The 21 Top Weight Loss Diets – Do They Work & Pros and Cons!

As we are sure you’re aware, millions of Americans go on some form of diet every single year.

As a matter of fact, according to Boston Medical center over 45 million people go on a diet every year in the USA. That’s an astounding number of people.

Disclaimer: The following is for educational purposes only. We are not advocating a change in dietary, health or exercise protocols. Please seek the advice or council of your nutritionally educated health care practitioner before engaging in any dietary or exercise changes.

Why Do People Diet So Much?

Just like yourself, can you guess what they are all looking for?

Yes, that’s right, they all want to know one thing.

Which weight loss diet is the absolute best?

The reason they need a new diet is the last one didn’t work. Either it failed them or they failed it, usually the later.

However, before we can crown one of them King, there are a few questions that we have to ask ourselves first, likely the biggest question is:

What Is The Criteria For Picking The Best Weight Loss Diet?

Well, of course that’s the number one question, because one of those criteria has to be.

Which Weight Loss Diet Works The Best?

That’s why you’re here and in reality, that’s why we are all here is to figure out which one works the best, gets the best results and sheds the most bodyfat the quickest.

But, to judge one as the best diet out there, you also have to look at the other big factor, which is,

Which Weight Loss Diet Is The Safest?

It doesn’t do any good to follow a diet that causes health problems, ruins your metabolism or just flat out can kill you.

Even just for the simple fact that a diet is only good as long as you can stay on it. Most of the diets we will discuss below are very short term.

But, what you really need is something that changes your life.

One that works really well, gets you consistent long-lasting results, gives you all the nutrition you need and not only doesn’t cause any harm to you, but also improves your health while you’re at it.

So, what we’ve done below is listed out the top 21 diets in the US today along with a nice summary of each listing the basics of how it works and its safety.

Then there will be a link out to a new page on the site where you can read all about this particular diet and really deep dive into it to discover if it’s the right one for you or not.

The links open a different window so all you have to do is close it and you’ll be right back here, so you won’t lose your place.

On each of these pages we will cover in great detail how that particular diet works, is it safe for the short and long term?

And of course, does it get results, and exactly why it does or doesn’t get those results.

One thing to realize is that nearly any dietary change will cause adaptation.

This simply means that because you changed something your body will adapt to that change.

If you reduce calories there may be some good and some bad changes that take place depending on what type of a restriction you made.

If you started eating cake all day every day, your body would be forced to adjust too.

Those would most likely all be some pretty bad adjustments, but they would be adjustments all the same.

One thing you would not want to do is to do each diet for 2 weeks because HEY, all that constant change will keep my body guessing and I’ll end up losing weight.

No, that would be bad. Many of them are not healthy and are potentially dangerous even for the short term.

That’s why we strongly suggest that you review them and then read the full report on each that you may be interested in, so that you can find what will work best for you.

They are listed in no particular order, they are NOT listed best to worst, that will be for you to decide with our unbiased guidance.

Without further ado, here are the:

Top 21 Diets For Weight Loss!

1. Is The Atkins Diet Effective At Weight Loss?

Robert Atkins attended Cornell University Medical School, New York city, New York, in 1955 and died from a head injury from slipping on a sidewalk in NY, NY in 2003.

He did not die from being on his diet which was a false rumor that quickly circulated as people speculated on the cause of death.

The Atkins diet gradually reduces your carbohydrate levels down to the point where you enter ketosis (A state where improperly metabolized ketone bodies flow in the blood sufficiently to be recognized and attempted to be used as fuel when the body makes them in response to being low in carbohydrate for a long enough time period).

Yes, low carbohydrate diets do work and they have shown to burn slightly more belly fat than several of their counterparts over the same time durations.

Is The Atkins Diet Safe:

For very short term use it has proven to have relative safety.

However, for the long term we would not recommend it. Because in our opinions you certainly can’t live that way.

It’s not possible for you to get all the antioxidants, phytochemicals and other nutrients that you need to thrive without taking in the plant foods that contain them.

The diet is also hideously low in fiber which will slow the transitory time of foods through the digestive tract. This has so many ramifications that we could literally write a book on it.

