We’re not going to sugarcoat it--dieting sucks. It’s awful. It’s hard. It’s not fun. But if your goal for the New Year is to shed a few extra pounds, there are some diets that work better than others for women. Here are the top 7 diets that work best for women’s bodies. 

We also have a blog on how to lose weight after baby that you can read here. It has meal ideas as well. 

The Mediterranean Diet:

This diet is really popular with women because it still allows you to eat pasta. I’m sold! The concept behind it is that you can eat pasta, fish, olive oil and nuts and there’s no calorie restrictions. The downside is you have to dramatically cut down your sugar intake. Experts say that following the Mediterranean diet will help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as well. Is it right for you? This diet is a good fit for someone who is looking to make a long-term lifestyle change. 

Weight Watchers: 

Weight Watchers (or WW) is one of the most popular weight loss programs out there because it teaches you how to make healthy choices to lose weight. This isn’t your typical crash diet to shed weight, if losing a lot of weight is your long term goal, this may be the best option for you. So how does it work? You have a set of points you’re allowed to use a day, so you can pick whatever you want to eat as long as you stay within your point system. It’s one of the easier diets to follow because you don’t feel too restricted when it comes to the occasional sweet treat. 

KETO Diet: 

The KETO diet has gained a lot of popularity in recent years due to the fact that you can shed a lot of weight very quickly. How does it work? The diet aims to get your body into a state of ketosis, which happens when the body stops using glucose as its main energy source and starts using ketones instead. The high fat, low carb diet is really popular in Silicon Valley because of its alleged brain-boosting benefits. The only issue with the KETO diet is that it’s more of a short-term solution to weight loss. The minute you start eating “normal” again, you’ll easily put the weight back on. 

The New Atkins Diet:

This isn’t the same diet you heard about from the 90’s. Or is it? With the New Atkins diet, you have to restrict carbs in a major way. You’ll lose weight quickly but it will be hard to limit your carb intake to just 20g a day. As a point of reference, one potato or one small handful of pasta is 20g of carbs, or if you want a sweets version--half a fun size of peanut m&ms is about 11g of carbs. The Atkins is similar to KETO in that you will absolutely lose a lot of weight quickly, but it isn’t sustainable for the long term.

Raw Food Diet:

This sounds like the worst diet of them all, but here we go: the raw food diet is exactly what you think it is--eating raw foods. Say goodbye to warm sandwiches, hot soup, grilled veggies, etc. The concept is that you should only consume foods that are uncooked because they are richer in vitamins, minerals and enzymes. The diet claims to lower your sodium intake, give you clear skin and better digestion, which sounds great, but it’s also unreasonable and difficult to maintain in the long run, so buyer beware. Treat this diet like a short term solution, you need clear skin for an upcoming event? Eat more raw food. Are you having weird bloating pain and digestive issues? Eat more raw food. 

Intermittent Fasting 8:16:

Intermittent fasting is another diet that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. The general rule is that you can eat whatever you want (but please don’t binge on just m&ms and wonder why you’re not losing weight) for 8 hours and then you fast for 16 hours. According to David Zinczenko, author of The 8-hour Diet, eating all your meals within a set window is the key to losing body fat. “By carving out an eight-hour window in which to eat to your heart's content, you'll burn your body's fat stores effortlessly. The science is actually simple: For several years, researchers have been producing remarkable weight loss results in people using "intermittent fasting". In this case, fasting is about eating whatever you want, but staying within a sensible eight-hour window. This gives your body the chance to burn away your fat stores for the energy it needs.’ If you are trying to have kids or pregnant this diet is not for you! 

The Pegan Diet:

The Pegan diet is basically a combination of what a caveman and a vegan would eat. With this diet you eat plenty of plant based foods and whatever a caveman would eat. The idea is that you eat wholesome nutritious food and no processed carbs or sweets. Because you’re cutting out gluten and carbs, it’s best to contact your doctor to find out if this is a good diet for you. 

**This is an opinion piece, please consult with your doctor before starting a new diet.