The Banting diet is one of the diets that help start a healthy life, It is a low-carb diet, High in fats, avoids added sugar and processed foods like all healthy diets, and relies on non-starchy vegetables, animal protein, and healthy fats like avocado and olive oil.
This system is not the only one that follows this policy, But recently many low-carb and high-fat diets have become popular, each with some differences in details, and this diet helps with significant weight loss. It was created by nutritionist Tim Noakes.
This diet is divided into 4 stages, Carbs should not exceed 10%, protein about 20%, and fats around 70% or 75% of daily calories. You get this from it, and this plan is great for people with gluten sensitivity because it completely cuts out gluten-containing grains like sugar.
What can I eat?
This plan focuses on avoiding bread, butter, milk, sugar, and starchy veggies like potatoes, carrots, beets, and turnips. Also, it's split into 4 phases:
- Note: What the food you eat does to your body.
- Recovery: Renewing nutrients and gut plants by eating a moderate-carb diet.
- Transition: This is the fat burning phase, using a plan free of carbs, sugar, and gluten.
- Maintenance: You reach this phase when you meet your goal and keep following a gluten and sugar free plan, but carbs go up a bit.
This plan relies on eating 4 small meals a day, You should only eat if you’re hungry, You should eat mindfully and wisely, know the signals telling you’re hungry, and stop eating when full. This plan can work for vegetarians too, not just meat-eaters, but you should work with a nutrition specialist in that case.
Allowed foods
As we mentioned earlier, there are some foods allowed in this plan. If you're following it, you should know them well and keep them at home to avoid messing up your diet. They are:
- Meat, fish, and eggs:You can eat any amount of these foods but avoid processed stuff like lunch meat and beef. Make sure to stay away from canned foods with added sugar.
- Fruits, vegetables, and legumes: tMost non-starchy veggies on the green list are fine to eat freely. But with most legumes and fruits, eat only a small amount and only at specific times.
- Dairy products: Butter, hard cheeses, and heavy cream are all okay to eat freely. But milk, cream cheese, yogurt, and the likes should be eaten sparingly. Same goes for milk substitutes like almond milk, rice milk, and coconut milk.
- Oils: There are many types of oils allowed to use: avocado oil, coconut oil, and olive oil.
Benefits of the banting diet
There are some benefits of this diet that might encourage you to start it:
- Customizable: Bodies react differently to all diets, so this one is flexible and customizable to fit the girl doing it, deciding what the body needs and providing the foods at each stage.
- No calorie counting: Carb ratios aren’t fixed but change based on the girl’s condition. You don’t count daily calories, it just blocks forbidden foods.
- Hunger cues: This system helps you listen to your body and eat when you're hungry, so don't stay hungry for long periods.
Drawbacks of the banting diet
This system also has some drawbacks, and these may not suit you, so make sure it's right for you before starting, such as:
- Restrictive: This system blocks many foods which some find very harsh, even in the final stage those foods are banned, and nutritionists say this is unhealthy for people with a history of eating disorders.
- Lacks evidence: This system bans a lot of healthy foods like whole grains and legumes without any scientific proof, even though they have high nutritional value.
- Consistency: This diet is hard for a girl to stick with for a long time because it bans a lot of foods. Also, it doesn't set a maintenance period, so many nutritionists see it as a temporary plan.
If you're following this plan, it's best to do so with a nutritionist to make sure you get all your minerals, vitamins, and needs. It's not recommended for people with diabetes, heart diseases, or high blood pressure. Also, note this diet alone won't make your body healthy. you need to exercise or do some physical activity.
Losing weight is a long-term journey and should be done in healthy ways. So, you can join Fitness Garage members and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle.
