The Best Free Diets
The old saying goes, "The best things in life are free." While you would have a hard time finding a nice car or a house with that logic, there is some validity to it in the field of nutrition. Hiring a nutritionist and paying several hundred dollars for a program is always an option, but when you have a resource as versatile as the internet, why bother? There are a slew of diets online no further than a click away. But how to tell the effective from the useless?
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Defining a Good Diet
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A good diet should fulfill a number of requirements. First, it should allow you to meet your diet goals. Second, it should be a relatively healthy system of eating for your body. Finally, it should teach you the principles you need to keep weight off for good. Most diets accomplish one or two of these goals, but the ideal diet will accomplish all three.
The 7 Rules Diet
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The 7 Rules Diet by Dr. John Berardi answers this "best dieting dilemma" with aplomb. Dr. Berardi is a biochemist and nutritionist from Canada who works with clients ranging from average Joes to professional athletes. Regardless of their nutritional goals, all his clients are in strict compliance with the 7 Rules, making it an ideal and versatile plan for weight management. And it is absolutely free.
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The 7 Rules
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The 7 Rules are as follows:
1. Consume small meals every two to three hours
2. Consume lean protein with every meal--eggs, fish, chicken, or meat
3. Consume fruit and vegetables with every meal
4. Consume carbs from only fruit or vegetables
5. Consume at least 25 percent of your daily calories from fat
6. Drink only zero-calorie beverages
7. Consume only solid meals--no liquid nutrition
About the Caveman Diet
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Another free weight-loss plan that fulfills the three requirements listed above is the Caveman (or Paleo) Diet by Dr. Ben Balzer. The Caveman Diet models your dietary practices after the nutritional choices of our primitive ancestors. Thus, strive to eliminate all grains, beans, dairy, potatoes, sugar and added salt from your diet. Eat only meat, fish, chicken, eggs, fruit, veggies, nuts and berries--foods that could be hunted or foraged by our ancestors.
Considerations
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Of course, it might be difficult to jump straight into either the 7 Rules or the Caveman Diet. If you are the kind of person who burns out after a couple of weeks of strict dieting, take a more moderate approach: follow one or two of the rules from either diet each week and increase them gradually so that you don't feel overwhelmed and quit prematurely.
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