Regardless of the diet you choose to adhere to, experts note that the main driver of weight loss is via a caloric deficit (in which you burn more calories than you consume). This is why a high protein diet seems to produce such favorable changes in body composition—there is evidence to suggest that higher protein diets may indeed promote a loss of body fat through mechanisms related to the thermic effect of feeding (the amount of energy it takes to digest and process the food you eat), as well as promoting better satiety.
With that in mind, there are many expert-backed eating patterns that can promote weight loss for men. Here are a few of the top recommendations.
DASH Diet
Julie Miller Jones, Ph.D., a board-certified nutritionist and scientific advisor for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Joint Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition for the University of Maryland, recommends the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet for men interested in weight loss.
Originally developed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to help lower blood pressure, the DASH Diet provides general guidelines of how many servings from each food group you should aim for each day. In particular, the diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, vegetable oils, fish and poultry. While calorie counting is not required with this eating plan, it doest limit daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams or less. It also recommends limiting foods high in saturated fats, tropical oils and sugar-sweetened beverages.
As Dr. Miller Jones points out, the DASH diet is not overly restrictive and can be followed long-term. “I always say that you should never go on a diet that you cannot live with for the rest of your life,” she says. “There are no forbidden foods, just foods that you should choose infrequently, and the DASH diet supports this mantra.”
While the DASH diet is famous for its heart health benefits—such as lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol—it can be effective for weight loss, too, as it encourages nutrient-dense whole foods and physical activity. According to one review of 13 studies, a low-calorie DASH diet was found to be more effective for weight loss and fat loss than other low-calorie diets.
Mediterranean Diet
Joan Salge Blake, a registered dietitian and nutrition professor at Boston University, recommends both the DASH Diet and Mediterranean diet as her top choices for weight loss for men. “Both are backed by research and have been shown …….