Just a few to mention; A). Dr Walker, the father of modern-day juice therapies said, “Death begins in the colon”. B). When you slow the foods movement you give the food time enough to ferment and to begin to rot, your body is then of course subject to all of those toxins. C). Slow food transitory times are associated with both polyps and cancers of the digestive system.

To discover all the hidden secrets of the Atkins diet and whether you should use it or not go to our free blog post that covers it in depth by clicking right here now! The Atkins Diet Explained

2. Does The Low Carb Weight Loss Diet Really Work?

As we just explained above while covering the Atkins diet above in section #1, low carb diets can be used for short term weight loss. But only if they are done correctly.

Click the link below to go to our free blog post that covers low carb dieting through and through. Before you decide to do it, or even if you already are, you need to discover the truth about them, their best practice uses and their big potential downfall.

Click here to see for yourself: Low Carb Diets – The Truth!

3. The Vegan Diet For Weight Loss – Does It Work?

The really short answer is yes. In fact, it’s one of the few diets that does work for both the short and long term

The History Of The Vegan Diet

It might just surprise you in that, it’s literally as old as man himself and is our one true natural diet.

When a human is born, they don’t have claws, fangs, spring driven legs like hunter animals or a carnivore’s super short digestive tract.

If you put a cute little bunny and an apple in the crib with a toddler, the moment he rips the bunny apart and devours him whole and then plays with the apple, you let us, and the academy of science know right away.

Because in multiple tests the child eats the fruit whether it was apples, strawberries or others and then plays with the bunny.

We are not born with weapons to hunt with, such as popping out of the womb with a bow and arrow in our hands.

So, whatever foods we ate before we developed the intellect to build bows and arrows or at least spears, would be our natural or ‘nature intended’ food.

The more you think about this, the more sense it makes.

There are two reasons we bring this up.

Is The Vegan Diet Safe?

A). If you’re eating your nature-intended food, it’s going to be the safest food for you to eat.

B). It will also be the food most naturally in line with delivering all the nutrients that you need not just for dieting, but for optimal health.

For A and B to be true, we are presupposing that you’re eating a whole foods diet. Beer and French fries is vegan, but that doesn’t mean they will supply optimal health.

To discover the real insider secrets of the vegan diet from a 9-year vegan and vegan writer click the link below and go to our free blog post on is the Vegan Diet the Best Weight Loss Diet?

4. Does The Body Building Fat Loss Diet Help Lose Weight?

The body building diet is not a weight loss diet as claimed.

In fact, unless they are cutting weight to make a show weight category like middle weight, they would be quite happy gaining weight while dieting.

The bodybuilding fat loss diet is just that, one that helps you to maximize muscle retention and body fat loss.

For the most part, if they could end the diet weighing more than when they started, they would be insanely happy.

The diet is generally very high in protein with carbs being restricted to vegetables and fats restricted to only those found in the meats with some added essential fats that help in losing fat.

The diet has been shown through empirical evidence to be safe for short-term usage. However, we would like to caution you on using it long-term, as constipation and nutrient deficiencies may tend to set in.

To discover the secrets to this diet and how it can help you get shredded (ultra-lean) for a short period like a show, just click this link: The Body Building Fat Loss Diet

5. Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Weight Loss?

Yes, it does but only marginally.

Intermittent fasting is a diet where you only eat during a set time period per day usually called your window.

In other words, you might follow a 16-8 which is the most common. This means that you eat your 2 or 3 meals for the day during the 8-hour period you allot.

The other 16 hours of the day are calorie free. In other words, you can have unsweetened coffee, tea, sparkling water and other calorie and sweetener free beverages, but no food or other drinks of any kind.

The thought process on this diet is that by restricting your eating time frame, you’ll consume less calories and thereby lose weight.

Does it work? Yes, it can work if done properly.

What Is The Safety Of The Intermittent Fasting Diet?

Studies show that this diet can be performed in relative safety so long as it’s done correctly.

The only ones that really got results were those that combined intermittent fasting with caloric reduction.

Would they have achieved the same results with just the caloric restriction alone?

We will deep dive into this diet and answer that question plus many more in our free blog post:

Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Weight Loss?

6. How Does Juice Fasting Help You Lose Weight?

If you make the juices fresh yourself every day, and make them correctly, you’ll find it insanely difficult to drink enough calories.

