Healthy eating isn’t as difficult as it may seem, but it does require some self-reflection. Finding a diet plan you enjoy (and one that’s successful) depends on your health goals, lifestyle, food preferences and cultural traditions.
How to Choose the Right Diet Plan
As you start your diet overhaul, ask yourself what’s driving the change. Healthy eating plans are available to help you lower cholesterol or blood pressure, protect your brain, lose weight, build muscle, and adopt healthier eating habits. Starting with your end goal in mind allows you to choose a diet plan that meets your needs.
Next, consider the diet’s requirements to see if it will fit into your lifestyle. For example:
- Can you stick with it long-term? Many fad diets require drastic changes, such as eliminating specific foods or entire food groups, that can be difficult to sustain for more than a few days or weeks. In other cases, a diet may require you to eat a limited variety of foods, and you may get bored.
- Is it affordable? Some diet programs require subscriptions, while others require you to purchase specific products, such as prepackaged foods or meal replacement shakes. Over time, those costs can add up.
- Are you getting the right nutrients? Diet plans that require eliminating certain foods or food groups may help you lose weight, but you may miss out on calcium, protein, fiber and other nutrients you need. These diets aren’t necessarily bad for you, but they may require some creativity. For example, going vegetarian means you’ll need to find protein from plant sources, such as beans and nuts. If you go gluten-free, you can replace fiber from wheat with fiber from fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils and alternative grains, such as brown rice and quinoa.
- Does it focus on quality over quantity? Experts are realizing that losing weight is often more than calories in, calories out. A successful weight loss plan does need to combine cutting calories and increasing exercise, but you also need to ensure the calories you consume come from healthy foods. A healthy eating plan should encourage fruits, vegetables, lean sources of protein, whole grains and low-fat dairy products while minimizing highly processed foods, refined grains, and foods with saturated fat and added sugar.
3 Healthy Diet Plans
If you’re looking for a place to start, these three diets offer healthy options and flexibility, so you can include easily accessible, affordable foods that you enjoy. These diets can also help you achieve many different goals, from losing weight to managing chronic conditions.
1. The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet incorporates foods and eating habits native to the 16 countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including Italy, Greece, Spain and Egypt. Because of the diversity, there is no single “Mediterranean” eating style, but each culture shares some similarities, namely:
- A heavy emphasis on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, with fruit being the preferred dessert
- Healthy fats found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados and fatty fish
- Minimal intake of red meat, with fish as the preferred protein source
- Poultry and dairy consumed in small amounts
- Water as the beverage of choice
- Wine—one glass for women and two glasses for men per day—consumed with a meal, if desired
Given the focus on produce and grains over animal products, this plant-based eating pattern has been associated with a host of mental and physical health benefits, including reducing the risk of depression, some cancers, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
If you’re interested in a traditional diet plan that’s more suited to your cultural heritage, the Obesity Medicine Association has created Cultural Healthy Eating Guides that cater to a variety of cuisines.
2. DASH Diet
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet was originally developed to help people with high blood pressure. Its emphasis on fresh produce and low-sodium, low-fat foods has been found to control blood pressure, and the diet can benefit people looking to lower their risk for heart disease overall. Research has shown that DASH may help lower unhealthy cholesterol and prevent diabetes, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
A DASH diet plan includes foods high in potassium, calcium and magnesium—nutrients that help lower blood pressure—as well as protein and fiber. Those foods include:
- Fat-free or low-fat dairy products
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Lean sources of protein—poultry, fish, beans, nuts and seeds
- Whole grains
The diet limits foods high in:
- Saturated fats, such as red meat, coconut oil and palm oil
- Sodium
- Sugar
3. MIND Diet
“MIND” is short for Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. It combines elements of both diets with the goal of protecting the brain as it ages. Although a recent clinical trial found the MIND diet didn’t lead to significant benefits, other research has shown that it may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slow cognitive decline.
The MIND diet includes foods from the Mediterranean and DASH diets but offers more guidance on how much to eat:
- Beans: Four or more servings per week
- Berries (fresh only, not dried): Two or more servings per week
- Fish: One or more weekly servings of salmon, sardines or other fatty fish
- Leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, etc.): Six or more servings per week
- Nuts and seeds (including peanuts): Five or more servings per week
- Poultry (preferably skinless, white meat): Two or more servings per week
- Vegetables (aside from leafy greens): One or more servings per day
- Whole grains: Three or more servings per day
Extra Support for Healthy Eating
It’s not always easy to determine which diet plan will help you achieve your health goals. Talking with your primary care provider (PCP) can help. They can review your current health to determine what a healthy weight is for you and help you set realistic weight loss goals. You may also have an underlying but treatable condition that makes it hard to lose weight or early signs of diabetes or heart disease, such as high blood sugar or high cholesterol, that require specific dietary changes.
Your PCP can also connect you to a registered dietitian who can work with you to develop a personalized diet and meal plan specific to your needs.
More to Read
- Filling Your Plate with Foods that Lower Cholesterol
- 7 Tips for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss
- Nutrition for Athletes: Fueling Your Performance
- How Portion Control and Mindful Eating Can Benefit Your Health
- 6 Ways to Have Heart-Healthy Meals on the Go
Medically reviewed by Jessika Rose RD, LDN, Bariatric Dietitian at UM Upper Chesapeake Bariatrics Program.
