Diets

The Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet (or keto diet, for short) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that offers many health benefits. Over 20 studies show that this type of diet can help you lose weight and improve your health.
The “keto” in a ketogenic diet comes from the fact that it allows the body to produce small fuel molecules called “ketones”. This is an alternative fuel source for the body, used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply.
Ketones are produced if you eat very few carbs (that are quickly broken down into blood sugar) and only moderate amounts of protein (excess protein can also be converted to blood sugar).
The liver produces ketones from fat. These ketones then serve as a fuel source throughout the body, especially for the brain.
The brain is a hungry organ that consumes lots of energy every day, and it can’t run on fat directly. It can only run on glucose… or ketones.
On a ketogenic diet, your entire body switches its fuel supply to run mostly on fat, burning fat 24-7. When insulin levels become very low, fat burning can increase dramatically. It becomes easier to access your fat stores to burn them off. This is great if you’re trying to lose weight, but there are also other less obvious benefits, such as less hunger and a steady supply of energy. This may help keep you alert and focused.
When the body produces ketones, it enters a metabolic state called ketosis. The fastest way to get there is by fasting – not eating anything – but nobody can fast forever.
A keto diet, on the other hand, can be eaten indefinitely and also results in ketosis. It has many of the benefits of fasting – including weight loss – without having to fast.
Studies have now shown that the diet can have benefits for a wide variety of different health conditions:

• Heart disease: The ketogenic diet can improve risk factors like body fat, HDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar.
• Cancer: The diet is currently being used to treat several types of cancer and slow tumor growth.
• Alzheimer's disease: The keto diet may reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and slow its progression.
• Epilepsy: Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can cause massive reductions in seizures in epileptic children.
• Parkinson's disease: One study found that the diet helped improve symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome: The ketogenic diet can help reduce insulin levels, which may play a key role in polycystic ovary syndrome.
• Brain injuries: One animal study found that the diet can reduce concussions and aid recovery after brain injury.
• Acne: Lower insulin levels and eating less sugar or processed foods may help improve acne.

The Paleo Diet

The paleo diet is designed to resemble what human hunter-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago.
Although it’s impossible to know exactly what human ancestors ate in different parts of the world, researchers believe their diets consisted of whole foods.
By following a whole food-based diet and leading physically active lives, hunter-gatherers presumably had much lower rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
In fact, several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health.
The Paleolithic era was pre-agricultural for the most part and certain foods that we consume in abundance today were unsuitable for consumption in their raw form. Many Paleo followers believe our digestive systems have changed little since then and therefore the following foods put a strain on our gastrointestinal tract:

• Legumes (including peanuts)
• Cereal grains
• Refined sugar
• Potatoes
• Processed foods
• Salt
• Dairy
• Refined vegetable oils
• Root vegetables

As mentioned, different forms of the diet vary in their restrictiveness so in some cases low-fat dairy products and root veg are allowed. All versions of the diet encourage lean proteins, fruit, vegetables and healthy fats from whole foods such as nuts, seeds and olive oil and grass-fed meat.

The Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is split into 4 different phases:

• Phase 1 (induction): Under 20 grams of carbs per day for 2 weeks. Eat high-fat, high-protein, with low-carb vegetables like leafy greens. This kick-starts the weight loss.
• Phase 2 (balancing): Slowly add more nuts, low-carb vegetables and small amounts of fruit back to your diet.
• Phase 3 (fine-tuning): When you’re very close to your goal weight, add more carbs to your diet until weight loss slows down.
• Phase 4 (maintenance): Here you can eat as many healthy carbs as your body can tolerate without regaining weight.

