Upfit's Big Diet Comparison - Do you really know all the pros and cons?
Introduction to the Great Diet Comparison/diet test
Everyone can relate: You want to lose weight, finally get rid of those few extra pounds and then comes the big question: HOW? You search the internet for the right diet and soon find yourself swamped with offers and diets of all forms, all of which promise you the fastest and most comfortable way to help you achieve your desired weight. But which is the right diet for you and your personal goal? Which diets actually do what they promise? Is there one diet that is the best, the fastest, or the most sustainable? The Great Upfit Diet Comparison gives you all the important information about the most common diets at a glance and helps you shed some light on which diets are actually effective. All the diets here are analyzed in several categories, evaluated, and also assessed based on their nutritional values. (Hint: You can easily determine your optimal nutritional requirements with our BMI Calculator).
So use the Great Upfit Diet Comparison to find out which diet is right for you and your personal goal.unzähligen “Zeitschriften-Diäten” steckt
The low carb diet is a classic among diets for weight loss. The name speaks for itself: it’s all about reducing the number of carbohydrates in your diet to promote weight loss. Find more details about the Low Carb Diet here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Low Carb Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| You don’t have to go hungry because the carbohydrate deficiency is counterbalanced by other low carbohydrate foods such as meat and healthy fats—that keep you feeling full longer. | If you severely reduce carbohydrates in your diet or alter the macronutrient distribution in an unhealthy, unbalanced way, you are likely to succumb to the yo-yo effect after the weight loss phase—and regain all the weight back that you lost.. |
| You quickly develop a sense of what you can and cannot eat on a low carb diet, and you can easily find alternatives to replace high carbohydrate foods. | One of the most common mistakes with low carb diets is not sufficiently balancing the carbohydrate deficiency with other nutrients—resulting in nutrient deficiencies and food cravings. |
| The reduction of carbs leads to quick weight loss results. | |
| The increased protein intake helps you maintain your muscle mass during the diet. | |
| There is no calorie counting required. | |
| Your body uses more energy when processing proteins than carbohydrates, so fat burning is accelerated. | |
| You are free to decide how often you eat. |
The Paleo diet is also known as the Stone Age diet because this is exactly the principle that this form of nutrition is based on. On the Paleo diet, you eat only the foods that your ancestors ate thousands of years ago. Find more details about the Paleo diet here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Paleo Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| You only eat natural and unprocessed foods on the Paleo diet. | Unprocessed, natural ingredients can be more expensive—often exceeding the average price budget of a “normal” diet. |
| You are allowed to eat foods from all the nutrient groups—so you’re always adequately supplied with nutrients and experience no deficiency problems. | Paleo meal preparation may require extra time and effort—since all ingredients are unprocessed. This can be a disadvantage for working people. |
| Cutting out sugar and grains from your diet aids weight loss and can have other health benefits. | |
| The Paleo diet offers a wide variety of food options—so your choice of foods is not significantly limited. |
The 5:2 diet is one of the many forms of intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is a modified offshoot of classic fasting that’s a safe weight loss tool for short and long term use. Find more details about the 5:2 diet here.