Because fasting naturally creates a large caloric deficit, you lose weight pretty darn fast (pardon the pun).

In fact, most people find themselves with deficits of 500 or more calories per day.

The reason being that you’re not just drinking fruit juice. For the best results in overall health and weight loss the majority of your juice will be vegetable juices.

There are many types of juice fasting. We will discuss our overall favorite and the one proven to work the best in our free blog post we will link to below.

Is Juice Fasting For Weight Loss Safe?

The empirical as well as scientific evidence shows that yes, it is.

In fact, juice fasting is a form of cleansing that many undergo to rid their bodies of accumulated toxins and waste.

We here at HealthGetters.com have done quite a bit of juice fasting and will be sharing our insider secrets in a great free blog post that you can discover for yourself right here: Juice Fasting For Weight Loss And Health!

7. Does The Eat Less – Move More Diet Work To Lose Weight?

With a resounding yes, we say that other than the diet that we will introduce this coming year, the eat less – move more diet is one of the most effective overall.

How Does The Eat Less Move More Diet Work?

It’s actually quite simple and relies on the total calories in, vs total calories out principle. Or, in other words, basic math.

If you consume less calories and move your body more which uses more of those calories for fuel, then you will create a caloric deficit and of course lose weight.

Is the Eat Less Move More Diet Safe?

Yes, this is one of the safest diets to date as you are literally just eating a few less calories and then exercising. Of course, you need to seek the advice or counsel of your nutritionally educated health care practitioner before you engage in any type of new diet or exercise program.

That being said, it should be quite safe, so long as you don’t overdo it.

Go here to see our free full report: The Eat Less Move More Diet Explained!

8. Does The One Meal Per Day (OMAD) Diet Work To lose Weight?

Oh sure, you’ll lose weight, but you’ll more than likely mess up your metabolism, possibly cause colon cancer and have a heck of a painful meal each night most often followed by a near diabetic coma from all the carbs turning to sugar within such a short time frame.

Here’s why we say that.

Let’s say that you normally eat 2,500 calories per day. If that’s more or less than you eat, no big deal, this is just an example.

And you want to cut your calories by 500 to lose weight.

That means you have to eat 2,000 calories in one meal. But they all need to be from healthy calories.

To put this into perspective, think about how much one cup of broccoli is on your plate.

Now realize that you’d have to eat 80 cups of broccoli to get 2,000 calories.

So, let’s say you had 4 skinless roasted chicken breasts to take up some calories. You’d still have to have 46 cups of broccoli.

It’s just not feasible to eat that much food in one sitting if you’re eating clean calories.

If I had just my favorite mixed green salad for dinner, I’d have to have 114 cups of salad with no dressing.

So, of course I’d load it up with fruits to get in some of the calories in a much smaller space.

Well, I’d darn near be in a sugar coma from having that much fruit all at one time and my digestion. Holy cow, when it’s time to go, it’s going to be wicked.

So, as you might have guessed we are not in favor of the one meal per day diet for any purpose let alone weight loss.

Is The One Meal Per Day (OMAD) Diet Safe?

In our estimation, no.

Please read above to see what we think of it.

But suffice in saying that any diet where you have to cram all your days foods into one meal (generally at night) is likely not very healthy or safe to say the least.

Be sure to check out or free blog post where we deep dive into the details of the OMAD here: The OMAD Diet For Weight Loss

9. Is The Zone Diet Great For Weight Loss?

The premise of eating a balanced macronutrient profile to lose weight is nothing new, athletes have been doing it for centuries.

The fact that they proclaimed that 40/30/30 is the way to go is what raised up all the controversy (that’s 40 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from protein and 30 percent from fat).

Is this the correct ratio of macro’s? There are studies that show that it is and studies showing that it’s not.

Who should you believe?

Well, let’s just take a look at on macro called fat.

Having fat comprise 30% of your calories is quite a bit of fat.

If you’re eating clean foods, you’d have to add back around 5 tablespoons of olive oil into your diet each day to get the amount of fat you need and that’s after getting your other fat from your clean protein sources.

Can you imagine adding 5 tablespoons of olive oil over your foods every day, starting with breakfast.

Any diet that causes you to look at what you’re eating and monitor it will generally cause you to eat healthier and lower your calories.

