A simple guide to picking the diet that suits you and your goals. 

Picking a diet that suits you is important. Different people respond differently to each diet as a result of numerous factors; their body composition, their tastes, their psychological relationship with food. Certainly, it is important to take the long view on dieting. Fast weight loss diets and yo-yo dieting can be disastrous, with many reporting to gain weight over time.

There is no silver bullet and for a completely healthy lifestyle, dieting should be coupled with physical activities for best results - not just in terms of weight loss, but for long term benefits to your physical and mental health.  

We recommend you read through this guide and discover how each diet works physiologically. Shop around for the diet that best fits you and remember, whatever diet you choose, Lo-Dough has got your back, putting the foods you crave back on the table even when trying to lose weight or simply maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Calorie Tracking

By carefully tracking your calories, you can get your self into a 'calorie deficit'. This means your body is burning more energy than you are putting and and such you will lose weight. Most commonly this is done by limiting fats, although increasingly, people are understanding that the excess consumption of carbs contributes significantly to a daily calorie count too.

The NHS website offers a good breakdown of men's and women's daily calorie goals. 

Keeping an eye on everything you eat can be a lot of work. If you're looking to keep track of your calorie intake, tracking apps such as MyFitnessPal help you record and track your meals and calories. 

This Heathline article goes into more depth on this style of dieting.

Discover our best low calorie recipes here.

Recipe: Low-Calorie Creamy Leek and Mushroom Lasagne

Low Carb Diet (or Low sugar) diet

Without going the whole hog and choosing keto/Atkins, etc, you can minimise your carb intake as a way of controlling calories. By reducing carbs, you can reduce the higher calorie count of many meals. A good place to aim with this diet is around 80g of carbs a day, making sure this comes from complex carbohydrates found in fruit and veg. There are a number of simple swaps (out with potatoes, in with celeriac), but the easiest swap of all is swapping out breads and cakes for their Lo-Dough equivalents. 

Where many feel they will miss out on bulk and substance without plenty of carbs, what Lo-Dough offers is gut friends and appetite satiating fibre — one third of your daily recommended intake in every base.

Medical News Today offers some great tips on dieting the low carb way.

Discover our best low carb recipes and our favourite low sugar desserts. 

Recipe: Low Carb Peri Peri Chicken Pizza

Ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high fat diet which has seen popularity not just in weight loss, but also in wellness and medical fields too. Experts claim that a keto diet has fast and effective weight loss results, though debates are still on about whether or not it’s a suitable diet long term. 

Maintaining ketosis is one thing, but getting there in the first place is quite another. The body will go into ketosis when, put simply, it has no access to carbohydrates (it normal source of fuel) - it then starts to break down fat to use for energy instead. When the body’s in ketosis, fats are broken down and ketone bodies, or “ketones,” are created for the body to use for energy. 

Strict keto requires that you stay at under around 20g carbs a day and that you derive the majority of your other calories from fat alone, with a few extra from protein. 

The diet doctor website goes into further detail here.

Discover keto friendly recipes here. 

Recipe: Keto Quiche

Mediterranean Diet

High in fresh fruit, veg, fish and quality oil (namely extra virgin olive oil), this diet comes high recommended by health experts and foodies alike! This is about wholesome food; even the occasional glass of red wine. It must be noted that coupled with this diet, the mediterranean lifestyle includes plenty of exercise and physical activity too.

Help guide offer numerous reasons in their article here, from fighting against heart disease to slowing cognitive decline.

Recipe: Mackerel Wrap

Fodmap

FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are short chain carbohydrates that are badly absorbed in the small intestine and are prone to absorb water and ferment in the colon.

Not recommended as a weight loss diet, a low-FODMAP diet is recommended for managing patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and can reduce digestive symptoms of IBS including bloating and flatulence.

Read more about the FodMap diet, including the fruits and veg you should be eating and those you need to avoid, here.

Discover our best gut-friendly recipes here.

Recipe: Lo-Dough French Toast with FodMap friendly Fruits

Using Lo-Dough as part of a healthy lifestyle 

When it comes to dieting, there is no one way of doing things that will be guaranteed to work for you. Everyone is unique, right down to their metabolism, so finding a diet that works and that you can stick to is a personal thing.

Perhaps the best way to look at dieting is making small but sustainable changes to the way you eat and live, rather than an all or nothing attempt that comes crashing to a halt somewhere around Jan 31st. Lo-Dough has a place in all the diets above, giving your the freedom to diet in the way the best suits you, while still enjoying delicious, indulgent and nutritious food.