Advantages and disadvantages of the 5:2 diet
| Advantages | Diesadvantages |
|---|---|
| On 5 days a week, you do not have to create a calorie deficit or go hungry. | In the beginning, it can be hard to eat so few calories on fasting days. Many people report food cravings at the beginning of the diet. It’s often easier to just not eat at all. |
| You do not have to count calories on non-fasting days. | |
| No foods are taboo so you can enjoy a wide range of healthy foods. | |
| This method is effective as a short term weight loss tool and safe as a long-term, healthy diet change. | |
| You don’t spend extra time doing meal prep with this diet—on fasting days you’ll spend even less time in the kitchen. | |
| You can plan your fasting days individually to best suit your schedule. |
The Factor 5 diet: Invented by celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, this diet has become very trendy for weight loss. And the name of this diet is self-explanatory: Everything revolves around the number 5. Find more details on the Factor 5 diet here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Factor 5 diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Despite prohibiting solid food, the Factor 5 Diet offers a great variety of recipes. | 5 meals per day could be an obstacle— especially for working people. Many do not have the time to prepare and eat a full 5 meals a day. |
| The diet is very diverse and can be extended to the entire family. | The number of calories and nutrients are not adjusted individually. |
| With 5 meals a day, you will always feel full and be sufficiently supplied with nutrients — this means no hunger attacks. | The integrated workout program includes very demanding exercises that are not easy for newcomers and severely overweight people. Adding these advanced exercises to your daily schedule, so abruptly, could be a challenge. |
| There is also a cheat-day planned into your week—with no rules so you can eat to your heart’s content. | You have to keep track of calories so as not to exceed 1300 kcal per day. |
| The Factor 5 diet includes a balanced workout plan | The recommended daily calorie intake is not adjusted individually to the dieter. |
The diet that created nationwide enthusiasm throughout Germany: The Brigitte diet. Find more details about the Brigitte diet here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Brigitte Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| The diet does not restrict food. So you can enjoy a wide variety of healthy foods. | You have to track the calories you eat to avoid exceeding the recommended daily allowance of 1200 kcal. |
| The diet is very diverse and can be safely used to feed an entire family. | The number of calories and nutrients are not adjusted individually to the dieter. |
| There are special pre-cooked Brigitte products that you can incorporate into your diet to save time. | Your diet does not really change—the calories in your diet are just reduced. |
One of the most well-known weight loss methods is the Weight Watchers “points” system. They developed a concept that allows customers to reduce their weight without having to forego special foods and even count calories. Find more details on the Weight Watchers diet here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Weight Watchers Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| With Weight Watchers, there are no forbidden foods, and aside from not exceeding your daily “points” allowance, there are no rules that you have to follow: you can design your nutrition plan yourself and do not have to go without any particular foods. | The freedom of the food choice in Weight Watchers can also be a danger since the point system does not ensure you eat a healthy and balanced diet. |
| The “points” calculation is very non-transparent and requires referring to special Weight Watchers food lists. | |
| With complex recipes or store-bought meals, it may be difficult to track the “points” accurately. |
The Dukan diet is divided into four phases, and the phase length is adjusted individually. You can calculate your ideal weight and the duration of your diet phase online. The nutrition plan of the Dukan diet is very strict and controlled. To help with your success, coaching is also offered—for an extra fee. Find more details about the Dukan diet from Upfits big diet comparison here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Dukan Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| You can eat as much as you want from the prescribed foods. | There is a very small food selection. |
| The almost complete omission of carbohydrates leads to quick weight loss results. | It requires a high degree of discipline. |
| Unpleasant side effects due to the omitted carbohydrates are possible. |
Unlike most other diets, the detox diet is primarily aimed not at weight loss, but at cleansing the body and relieving the mind. Find more details about the detox diet from Upfit big diet comparison here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Detox Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Your body and intestines are cleansed. | Such strict food restrictions can cause unpleasant side effects. |
| The lack of food causes rapid weight loss. | The detox diet requires a high degree of discipline. |
| The detox diet is primarily intended for cleansing and not for weight loss. |
Fasting is the temporary restriction of food intake or the total absence of food. The goal of fasting is to cleanse and relieve the bowel. More details on the fasting diet from Upfits big diet comparison.