So, does it work?

Yes, mostly because of your new daily diet monitoring, but yes, most will lose weight on it for a little while and then have to change to something else.

Is The Zone Diet For Weight Loss Safe?

Other than the copious amounts of fat that you have to take in and the fact that they might actually be one of the root causes of diabetes, yes, studies have shown it to be relatively safe.

Click the link to discover our complete review of the Zone Diet right here: The Zone Weight Loss Diet

10. Does The Paleo Diet Help You Lose Weight?

Yes. The Paleo Diet focuses your eating akin to a time where our ancestors were hunter gatherers. So, the Paleo Diet focusses on lean cuts of chicken, meats and fish along with fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. It limits grans and legumes because those were not generally consumed in any real quantity until our ancestors began agricultural practices.

The way it helps you lose weight is that it cuts out all the junk food in your diet. There are no chips, crackers or ice cream, remember, these were your hunter gatherer ancestors.

They didn’t have refrigerators, freezers, boxes or bags to store stuff in and preserve it.

So, they had nothing to eat but mostly raw, natural foods. This kept them both lean and healthy.

Is The Paleo Diet Safe?

For the most part, yes. In fact, if you’re a meat eater this diet may be the safest around. If you’re vegan, they have a vegan version you can attempt and see how it goes.

Both the empirical and scientific evidence shows that it has relative safety. However, as we have stated several times, you should always consult your nutritionally oriented health care practitioner prior to beginning any type of diet or exercise programs.

Go here now to see our: Full Paleo Diet Review

11. Does The HGC Diet Help You Lose Weight?

Sure, it does. But wait until the safety review below.

The HGC diet literally has you restricting calories to as little as 500 per day and taking a daily injection of Human Growth Hormone (hence the name HGC Diet).

Is the HGC Diet Safe?

Uh, let’s think about that for a grand total of about 1 millisecond, NO!!!

This has got to be one of the poorest diets out there as far an any safety rating could be applied.

The diet is abysmal. Can you imagine the health consequences of a 500 calorie a day diet wreaking havoc on your immune system and setting up your metabolism for a train wreck in the future?

Please don’t attempt this diet, it’s not even safe under a doctor’s supervision.

Click this link to see our complete review that’s bound to get a few laughs as well: The HGC Diet

12. The Dukan Weight Loss Diet – Does It Work?

Yes, you can definitely lose weight on it because it’s a low carb, high protein diet that also emphasizes exercise.

It has the dieter eat mostly red meats, pork and fish along with Greek yogurts, sour cream and other high fat low carb foods.

Is The Dukan Diet Safe?

Short term you will likely encounter some constipation and slower bowel movements. Long term you will likely suffer from nutrient deficiencies because of the lack of fiber rich foods that contain these nutrients.

In our opinion it is no better or safer than most other low carb diets and so in the long term it cannot be recommended.

Head on over to the full breakdown of the diet on our free blog post: The Dukan Diet Explained

13. The Ultra-Low-Fat Diet – Will It Help You Lose Weight?

The answer is yes.

When you take your fat levels to ridiculously low numbers you make a lot of room calorie wise for lots and lots of fruits and vegetables.

Just so long as you also have a caloric deficit you will lose weight. You can do this by lowering your calories and raising your exercise levels.

On this diet you should feel full most of the time because of the large amounts of food you can consume.

Is The Ultra-Low-Fat Diet Safe?

Yes, studies indicate that for the short term it is relatively safe.

In the long term you should switch to a moderate fat diet like the Mediterranean diet as the overall fat loss is better and it’s safer since you get the essential fats on that diet.

You can read the entire review here: The Ultra-low-fat diet

14. The Snake Weight Loss Diet – Does It Work?

We are not going to recommend this diet to anyone, it is dangerous. It’s based on the feeding patterns of snakes which only feed once every few days.

Is The Snake Weight Loss Diet Safe?

In our opinion, no, absolutely not. There is no real published research on humans eating like snakes, even though the diet author points to studies, they just don’t justify the method.

Even though you don’t want to try it, this is one where you should read about it just to discover how strange it is: The Snake Diet

15. Is The Mediterranean Diet Good For Weight Loss?

The Mediterranean diet has both science and empirical evidence as to its efficacy.

