It’s been said that dieting comes with many benefits, including having an improved mental state, performing better in professional settings, and feeling less lethargic throughout the day. Dieting is often discussed yet rarely understood; many people don’t understand the possible cons one may experience doing it, like how easy it is to fall prey to obsessive dieting. Regardless, dieting can be a great option for you as long as it is professionally advised, and you’ve maintained a relatively healthy eating pattern in the past. It can also be helpful for those in sports who are trying to get into shape for this upcoming season. To begin, let’s look at three different types of diets. 

Let’s look at the paleo diet, also known as the caveman diet. This diet attempts to simulate how people’s diets were 2 million years ago during the Paleolithic era. It mainly consists of very simple foods, such as lean meats, fish, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, which are also low-glycemic foods. The caveman diet is a hotly-debated topic that often divides opinions. For example, people often discuss how modern day foods correlate with the food during that era, what foods actually existed at that time, and variation in diets due to different regions. Due to this, it’s fair to say that this diet is very open ended and relies on your own interpretation of it (Harvard T.H Chan).

Secondly, we’ll look at a diet you have definitely heard of before: the keto diet. This diet strives to force your body into using ketone bodies, energy the liver produces from stored fat, to fuel your body. This is as opposed to using glucose, which comes from carbohydrates, to be your body’s energy source. The main focus of this diet is fat consumption, and the goal is to deprive yourself of carbs. Since this diet is geared toward a higher intake of fat, it mainly consists of eating fat-heavy foods, such as avocado, seeds, nuts, tofu, olive oil, and fruits which are supposed to only be eaten in small portions. This diet has sparked controversy because of its ranging outcomes and the fact that it has a very strict agenda. Lots of professionals have voiced that this diet is risky, and the cons of following through on it outweigh the pros. The use of this diet could result in nutrient deficiency, liver and kidney problems, and fuzzy thinking, and mood swings resulting from a lack of carbs. Because of this, it is not recommended by professionals.

Lastly, let’s look at the Atkins diet, which is also focused on heavy fat consumption and low carb intake. The goal of this diet is to change your metabolism and use fat instead of calories as your main energy source. This is very similar to the keto diet, except for the fact that this diet has no limit on how much fat you can eat. You can very casually eat however many calories you want, and you have free will when it comes to portion sizes. However, this diet is extremely strict when it comes to counting carbs. Let’s take a look at how our athletes at Yorba Linda High School feel about dieting. 

“It can be extremely helpful and is a good way to lose weight, plus it helps athletes get in shape. But at the same time, it’s always good to be cautious of your own dieting, because sometimes the desire or obsession to be skinny can lead to eating disorders, that is among other things. So, it’s always a good idea to just play it safe and always talk to a professional” says track star Nicole Slack (10). 

There you have it folks, the three most popular diets and all about them. At the end of the day, dieting is a personal choice, and if you feel that dieting is what will make your body feel most positive, then use this article to your advantage.