Advantages and disadvantages of therapeutic fasting
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Your intestine is cleansed. | It requires great stamina. |
| Therapeutic fasting —under medical supervision and following certain rules—can be a great way to cleanse before starting a permanent healthy diet change. | The limited nutrient supply can cause side effects such as headaches or circulation problems. |
| Fasting is primarily intended for cleansing, not weight loss. |
The Anabolic Diet is similar to the Atkins diet. The goal is to maximize muscle mass and weight gain. Your body fat percentage should remain constant or even be reduced. Find more details about the anabolic diet from Upfit big diet comparison here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Anabolic Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Fat deposits are broken down and muscle mass is built up. | It must be combined with a high amount of strength training. |
| There’s no calorie counting. | The anabolic nutrition plan can be very unbalanced. |
| There are cheat days. | Some people crave carbohydrates during the initial stages of the anabolic diet, so a high level of discipline may be required. |
The Atkins diet is an extreme form of the low carb diet that was quite trendy in its day. The basis of the diet is the almost complete exclusion of carbohydrates. Find more details about the Atkins diet from Upfits big diet comparison here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Atkins Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| The Atkins diet does not require you to follow a strict plan and you can prepare your meals however you like and don’t even have to count calories. The plan offers so many freedoms. You just have to go almost completely without carbohydrates. | Omitting so many foods (particularly fruits and vegetables) can lead to nutrient deficiencies, as your body is not sufficiently supplied with all the necessary nutrients. To counteract this, you should take nutritional supplements. |
| The almost complete omission of carbohydrates leads to fast weight loss results. | The Atkins diet is not safe to follow over the long term. |
| The diet canquickly become unbalanced. |
The metabolic diet aims to change the way your body metabolizes food. Carbohydrate intake is severely curtailed in this nutritional program. This should reduce blood sugar fluctuations and associated food cravings. Find more details on the metabolism diet from Upfits big diet comparison here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the metabolic diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| The low carb principle leads to fast weight loss success. | The metabolic diet recommends eating high amounts of protein. In the longer term, such amounts may be too extreme. |
| The calorie intake is drastically reduced by half—leading to even faster weight loss results. | This diet’s drastic calorie deficit forces your body to lose weight too fast. The yo-yo effect is common with this diet and it can even lead to metabolic disorders. |
| The strict rules require a high degree of discipline and perseverance. | |
| Transitioning to a carbohydrate-free diet can lead to food cravings. Like other crash diets, this diet is associated with the yo-yo effect. |
In the Almased diet, meals are replaced with an Almased shake. According to Almased, fast and healthy weight loss should be possible. The Almased drinks are mainly composed of soy protein, yogurt, and honey. More details about the Almased diet from Upfits big diet comparison.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Almased Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Drinking the shakes as meal replacements saves time. | The weight loss often happens too quickly and unhealthily—this can lead to the yo-yo effect. |
| The principle is simple and does not require a complex diet change. | The diet requires a high level of discipline, since there are long periods when you cannot eat solid food. |
| You can achieve fast weight loss results. | Hunger and nutrient deficiencies are likely. |
| This diet does not promote a lasting, healthy, or sustainable diet change. |
In recent years the Sirtfood diet has become known as the “Adele diet”, named after the singer. It focuses on the consumption of the protein “sirtuin” to aid in weight loss. So what exactly does this diet involve, and who should follow it? More details about the Sirtfood diet here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Sirtfood Diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Lose up to 3 kg in the first week | The effects of sirtuin are not scientifically proven yet |
| Flexible choice of dishes | Low calorie consumption at the beginning demands a lot of self-discipline in order to achieve long-lasting results |
| Increased protein intake helps maintain existing muscle mass | Increased protein intake is accompanied by an increased water requirement |
| Time-flexibility | To prevent cravings, you should spread your meals evenly throughout the day. Otherwise, your blood sugar levels will drop, which in turn can lead to cravings |
| Juice preparation saves time (phase 1 + 2) | The successof this diet has not yet been scientifically proven by a study |
With this diet, the name is the program. You only eat ½ the amount of food you would normally eat and thus ½ of your normal daily calorie intake. By doing so, you create a calorie deficit and lose weight. Find more details about the “just eat half” diet from Upfits big diet comparison here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the “just eat half” diet
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| You don’t have to change how you eat, you just reduce your food intake. | Carrying out this diet requires a great deal of discipline, as hunger attacks are a common side effect due to the high calorie deficit. |
| Reducing your calorie intake by ½ means you can quickly achieve weight loss success. | The “just eat half” diet creates a calorie deficit that forces the body to lose weight too fast. The yo-yo effect is likely to occur after the diet phase. |
| This diet does not involve a healthy diet change. |
