Choosing the right diet plan may account for more than 70% of your overall health and fitness!!
Eating right is the most important part of a healthy physique.
Oftentimes, people wonder how to choose the right diet plan or “what diet is the best for my body type?”
Well, worry not, this article will talk at length about how to find the right nutrition plan.
Everybody has their capability, and the best way to choose the right diet plan is to understand your body type and the diet it needs.
We will deal with that later on in the article. The first thing we need to sort out is why are we choosing this whole diet thing?
Factors to Choose the Right Diet Plan [One That Meets Your Needs]
Here are the considerations to take into account when you’re wondering how to choose the right eating plan for you.
#1. Time and Weight Check
Well, time is money. Switching to the right diet plan will not work in magic numbers. You need to give some time to see the effects of a diet plan on your body and your overall health.
So, the first step should be to fix a small target with regards to the diet plan and then squeeze more time into your day-to-day schedule.
Your lifestyle and overall routine affect the diet, and, thus, it becomes mandatory to look after a more convenient and suitable diet plan.
Plus, you should also take your weight (if weight loss is your aim) before you embark on a new diet plan. And then periodically measure your weight to gauge the results.
#2. Cutting Out the Carbs
When you think of how to choose the right diet plan, the most important aspect is your nutrition. You need to know what your body requires and how you can attain it.
It entirely depends on your eating style, diet, and nutritional requirements.
What may be suiting your pal may not be your take on body needs.
So, make sure your decision for cutting out carbs, protein, or any other major nutrient is justified.
To see if your body is adjusting to the changes, we recommend making small changes in the diet plan.
#3. Lifestyle Calls
This is one of the most important factors in making dietary changes.
This means you need to decide whether you can carry the kitchen duties as you go on with your everyday life.
Can you manage to cook the food yourself or will you limit the takeaways?
Are you more of a traveler or are you willing to stay at your house to look after your nutrition needs? These questions are very important as they are really important for planning and choosing a diet to fit your lifestyle.
#4. Workout Routine
This comes in handy if you are willing to change your diet with or without workout routines.
If you have a proper schedule for running or breaking into a sweat, it becomes easier to control urges for cheat days.
This is not a requirement only in the case of a fixed goal with ‘less time more weight to shed’ saga. We are more focused on the healthy aspect of eating right than skinny. Your workout routine will boost circulation, metabolism, digestion, and help get rid of toxins.
Workout plus a healthy diet is the evergreen combination to become the healthiest. Nothing glows better than a healthy and fit body.
#5. Nutritional Intake
Another very important aspect of making changes in a diet plan is making changes in nutrition.
Ideally, when you think of how to choose the right diet plan, it becomes necessary to include every macro and micronutrients in some amount.
This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk products. The addition of legumes, seafood, low-fat meat, nuts, and soy is also essential.
Then, the most important part of the diet, i.e, water should be included.
We, however, know that each body is specifically designed to suit varied nutritional intake. Your diet might be more fitting towards the side of carbs, and if that works for you, so be it!
You can even use carbs for weight loss when planned the right way.
The underlying idea, in order to know how to choose the best diet for your body, is to have a diet that suits your body and makes you healthy.
Now, you need to assess your factors for ‘how to choose the right diet plan’ and pick your preferred diet. The ones recommended below make the diet healthy and tasty too.
Types of Diet
Here are the different types of diet you can choose from.
#1. Mediterranean Diet
Mediterranean diet is the diet of evergreen 60s in the Mediterranean region. What makes this diet the most healthy one is the preference for vegetables and legumes over heavy meat.
The Mediterranean diet consists of most fruits and vegetables. Any healthy fruit like apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, plums, and strawberries is eaten at breakfast. The combination of yogurt and fresh fruit is used to start the day.
In snacks, a salad of cucumber, sprouts, kale with a pinch of salt is served.
The lunch comprises a bowl of cooked vegetables, whole grains in the form of bread, rice, and an option of seafood with herb seasoning.
The whole grain options vary from wheat, brown rice, buckwheat, and corn, though.
There can be an option to opt for seafood or legumes. But the preparation should be in avocado or olive oil.
For dinner, choose between legumes or chicken/duck. Add a sweet potato or yam substitute. You can eat eggs in any form too. The beverage in any Mediterranean diet is water.
For sweet cravings, treat yourself with nuts or cake made of less sugar and whole grain substitute.
#2. Endomorph Diet
Endomorph diets have a higher percentage of healthy fats, proteins, and carbs, and it focuses on eliminating refined carbs.
The most preferable one can be the paleo diet.
The Paleo diet is considered as the paleolithic thriving on a variety of diets. It is a diet that serves vegetarian and non-vegetarian needs equally.
Moreover, it strictly avoids processed food, dairy, sugar, and any market-made processed food.
Start with organic, pasture-rich food with a more coarse menu. Whole grain and grass-fed butter with gluten-free grains are a good substitute for everyday meals.
#3. Mesomorph Diet
This body type has broad shoulders and a well-defined frame that has large muscle bellies, and it is best for building muscles.
This is the ideal body type for anyone. Basically, it’s the medium body type for average muscular development and low fat. It is more of an athletic body type.
So, this diet requires more protein intake than the other body types. There is a recommendation to split the meals into protein intake, carb intake, and veggies intake.
The next snack can be sprouts or legumes intake or season a salad and eat it.
For lunch, carbohydrates are a better-suited option. Cook fish, chicken breast, or leafy vegetables in less oil. Use nut butter or coconut oil instead of other oils.
