Healthy eating is all about feeling great, improving your health, and having loads of energy. If you thought you need to follow impossibly restrictive diets to lose weight, we could assure you that this is simply not true. Instead of relying on fad diets to reach your goals, we suggest going for healthy diet plans approved by nutritionists and medical experts.

These foods will not only make long-term weight loss easier, but they will make you feel great, and your health will greatly improve. To make 2017 your healthiest year so far, here are healthy diet plans you can consider.

The DASH diet

The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is a dietary plan promoted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as a way to prevent and control hypertension. The menu is quite flexible, and it helps create a balanced eating plan. To follow this best diet plan, you simply need to eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Also, include fat-free or low-fat dairy, lean meat, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils into your weekly eating and avoid food high in saturated fats and refined sugar. Limiting salt intake is also recommended because too much salt is associated with an increased risk of hypertension. The Mayo Clinic offers sample menus based on the DASH diet that can help you create your weekly eating plan.

Mediterranean diet

More than 50 years ago, researchers found that people in the Mediterranean region had strikingly low rates of coronary heart disease, and this was mainly attributed to the region’s diet. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a higher intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish and by the consumption of moderate amounts of alcohol. Olive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean diet and was found to protect blood vessel health. Researchers believed that when combined with not smoking and regular exercising, this diet can lower your risk of heart disease by 80%, stroke by 70%, and type 2 diabetes by 90%. Research also shows that a diet is an effective tool for weight loss as well.

Weight Watchers diet

In its 2017 report, the U.S. News ranked the Weight Watchers diet as the best diet for weight loss. This diet can help you shed up to 2 pounds every week while also improving your overall health. The diet works mainly through calorie restrictions but no foods are off limits but for best results, eating healthy is usually recommended. You can get access to the Weight Watchers diet plans by downloading the diet program provided on the official Weight Watchers company website or by going to in-person group meetings. The diet works through what is called SmartPoints value. Some foods (the health kind) have higher points while others are lower. The goal is to stay within your daily point limits.

HMR program

Another U.S. News top-ranked weight loss option, the HMR (Health Management Resources) program is a healthy option for fast weight loss. The fundamental principle behind this program is reducing your calorie intake through meal replacement. The HMR program also requires that you increase your physical activity levels, learn more about healthy living. The claim is that meal replacement three times more likely to lead to weight loss than traditional dieting.

study published in the Nutrition Journal even found that meal replacement when compared to food-based diet plans resulted in faster initial weight loss. However, if your goal is to keep the weight off, you may want to look into other foods as the HMR program may be hard to adhere to in the long run.

The Paleo diet

While other diet plans emphasize the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, the Paleo diet focuses more on eating unprocessed food compatible with human genetics. The diet’s aim is to emulate the eating patterns of our ancestors. Studies on this diet suggest that the diet is healthy but that it also boosts weight loss. A great thing about this diet is that it is not excessively restrictive and you can tailor it to your individual tastes and needs. To start with the Paleo diet, avoid processed food such as refined sugar and corn syrup. You should also skip the legumes, grains, vegetable oils, saturated fat, and dairy. Opt for meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, and spices are some of the best brain foods.

Conclusion

Extreme dieting may lead to fast weight loss, but these diets were proven to be bad for your health and long-term weight management. Instead of torturing your body with restrictive dieting, give these expert-approved foods a try for best results. These diets were found to support overall health while helping you shed the pounds at the same time. Most of them will lead to significant weight loss after an extended period, but the wait is worth it, and you’ll feel great along with the way.