2018 Popular Diet Reviews
Did you know that I have researched and reviewed 20 different popular diets this past year for CL.com? These include diets like Whole30, the Dubrow Diet, Keto, WW, Pegan Diet, Veganism, The Plant Paradox, The Obesity Code, the Alkaline Diet, Blood Type Diets, and even the Noom App.
The start of the new year brings a lot of emphasis on improving eating habits. While there is no ideal way to eat or the perfect program to follow (other than what works for YOU, your health needs and your lifestyle!), it is KEY that you get the facts about the diet or program before jumping into it. This means the GOOD, the BAD, and the UNKNOWN based on research — not your co-worker or hairdresser!
Scroll down to see a full list of all of the 2018 Popular Diets I had the opportunity to research and review for CL.com. Be sure to comment and let me know what you think!
Continue following along over on Instagram @realfoodreallife_rd / Facebook @Real Food. Real Life. - Carolyn Williams, PHD, RD for more fun content in 2019. Curious about something not listed? Comment below, email me or find me on social media to let me know what you’d like to learn more about this year!
The Pegan Diet
Everything you need to know about the diet that is taking the internet by storm.
The Ketogenic Diet / “Keto”
Can the ketogenic diet be more beneficial to our heath than previously realized?
Carb Cycling
Carb Cycling has now gone mainstream, but it is really a good way to lose weight? Better yet, it is healthy?
Intermittent Fasting
Many studies suggest Intermittent Fasting to be a healthier way to eat and be a more effective approach for weight loss… but is it really? Also, find my personal experience with Intermittent Fasting here: An RD’s Experience with Intermittent Fasting.
The DASH Diet
With virtually no food groups off-limits, the DASH Diet offers much more flexibility than other popular diet plans. So why is no one following it?
Weight Watchers
For many of us, Weight Watchers is a household name. You’ve either followed this popular, points-based diet, or you likely know someone who has. And while it may not be as buzzy as Keto or Whole30, this long-standing weight loss program has existed for nearly 60 years and continues to be a leading diet plan today. But does Weight Watchers live up to the hype?
Whole30
Focusing on healthy eating changes—albeit pretty drastic for most people—for a set time period makes Whole30 more appealing when compared to other diets with an infinite end. But how much impact can the Whole30 program really have on health, food cravings, and future food choices? Better yet, is it a safe way to eat long-term?
The Tom Brady Diet
Lots of athletes follow specific eating regimens, but most don’t make headlines. Yet, Tom Brady’s diet is one of continuous intrigue for athletes and non-athletes, and has even been featured in publications like Men’s Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Business Insider. Is it the NFL player’s picturesque life with supermodel Gisele Bundchen that makes people want to know more? Or is there solid science behind his diet principles that we should all be following?
Going Vegan
The vegan diet is becoming more and more mainstream, with people cutting out animal products for environmental, ethical and health reasons. So is veganism more of a personal or moral decision? Or is it how we should all be eating for long-term health?
The Nutritarian Diet
The Nutritarian Diet touts impressive health benefits like weight loss, reversing disease, slowing aging, and increasing life expectancy. There aren’t many people who don’t find claims like that pretty appealing, am I right?
The Military Diet
My diet review on the Military Diet for CL.com was a struggle! In fact, there wasn’t much that I could sugar-coat... other than suggesting that the Military Diet might be the most perfect definition of “fad diet” that I have even come across!
The Plant Paradox
Lectin-free is being called the new gluten-free and for good reason! The Plant Paradox by Dr. Stephen Gundry - a diet book that Kelly Clarkson credited on the CMT Awards red carpet a few weeks ago as helping to improve her health and to lose 37 pounds - promotes a lectin-free diet and claims to ultimately cure chronic disease. But is it fact or just fiction?
The Alkaline Diet
Ever wondered if there was really something to those alkaline waters you see on the shelf?
Keto + Intermittent Fasting
Combining IF and Keto? This was new to me, and something that felt pretty restrictive when you combine a small eating window and limited food choices. I checked out the latest research for Cooking Light to see if I could find evidence that there is any potential benefit – or need – for adopting a restrictive eating pattern like this.
Keto vs. Atkins
The Ketogenic Diet continues to make waves. In fact, it’s rare that a day goes by without getting a question about Keto. But, at the end of the day, the keto diet is really just another type of low-carb diet. So how does it compare to other popular low-carb diets, such as Atkins?
The NOOM App Review
Anyone else seeing Noom pop up in social media feeds? I really didn’t pay much attention to it until curiosity got the best of me! Before checking it out, I honestly thought Noom was a new home-based genetic testing kit or maybe a meditation app. I was wrong!
The Obesity Code
It might seem ironic as a dietitian, but I don’t get excited about diet books. In fact, I am usually completely skeptical until proven otherwise. BUT, but my recent read was different, y’all.
Blood Type Diets
What if customizing your diet for optimal health and weight loss was as simple as picking package A, B, AB, or O – depending on your blood type?
The HMR Diet
I’m usually pretty on top of food and nutrition trends whether they be healthy and not so healthy, but the HMR Diet is a weight loss program that I had never heard of until I started looking into it for Cooking Light.
Review of 2018 Hottest Diets for Cooking Light: Part ONE and Part TWO
Each year there is always a crop of new diet plans that pop up in the media – all of which claim weight loss or better health and a handful of which become overwhelmingly popular by intrigued consumers. This year did not disappoint!
