It's possible to drop weight on almost any diet, provided you're devoted to the rules. How much weight, how quickly it comes off and how safely you lose it may depend on the particulars of the diet you choose. Familydoctor.org advises that sensible weight loss is no more than 2 lbs. per week. Some diet plans promise to accelerate this.
Low-Calorie Diets
To lose 2 lbs. per week on a low-calorie diet, you'd have to consume 7,000 fewer calories than your body needs for metabolism, digestion and activity in seven days' time. Familydoctor.org suggests that the healthiest way to do this is to eat fewer calories and to get more exercise. A low-calorie diet usually restricts your intake to 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day, depending on your gender. A very-low-calorie diet can reduce your daily calories to 800 or less, and is only advisable under the guidance of a physician. To lose 1 lb. per week, or 20 lbs. in 20 weeks, you'd have to cut back a total of 500 calories per day, either through eating less, exercising more to burn them off, or, preferably, a combination of both.
Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Low-carbohydrate diets such as Atkins and South Beach work on the premise that carbohydrates, particularly simple carbs, cause an increase in insulin production and this prevents your body from burning its own fat for energy. Both diets begin with a two-week period of very low carbohydrate intake, about 20 g a day. The Atkins Diet predicts that you can lose up to 15 lbs. in this first two-week phase alone. Then your weight loss will taper off to the recommended 1 to 2 lbs. per week as you begin to add carbohydrates back into your diet. If you closely follow the rules, you could potentially lose 20 lbs. in a little over a month, but MayoClinic.com advises that there may be some health risks associated with cutting your carbohydrate intake back so radically.
Low-Fat Diets
Conventional wisdom has blamed the fat content in diets for obesity, but according to The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide, this is not definitive. Harvard cites a study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2004 that was among the first to turn the accepted concept of low-fat weight loss upside down. In the study, low-carb dieters lost 11.2 lbs. on average after a year, and low-fat dieters lost approximately 6.8 lbs. in a year. At such a rate, it could take some time for you to lose 20 lbs by just cutting back on fat alone. However, modifying the amount of fat you consume can be healthy, especially if you try to eliminate saturated and trans fats, which contribute an increase in bad LDL cholesterol and which can lower good HDL cholesterol. A low-fat diet usually requires that no more than 30 percent of your daily calories comes from fat.
Other Diets
Mediterranean-style diets usually involve a lifestyle change, rather than just cutting back on calories, fat or carbs. They usually concentrate on more healthy polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats and eating in moderation. Your weight loss might be slower, but such an overall change in your dietary habits could help you lose 20 lbs. and keep the pounds off in the long term. The American Heart Association advises against crash and fad diets that promise radical weight loss in a week by concentrating on eating only one type of food for days at a time.
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