 1,000 calories from one meal of sirtfoods and three green juices (recipes found in The Sirtfood Diet book). The rest of that first week you can consume two sirtfood meals and two green juices adding up to 1,500 calories per day. WEEK 2 In the second two-week phase, you can eat three sirtfood meals and one green juice a day. After these phases, you’re encouraged to include sirtfoods in your diet and eat mostly plant-based meals in order to maintain results. What You Don’t Eat This is where it gets a little tricky. The Sirtfood Diet has a long list of what you can eat and focuses on having you consume those recommended sirtfoods. But while no food is technically off limits, the severe calorie restriction in the first phase of the diet means you won’t be able to eat many foods outside of the Sirtfood meals and juices. Goggins and Matten promote that by focusing on eating as many sirtfoods as possible, you won’t have much space left for other foods and beverages. RELATED: The Step-By-Step Guide to Mindful Eating Pros and Cons A pro of this program is that sirtfoods are nutrient dense foods that are high in health-promoting plant compounds — and they are great choices to incorporate into your meals regardless of the type of diet you may follow. There are some studies suggesting the health and weight loss benefits of sirtuins —showing an increase of fat loss, reducing inflammation, and combating aging and age-related diseases — but overall, the research is still pretty slim. One study found that mice genetically engineered to have high levels of the sirtuin SIRT1 were leaner and more metabolically active. In addition, researchers found that increased sirtuin activity in yeast extended their lifespan by 70 percent. While this research sounds promising, there is no evidence that this will have the same effects on humans — as well as no long-term studies to support sirtfoods being more effective than any other calorie-restricted diet. Also, it’s important to note the Sirtfood Diet has the potential to cause some negative health effects. Extreme calorie restriction may lead to short-term weight loss, but it is difficult to sustain and can create nutrient deficiencies. You’re not only losing fat, but you’ll also lose important muscle mass needed to keep you fit and healthy. Severely cutting calories can even increase the stress hormone cortisol, which wreaks havoc on the body and can lead to weight gain. The Bottom Line Sirtfoods are healthy foods. But do they have the ability to turn on your “skinny genes,” as claimed by the diet founders? The science is shaky. Chances are this plan may “work” in the short term because of the calorie restriction. But, there’s no magic bullet here. Instead of following this very restrictive diet, incorporate these delicious sirtfoods into a healthy diet and lifestyle. (Photo: Shutterstock)