If you are looking to lose weight, gain muscle, or prepare your body for a performance goal, your diet is a key factor. In most cases, what you eat is more important than what you do in the gym. Weight loss, specifically body fat loss, is a big goal for most people. In the diet industry, you will hear many different pieces of advice, ranging from specific modifications to your current diet to drastic modifications and even misusing prescription medications to achieve a goal.

Now to our question, which diet is the right one?

Simply put, the diet that is right for you is the one that you can stick to while still making measurable progress.

For someone who wants to lose body fat, that means evaluating your current diet and then finding out your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE. This is also commonly referred to as your maintenance caloric intake, or what you would need to maintain your current body weight at your current activity level. To lose weight, you need to maintain your daily caloric intake below that number. A moderate deficit that is effective for most people is around 200-400 calories less than your maintenance, but start slowly to find what is best for you while still making progress.

The steps are the same for someone looking to gain weight, but instead of eating less, eat more.

In both cases, you must remember that your body needs food, and you will feel a lot better if you get an appropriate number of calories, rather than starving yourself. You will likely feel even better than that if you get an adequate amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats, preferably coming from whole foods, rather than processed foods.

Proteins are the building blocks for your body. They will help you maintain your muscles and can help you feel fuller for longer.

Carbohydrates can be the main fuel source for your cells, and the right carbohydrates can regulate insulin and maintain a healthy digestive system.

Fats, while they are the main source of stored energy in the body, also aide in regulating hormone function and play a key role in brain function.

You also need to consider your micronutrients - your vitamins and minerals - that your body needs to survive. A well-rounded diet consisting of whole foods can meet this need.

Before starting a diet that restricts specific food groups, like a ketogenic, vegan, or vegetarian diet, remember that by cutting out whole food groups, you are likely cutting out good sources of micronutrients, or even key sources of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. This does not mean that a more restrictive diet is bad for you. These diets have been key to helping many people regain their health and lose plenty of body fat. However, simply deciding to eat a specific way does not change the way your body works or eliminate the need for specific macro and micronutrients. These are simply factors to consider when deciding on how to structure your diet.

It should be noted that a number on a scale, a body fat percentage, and being able to see your ab muscles is never more important than your overall health. If you have concerns about your physical health, consult a doctor before you start any kind of diet. If you have concerns about your mental health concerning your body, you should consider speaking with a therapist before starting a diet. Making big modifications to what you eat and restricting your calories in a very short time frame is called ‘crash dieting’, and while it is rarely effective in the long term, it can also be tremendously harmful to your mind and body and can do irreparable damage if taken to an extreme.

Take things slowly, focus on feeding your body for what it needs, get enough protein, and look for a diet coach for extra help if you need it. You are well on your way to a stronger and healthier you!