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The Best & Most Effective Diets for Women

The most effective diets for women include a variety of foods that are nutrient-rich. Diet is defined differently so it is helpful to include the word "healthy" in today's fast-paced fad diet world. Knowledge that a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and whole grains is healthier than a mainly drive-through-window diet is well known; however, implementing a diet that incorporates healthy foods requires time-consuming and sometimes more-expensive changes in behaviors. Not to worry though, small steps toward a healthier diet are achievable.

  1. Mayo Clinic Diet

    • The Mayo Clinic Diet focuses on health. There are two phases. The first one is called Lose It! The dieter starts off feeling successful with a weight loss of 6 to 10 lbs. The first phase introduces both a healthy diet and exercise. The second phase, called Live It!, builds on the first phase and the individual now settles into a 1 or 2 lb. weight loss per week. The dieter uses a weight pyramid. The base of the pyramid is wide and offers the dieter a good quantity of fruits and vegetables; whole wheats are next followed by lean proteins, healthy fats and at the tip of the pyramid are sweets. Physical activity should be incorporated most days of the week for 30 to 60 minutes.

    Eating Clean

    • This diet is one you may want to incorporate in steps because it requires planning. When a person decides to eat clean the individual walks away from processed foods and refined sugar She plans menus and includes five to six small meals per day, limits alcoholic beverages, cooks healthy meals and knows how to make healthy choices when eating out. Clean eating incorporates lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. If you are working to build muscle you should also include daily portions of protein like lean red meat, skinless chicken breast, fish, eggs, tofu and beans. Also include skim milk or yogurt and healthy fats like nuts (walnuts and almonds), avocado, olive oil and canola oil.

    "Women's Health" Fat Stomach Diet

    • Travis Stork, MD, stated in "Women's Health" magazine that the first vital sign he checks when someone is brought into his ER is their weight or the amount of belly fat the patient is carrying. "Your health risks climb right along with your waist measurement. Not only are high levels of belly fat associated with heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer, but obese patients are also 37 percent more likely to die from injuries sustained in a car accident," said Stork. To rid yourself of belly fat, Stork recommends saying no to diets and yes to eating good-for-you filling foods, staying away from grocery items that have more than one ingredient, eating every three hours beginning with breakfast, not drinking your calories and cook your own meals.

    "Shape" Magazine's Seven Day Clean Eating Challenge

    • No matter how diet savvy or physically fit we become, life throws curve balls sometimes and gives us more than we can handle. This is when our carefully crafted meal planning and exercise schedules become derailed. Life does usually settle down, however, and "Shape" magazine puts you back on track with five simple steps. 1) Eat only whole foods; 2) Keep meals simple with few ingredients; 3) Eat slowly; 4) Eat on a regular schedule; and 5) Listen to your body or eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.

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