If you crave something other than savory, eat muffins made of cottage cheese.
The dinner should consist of the intake of vegetables, so boiled vegetables and a sprinkle of salt or pepper can be a good option. And you may end the day with a warm cup of milk or water.
Now, choosing the diet surely also depends on your body type.
Types of Body Types and Diet
There are diverse types of body shapes, and it all has its dietary requirements. This goes with the famous saying “To each their own”.
To check the different types of body types is imperative to decide the best diet for your body.
So, after finding out your body type, we have added the answer to what diet is best for you and how to pick the right diet.
#1. Apple
The lower hip region is slightly less pronounced than the upper body. The body shape almost has the same waistline and shoulders. But the fat deposition is more towards the bust region.
The latest diet for this body type is a protein-based one. And avoid starchy carbs to keep fat deposition at a minimum.
#2. Pear
The hip region is heavier than the bust region. And the weight gain is more towards the thighs and buttocks.
The best diet for pear-shaped body types is high fiber one with non-dairy fat. Control on cravings that promote lower body region fat build-up is a must.
#3. Hourglass
The figure where the waistline separates the bust and the hip region. It is considered the ideal figure because each curve of the body is very accentuated.
The right diet for such body types includes whole-grain cereal and low-fat products. This can be found in the Mediterranean diet.
#4. Rectangle or Column
This body type has more bone structure than fat. It is a very defined frame and a slender body is what stands out. Think athletic and skinny at the same time!
The right diet for this body type includes the addition of carbs to the diet. Add fruits like avocado, nuts, seeds, and sardines to make the diet more fulfilling.
In general, the diet comprising whole grain, more water intake, and plant sources make a visible impact on any person’s lifestyle.
If you are an avid meat lover, we are not asking you to quit. But there can be room for more plant-based diet plans too. The crux of the matter is, you need to eat everything in the right quantity.
The need to exercise, sleep on time, or meditate may look very trivial, but those little changes create a massive impact on the body.
Now, you also need to completely cut out certain things from your daily eating plan.
What to Avoid in Your Diet?
To answer how to choose the right diet plan, the most important aspect is what to eliminate. This can be done by anyone in general who wishes to have a healthy lifestyle and routine.
#1. Sweeteners
Excessive sweet products are very dear to taste buds, but they are far from fitting in healthy diet plans.
The reason being, natural sweeteners’ taste remains non-existent once you get a taste of heavy creamed sweetening agents.
But refined sugar is the primary cause of several ailments and should be given up ASAP.
#2. Excess Salty Snacks
Salt in the body helps hold sodium, potassium, and other micronutrients. The RDI of salt ranges from 6-8 grams at most for adults.
But the daily intake of an average US eater is more than 10 times that figure. Excess salt is the cause of several heart diseases and hypertension.
#3. Ultrafine Grain
People in the olden days preferred coarse grains over the ultra-refined ones we use today. Reason?
Coarse or wholefood grain consists of roughage and several dietary fibers. They keep a check on the digestive system and improve metabolism too!
#4. Red Meat
Red meats are a high source of cholesterol and fat. They are rich in trans-fat and raise high blood pressure, uric acid, and the risk of heart strokes.
According to some research, red meat is also responsible for increasing the risk of colorectal cancer.
#5. Aerated Drinks
Sodas in the form of Coca-cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, and Sprite are widely popular in the US.
The combination of pizza and Pepsi or fries with Coca-cola is one of the most ordered menus.
These aerated drinks slowly have crept and made a part of everyday life.
These are also consumed after every meal, replacing water.
However, aerated drinks are, in no way, a substitute for universal solvents; they can never be. These drinks and junk foods do nothing more than adding a layer of sugar and unhealthy fat to the body.
Hence, it’s always preferred to limit the use of aerated drinks and use water instead.
#6. Deep-Fried Snacks
Deep-fried snacks are America’s favorite snack. French fries, onion rings, popcorn fired, and chicken fries are very dear to every foodie.
But the calories in these foods are much more than required due to them being ‘fried’.
Frying requires the usage of more oil, and it kills any healthy nutrition in the food and leaves it very crunchy.
Such foods cause severe heart and artery blockage. It is also combined with excessive salt to make up for deep-frying, thus increasing hypertension.
#7. Cheese-Laced Foods
The cheesy pizza or the extra cheeseburger is nothing but hazardous for your body.
If you have planned to lead the healthiest way, cheese and its products should be sayonara-ed from your diet, especially those from unhealthy sources.
The reason being, they are delicious only for taste buds. The cheese used in such food items is made with high fat.
This extra unmonitored fat is the prime reason for many many diseases.
The fat in our body is stored for rainy days, but our intake exceeds the capacity. This leads to the path of obesity and serious diseases.
However, you can include cheese in your diet in moderate amounts as they are also high in protein and calcium, but remember to cut back on commercial foods made with cheese.
Rather, have fresh cheese at your home. Better yet, make homemade recipes with some cheese.
The Takeaway
The most important question for any health-conscious person should be how to find the right diet plan for me before thinking about any other lifestyle modifications.
And it becomes even more important to choose the right diet for you after you understand what change it can bring into your life.
Once you make a healthy diet plan a part of your daily routine, there is no looking back.
It is one way of meeting your needs and becoming the healthiest version of yourself.
The target is never to look the most dashing, rather look so attuned with your body that the only way to describe it is indeed dashing.
The body mechanism toils day and night for us, and the only lubricant for it is a healthy diet.
By choosing the right diet according to your body, you choose to make the right changes for yourself.