However, these phases are a bit complicated and may not be necessary. You should be able to lose weight and keep it off as long as you stick to the meal plan below.
Some people choose to skip the induction phase altogether and include plenty of vegetables and fruit from the start. This approach can be very effective as well.
Others prefer to just stay in the induction phase indefinitely. This is also known as a very low-carb ketogenic diet (keto). Click here for more information about the keto diet.
You should avoid these foods on the Atkins diet:

• Sugar: Soft drinks, fruit juices, cakes, candy, ice cream, etc.
• Grains: Wheat, spelt, rye, barley, rice.
• Vegetable oils: Soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and a few others.
• Trans fats: Usually found in processed foods with the word "hydrogenated" on the ingredients list.
• "Diet" and "low-fat" foods: These are usually very high in sugar.
• High-carb vegetables: Carrots, turnips, etc (induction only).
• High-carb fruits: Bananas, apples, oranges, pears, grapes (induction only).
• Starches: Potatoes, sweet potatoes (induction only).
• Legumes: Lentils, beans, chickpeas, etc. (induction only).

Foods to Eat
You should base your diet around these healthy foods.

• Meats: Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, bacon and others.
• Fatty fish and seafood: Salmon, trout, sardines, etc.
• Eggs: The healthiest eggs are omega-3 enriched or pastured.
• Low-carb vegetables: Kale, spinach, broccoli, asparagus and others.
• Full-fat dairy: Butter, cheese, cream, full-fat yogurt.
• Nuts and seeds: Almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.
• Healthy fats: Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados and avocado oil.
• As long as you base your meals around a fatty protein source with vegetables or nuts and some healthy fats, you will lose weight. It's that simple.

Beverages
Here are some drinks that are acceptable on the Atkins diet.

• Water: As always, water should be your go-to beverage.
• Coffee: Many studies show that coffee is high in antioxidants and quite healthy.
• Green tea: A very healthy beverage.
• Alcohol is also fine in small amounts. Stick to dry wines with no added sugars and avoid high-carb drinks like beer.

Maybe Eat There are many delicious foods you can eat on the Atkins diet.
This includes foods like bacon, heavy cream, cheese and dark chocolate.
Many of these are generally considered fattening because of the high fat and calorie content.
However, when you're on a low-carb diet, your body increases its use of fat as an energy source and suppresses your appetite, reducing the risk of overeating and weight gain.

Other Diets

The No-Sugar Diet

The average adult eats much more sugar than necessary, so reducing added sugar intake is a good idea for most people. Some people take it a step further and cut added sugar entirely out of their diet.

The Zone diet

The Zone diet aims for a nutritional balance of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fats, and 30 percent protein in each meal. The focus is also on controlling insulin levels, which may result in more successful weight loss and body weight control than other approaches.
The Zone diet encourages the consumption of high-quality carbohydrates - unrefined carbohydrates, and fats, such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts.

The Vegetarian Diet

There are various types of vegetarian: lacto-vegetarian, fruitarian vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, living food diet vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, and semi-vegetarian.
The majority of vegetarians are lacto-ovo vegetarians, in other words, they do not eat animal-based foods, except for eggs, dairy, and honey.
Studies over the last few years have shown that vegetarians have a lower body weight, suffer less from diseases, and typically have a longer life expectancy than people who eat meat.

Vegan diet

Veganism is more of a way of life and a philosophy than a diet. A vegan does not eat anything that is animal-based, including eggs, dairy, and honey. Vegans do not usually adopt veganism just for health reasons, but also for environmental, ethical, and compassionate reasons.
Vegans believe that modern intensive farming methods are bad for our environment and unsustainable in the long-term. If everybody ate plant-based food, the environment would benefit, animals would suffer less, more food would be produced, and people would generally enjoy better physical and mental health, vegans say.

Gaining Weight

Foods

If you want to gain weight, it’s very important to do it right.
Binging on soda and donuts may help you gain weight, but it can destroy your health at the same time.
If you’re underweight, you want to gain a balanced amount of muscle mass and subcutaneous fat rather than a lot of unhealthy belly fat.
There are plenty of normal-weight people who get type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other health problems often associated with obesity.
Therefore, it’s absolutely essential to eat healthy foods and live an overall healthy lifestyle.
The most important thing you can do to gain weight is to create a calorie surplus, meaning you eat more calories than your body needs.
If you want to gain weight slowly and steadily, aim for 300–500 calories more than you burn each day according to the calculator.
If you want to gain weight fast, aim for around 700–1,000 calories above your maintenance level.

