Over the years, I have worked with and socialised with a lot of people that follow an eating regime, of some kind. I am aware Keto has had a bit of a following but to be honest I don’t know anybody that has lost weight on that diet or enjoy that diet.

There are two goals with a diet program, one is to lose weight and the other is to maintain weight. So after a lot of conversations with people and the diet plans they find successful, I thought I would look at the top 4 that groups of people I know actually work.

Regardless of what plan you follow, tracking activity, water, and food are key to not only losing weight, it’s also key to maintaining your ideal weight and body.

5:2 Diet Plan

It was popularised by British journalist Michael Mosley, as pointed out in Healthline magazine about the 5:2 diet.

This is a form of intermittent fasting, and some people enjoy the flexibility of their eating plans. This might work for you if you want flexibility and a form of structure. Again, tracking is essential, and you need to stick with an eating plan for at least a month to get the full benefit. The plus side is that this is a lifestyle diet, and the negative side is that not everyone can fast, which would eliminate some. It does work well for some, and if that is your leaning, you could try it for a month and see what you think.

Atkins Low Carb Diet

This works for men and women. A lady I knew at work had great results with this. She managed to lose over 28kg or 60 pounds (I don’t want to mention her name for privacy reasons). At the same time she went on Atkins, a lot of others at work went on the same diet plan.

Like Rob Lowe, currently representing Atkins, they all had good skin, a healthy level of energy, and looked well. I saw this in all of them. If you enjoy their plan, this could work for you. I’ll share the link to the diet plan and mention that they do sell products that might be handy for busy days and help the plan work for you.

Harvard Health has examined intermittent fasting as a viable option for losing weight. The month rule applies to these principles, as does following a maintenance program to help maintain health and a healthy weight. 

Weight Watchers or WW

WW works. It allows you to build a program that suits you and offers a lot of their zero foods list, which is great for people who want to eat a higher volume of food rather than just rely on willpower. Small changes allow for more permanent changes, which leads to the ability to maintain your lifestyle. 

These programs work best with menu planning, some activity, and tracking, usually done through an app. 
These aren’t magic bullet ideas but lifestyle ideas that should support you and your needs.