Diets for Weight Loss: What a Healthy Eating Plan Looks Like

For people who are overweight or have obesity, losing weight can improve health and help prevent weight-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and some cancers. A healthy diet is an important part of any weight-loss program.

What a healthy diet looks like

A healthy eating plan:

• may include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;
• may include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts; and
• goes easy on saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars.

The key to losing weight

Weight loss comes down to burning more calories than you eat and drink. A diet helps mainly through portion control. Adding exercise to daily life helps too.

Types of diets

There are many kinds:

• Traditional ways of eating, such as the Mediterranean diet, which reflects the eating habits of a particular region.
• Diets designed for health problems, such as the DASH eating plan or a diet to lower cholesterol — which may also help with weight loss.
• Fad or crash diets, which severely restrict calories or the kinds of food allowed. They may sound promising, but they rarely lead to lasting weight loss and may not provide all the nutrients the body needs.

Sources

Based on "Diets," MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, with information from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; a work of the United States government in the public domain.