• Eat Plenty of Protein
• Fill up on Plenty of Carbs and Fat and Eat at Least 3 Times per Day
• Eat Energy-Dense Foods and Use Sauces, Spices and Condiments

Drinks

1. Homemade Protein Smoothies. Drinking homemade protein smoothies can be a highly nutritious and quick way to gain weight. Here are just a few tasty variations you can try. You can combine each with 2 cups (470 ml) of milk or an alternative like almond milk.
   • Chocolate banana nut shake: Combine 1 banana, 1 scoop of chocolate whey protein and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of peanut or another nut butter.
   • Vanilla berry shake: Combine 1 cup (237 ml) of fresh or frozen mixed berries, ice, 1 cup (237 ml) of high-protein natural yogurt and 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein.
   • Chocolate hazelnut shake: Combine 15 ounces (444 ml) of chocolate milk with 1 scoop of chocolate whey protein, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of hazelnut butter and 1 avocado.
   • Caramel apple shake: Combine 1 sliced apple, 1 cup (237 ml) of natural yogurt, 1 scoop of caramel- or vanilla-flavored whey protein and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of sugar-free caramel sauce or flavoring.
   • Vanilla blueberry shake: Combine 1 cup (237 ml) of fresh or frozen blueberries, 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein, 1 cup (237 ml) of vanilla yogurt and sweetener if needed.
   • Super green shake: Combine 1 cup (237 ml) of spinach, 1 avocado, 1 banana, 1 cup (237 ml) of pineapple and 1 scoop of unflavored or vanilla whey protein.
   All of these smoothies provide around 400–600 calories, along with a high amount of protein and other important vitamins and minerals.


2. Milk Milk has been used as a weight gainer or muscle builder for decades. It provides a good balance of proteins, carbs and fats and is a good source of calcium, as well as other vitamins and minerals.


3. Fresh juice If you're in the mood for a lighter beverage that will still help with weight gain, try drinking juice. While juice doesn't have the protein found in shakes, smoothies or milk, it does supply essential vitamins and minerals to boost your health as you gain weight. Drink a cup of orange or grape juice, for instance, and you'll get all the vitamin C you need for the day. That keeps your skin and hair strong, and it also strengthens your tendons and ligaments, which you need tor a healthy, active lifestyle.

Exercise

Concentrate on complex, compound exercises that recruit as many muscles as possible.
These are a few simple exercises you can do anywhere, without the need for paying for a gym membership:

• Walking Lunges - Walking lunges are one of the best strength training exercises for both men and women that help to bulk up and enhance muscles mass in the lower part of the body. You can either do standing lunges or opt for a more advanced version called the walking lunges. You can increase the difficulty level of this exercise by including free weights such as dumbbells.
• Squats - Squats are one of the simplest exercises that are often included in the best calisthenics workout routine for toning and strengthening the lower body. It can be practiced by both men and women for toning the glutes, hips, thighs and calves. Once you master the simple squat form, you can progress to more difficult versions by adding weights in order to get better results. It is one of the functional exercises to gain weight for women that help to provide a well-shaped and rounded back and in case of men it helps to develop strong and power-packed legs.
• Push ups - Push ups is one of the best exercises for upper arms that helps to get rid of love handles and developed toned, strong and ripped arms. It also helps to strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps and core muscles and is considered a complete muscle-building exercise that can be practiced by both men and women. In case of women, it helps to develop toned and strong arms without promoting huge biceps and triceps and in case of men it helps to bulk by skinny arms in an effective manner.