Yes, you can lose weight on it so long as you also have a reduced caloric intake.

This diet allows a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats and fishes along with generous amounts of real olive oil. We say real because much of it is fake these days.

Is The Mediterranean Diet Safe?

Yes, it’s one of the safest diets on the list. It has decades of use in its mostly current form throughout several countries and has science to back it up as well.

To discover this diet for yourself click this link: The Mediterranean Diet

16. Water Fasting For Weight Loss – Does It Work?

Sure, of course it will, you’re not eating anything, just drinking water.

You’re relying on your body to stimulate autophagy, which is the breakdown and cleanup of all the old dead cells so that they can be recycled into new ones.

Water fasting short term under a doctor’s supervision can do wonders for your health. Long term however, it is not at all advised.

Is Water Fasting Safe?

If short in duration and under professional care, yes. Long term, no. There is just no way for you to get the nutrients you need and so, of course you will develop challenges, such as blatant nutrient deficiencies.

You can see our free blog post here: all about water fasting

17. The Calorie Counter Diet For Weight Loss – Does It Work?

The short answer is yes.

The reason is that you write down every calorie that goes into your mouth. You ensure that you have a slight caloric deficit at each meal, and this adds up to a larger deficit by the end of the day.

It’s complicated to stick with long term, but it’s incredibly effective if you can.

Is The Calorie Counter Diet For Weight Loss Safe?

Yes, if you don’t take it to extremes where you are depriving yourself and so thereby not getting the nutrition you need, the yes, it can be very safe if done correctly.

Go see this diet for yourself at our free blog post here: The Calorie Counter Diet For Weight Loss

18. Does The Rice Diet For Weight Loss Work?

Don’t do this diet. Of course, you’ll lose weight, all you’re eating is a small amount of white rice.

However, there are no nutrients and virtually no fiber on this diet which is insane for long term use.

Don’t do it, just stay away.

Is The Rice Diet For Weight Loss Safe?

In our opinions, no way.

See above for some of the reasons.

This diet came to prominence due to a study showing that a diet of only white rice cleared out arteries. And that the participants of course lost weight.

People focused on the weight loss and not that it was medically supervised to remove plaque from arterial walls.

For a very cool breakdown of this diet click here: The Rice Diet For Weight Loss

19. Can The Liquidarian Diet Help With Weight Loss?

Yes, it sure can, but of course depending on which liquids you’re drinking.

This diet can be done as a juice fast combined with other fruits, vegetables and maybe a protein powder added in as shakes.

The reason it rose to popularity is that is tastes great, is easy, and you were born consuming liquids only, so for many it makes sense.

Is The Liquidarian Diet Safe?

It can be very safe for the short term so long as you’re doing it correctly. Long term studies are lacking. However, long term juice fasting of 90 days or more has been well studied and has shown itself to be relatively safe so long as the juices are well rounded enough as to provide all needed nutrition.

You really should check out our free blog post covering it in great detail here: The Liquidarian Diet

20. Will The Flexitarian Diet Help You Lose Weight?

Yes, to the extent that any other diet will, so long as you maintain a caloric deficit, sure it will.

A flexitarian is vegan most of the time with some meat, fish and dairy meals thrown in whenever they feel the need. Hence the use of flex in the name.

Is The Flexitarian Diet Safe?

Yes, there is literally nothing unsafe about it unless you count the fact that animal products have cholesterol and some other bad fats.

Other than that, it would be no more dangerous than any other diet.

To discover the ins and outs of the diet go here: The Flexitarian Diet

21. Can The Noom Diet Help You Lose Weight?

Yes, it can. The Noom Diet essentially just ensures that you’re eating semi healthy foods that they say are healthy foods and replacing them for your bad foods.

I.E. Don’t eat a pint of ice cream eat a pint of strawberries and a piece of cheese instead.

There is a lot of logic in that, you’re just having people switch out their bad foods for better foods that they will still enjoy.

Is The Noom Diet Safe?

It should be if done right.

It should be a whole lot safer than most of the things people put in their mouths without a care or thought.

To check out our take on this diet go here: The Noom Diet

Sources:

1. https://www.bmc.org/nutrition-and-weight-management/weight-management

2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19082851/

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12761365/

4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20107198/

5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15533250/