By Author: Brandon Roberts

In this article I am going to lay out a few of the well –known diets and how they work, along with a sample meal for each one. The term diet may strike fear into some people, but it shouldn’t be something that you run away from. Granted a diet, in the form of a deficit of calories, should not be done for a long period of time. The longest amount of time that you want to diet is roughly 16 weeks, or 4 months. I have added a bonus to the list which is my opinion of what you should eat.

Atkins diet
The Atkins diet is a high protein, medium fat and low carbohydrate diet. This is probably the most well-known of the list and can be very effective. The main idea behind it is restricted carbohydrate intake. The induction phase, which lasts a week or two, is restricted to 20 carbohydrates per day. The diet then raises the amount over the next several weeks, but never gets very high. The only thing that I dislike about this diet is that it is not good to do long term. It is highly likely that you will lose 10lbs in the first few weeks.

Ketogenic diet
The Ketogenic diet is much like the Atkins diet, but with a lower carbohydrate intake. It is a high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate diet. The idea of this diet is for your body to run off of fat for energy. This type of diet can take a week or two to adjust to. In the beginning you may feel “strange” but this is just your body running on ketones. There is an option on this diet to refeed (carb up) one day a week. This consists of eating 300-500 carbohydrates and is mostly used to fuel workouts for that day.

Paleolithic (Caveman diet)
This is a high protein, moderate carbohydrate and moderate fat diet. The main focus of this diet is to stay away from refined sugar and processed oils. Also grains, legumes and dairy products are off limits, but the good thing is that you can have lots of lean meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and nuts. This diet isn’t very well known, but can be used for a healthy lifestyle.
South Beach Diet
This is a moderate protein, moderate carbohydrate and moderate fat diet. The emphasis is on learning what types of carbohydrates you should eat and when. The protein source should be lean meat and fish. The fats should not come from trans fat and only a small amount of saturated fat is recommended. The majority of carbohydrates should come from whole grains, beans and vegetables.

B-Rob’s recommended diet
I have tried a few different diets during my journey to find the one that fits me. Instead of just concentrating on one method, I have set some general guidelines. I suggest that when dieting you eat: 1.2g of protein, 1g of carbohydrate and 0.4g of fat per lb of bodyweight. This can be adjusted depending on your activity level and is by no means set in stone. I have found that the best way to figure out what works for you is to try something and tweak it every few weeks to see if anything changes. I also think that you should not only focus on the diet, but also add in exercise 2-3 times per week for 20-40 minutes.