However, make sure to also let your muscles rest. Never exercise the same muscle two days in a row. Muscles are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. When you train, you are breaking down your muscles. Then, during the next 48 hours, as you are eating a caloric surplus and recovering, your muscles get rebuilt bigger and stronger.
For this reason, never exercise the same muscle before it’s ready. Training 3-4 days a week with a day off in between each (and plenty of calories) is plenty of training.
For more information on exercising in general, visit the fitness section of this website.

Sleep

Sleeping properly is very important for muscle growth, which in turn helps weight gain.
Even if your training and nutrition program can straight for the mouth of God almighty, without adequate rest your body will fail to adapt.
During sleep, growth hormone is produced and protein synthesis (provided protein is consumed prior to sleep) occurs.
Sleeping for 8-10 hours per night is similar to fasting and this is catabolic to muscle growth. However, eating just prior to sleeping, can help to reverse this process and increase protein synthesis. Protein synthesis does occur under conditions of sleep but it occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, not the muscles.
Muscle is actually broken down under these conditions to provide our stomach with amino acids during this time of starvation. Eating before bed is crucial in offsetting this. Some reports suggest waking up in the middle of the night to eat (nocturnal eating).

Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia is an eating disorder and serious mental health condition.
People who have anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by not eating enough food or exercising too much, or both. This can make them very ill because they start to starve.
They often have a distorted image of their bodies, thinking they are fat even when they are underweight.
Men and women of any age can get anorexia, but it's most common in young women and typically starts in the mid-teens.

Behavioural signs

• Fear of fatness or pursuit of thinness.
• Pre-occupation with body weight.
• Distorted perception of body shape or weight, for example the person thinks they are overweight when actually they are underweight.
• May underestimate the seriousness of the problem even after diagnosis.
• May tell lies about eating or what they have eaten, give excuses about why they are not eating, pretend they have eaten earlier.
• Not being truthful about how much weight they have lost.
• Finding it difficult to think about anything other than food.
• Strict dieting.
• Counting the calories in food excessively.
• Avoiding food they think is fattening.
• Eating only low-calorie food.
• Missing meals (restricting).
• Avoiding eating with other people.
• Hiding food.
• Cutting food into tiny pieces – to make it less obvious they have eaten little and to make food easier to swallow.
• Obsessive behaviour and rituals around eating.
• Excessive exercising.
• Social withdrawal and isolation, shutting yourself off from the world.

Physical signs

• Severe weight loss.
• Lack of sexual interest or potency.
• Difficulty sleeping and tiredness.
• Feeling dizzy.
• Stomach pains.
• Constipation and bloating.
• Feeling cold or having a low body temperature.
• Growth of downy (soft and fine) hair all over your body (called Lanugo).
• Getting irritable and moody.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Low blood pressure.

If you think you may have an eating disorder, even if you are not sure, see your GP as soon as you can.

If you're concerned that a family member or friend may have an eating disorder, let them know you're worried about them and encourage them to see their GP. You could offer to go along with them.

Bulimia

Bulimia is an eating disorder and mental health condition.
People who have bulimia go through periods where they eat a lot of food in a very short amount of time (binge eating) and then make themselves sick, use laxatives (medication to help them poo) or do excessive exercise, or a combination of these, to try to stop themselves gaining weight.
Men and women of any age can get bulimia, but it's most common in young women and typically starts in the mid to late teens.

Signs of Bingeing

• Eating much more food in a binge episode than in a normal meal or snack.
• Feeling that eating can’t be controlled once a binge begins.
• Hiding or hoarding food.
• Making excuses for missing food, or money taken to pay for binge foods.
• Eating until the point of physical discomfort or pain.

After a binge ends, feelings of self-disgust and shame follow. They are accompanied by the compulsion to engage in some method of purging to rid the body of the extra calories by vomiting, abusing laxatives or diuretics, periods of starving, or excessively exercising. As bulimia worsens, some sufferers feel a need to purge after eating only a small snack or a normal-size meal.

Signs of Purging
Many signs of bulimia relate to self-induced vomiting, which is the most prevalent form of purging. They include:

• Habitually going to the bathroom immediately after eating or during meals.
• Damaged teeth and gums.
• Swollen salivary glands in the cheeks (chipmunk cheeks).
• Persistent sores in the throat and mouth.
• Sores, scars or calluses on the knuckles or hands caused by self-induced vomiting.
• Scratchy or raspy voice quality.
• Misuse of ipecac syrup to induce vomiting.

If you think you may have an eating disorder, even if you are not sure, see your GP as soon as you can.

If you're concerned that a family member or friend may have an eating disorder, let them know you're worried about them and encourage them to see their GP. You could offer to go along with them.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Binge eating disorder involves regularly eating large portions of food all at once until you feel uncomfortably full, and then often upset or guilty.
Binges are often planned in advance and the person may buy "special" binge foods.
Men and women of any age can get binge eating disorder, but it typically starts in the late teens or early 20s.
As with bulimia nervosa, there are often no obvious physical signs or symptoms that someone is suffering with binge eating disorder. However, when a woman has binge eating disorder she often has numerous behavioral signs and symptoms. These may include:

• Eating large amounts of food.
• Eating even when full.
• Eating rapidly during binge episodes.
• Frequent dieting without weight loss.
• Frequently eating alone.
• Hoarding food.
• Hiding empty food containers.

Binge eating disorder is more accurately characterized by its emotional symptoms:

• Lack of control once one begins to eat.
• Depression.
• Grief.
• Anxiety.
• Shame.
• Disgust or self-hatred about eating behaviors.

After a binge, one may try to diet or eat normal meals. Unlike bulimics, who habitually purge themselves following eating binges, for a binge eater attempting to restrict food intake may simply trigger more binge eating, creating a vicious cycle.

If you think you may have an eating disorder, even if you are not sure, see your GP as soon as you can.

If you're concerned that a family member or friend may have an eating disorder, let them know you're worried about them and encourage them to see their GP. You could offer to go along with them.

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)

Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder are diagnosed according to a list of expected behavioural, psychological, and physical symptoms. Sometimes a person’s symptoms don’t exactly fit the expected symptoms for any of these three specific eating disorders. In that case, they might be diagnosed with an “other specified feeding or eating disorder” (OSFED).
OSFED is every bit as serious as anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder, and people suffering from OSFED are every bit as deserving and in need of treatment – their eating disorder is just presenting in a different way. It is common for symptoms to not fit with the exact diagnostic criteria for anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder – OSFED accounts for a large percentage of eating disorders.
Some specific examples of OSFED include:

• Atypical anorexia – where someone has all the symptoms a doctor looks for to diagnose anorexia, except their weight remains within a “normal” range.
• Bulimia nervosa (of low frequency and/or limited duration) – where someone has all of the symptoms of bulimia, except the binge/purge cycles don’t happen as often or over as long a period of time as doctors would expect.
• Binge eating disorder (of low frequency and/or limited duration) – where someone has all of the symptoms of binge eating disorder, except the binges don’t happen as often or over as long a period of time as doctors would expect.
• Purging disorder – where someone purges, for example by being sick or using laxatives, to affect their weight or shape, but this isn’t as part of binge/purge cycles.
• Night eating syndrome – where someone repeatedly eats at night, either after waking up from sleep, or by eating a lot of food after their evening meal.

Signs to look out for might include:

• Preoccupation with and/or secretive behaviour around food.
• Self-consciousness when eating in front of others.
• Low confidence and self-esteem.
• Poor body image.
• Irritability and mood swings.
• Tiredness.
• Social withdrawal.
• Feelings of shame, guilt, and anxiety.
• Difficulty concentrating.

It’s not always obvious that someone has an eating disorder – remember, they are mental illnesses.

If you think you may have an eating disorder, even if you are not sure, see your GP as soon as you can.

If you're concerned that a family member or friend may have an eating disorder, let them know you're worried about them and encourage them to see their GP. You could offer to go along with them.