

Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to Marie Claire. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
When it comes to dieting, there are so many conflicting ideas out there—especially from "choose this, not that" elimination diet advocates—on what the best weight loss solution is. And when even the most trimmed and fit celebs seem confused on how to lose weight the healthy way, it's crucial to look to the experts for cues on how to tone up without obsessing over calories, losing muscle weight, or ditching vital food groups. Below, we spoke to nutrition experts about the red flags to look out for in any diet, and what any successful diet should entail.
1. They require you to pace yourself.
"Good diets promote weight loss of no more than one to two pounds a week," says Nigel Penny, lecturer in Nutritional Science at Birmingham City University. "If you lose more than two pounds per week after the second week of dieting, it's likely that you're actually losing muscle tissue."
2. They cut out sugar, not fat.
"Many of the newer and better diets around advocate cutting down on sugar and starch rather than fat," says Marisa Peer, author of You Can Be Thin: The Ultimate Programme to End Dieting...Forever. "Your body stores excess sugar–found in starchy carbs like pasta and bread–as fat. But good fats help fill you up, and are essential for good health. A low fat diet, meanwhile, will leave you feeling tired, hungry and cranky, and won't help you maintain weight loss."
3. They make breakfast a priority.
"A quality breakfast is vital for setting you up for the rest of the day," says nutritionist Jacqui Cleaver, of the New You Bootcamp. "All good diets will suggest you start your day with quality protein, sufficient good fat and healthy carbs. Try eggs on wheat free bread or porridge oats with berries and ground seeds."
4. They promote regular eating.
"All successful diets will promote regular, planned meals and snacks throughout the day," says Alpro dietician Kate Arthur.
5. They suggest permanent lifestyle changes.
"Effective weight loss plans need to be realistic and encourage permanent lifestyle changes, rather than relying on faddy liquid formulas and powders, or on special foods or devices," says Penny
RELATED STORIES
6. They always recommend having protein with carbs.
'The key to long-term weight loss is keeping your blood sugar low," says Peer. "If you eat protein with your carbs, this will slow down the sugar. All good diets teach you to always add protein to carbs for this reason."
7. They are nutritionally balanced.
"In good diets, all food groups need to be represented," says Penny. "A balanced diet that includes a variety of foods is essential. Promoting the consumption of one particular 'magic' food, or advocating the avoidance of specific foods, will lead to an unbalanced diet."
8. They don't promote counting calories.
"Counting calories is a very outdated concept and has now been proven to be an ineffective way to lose weight," says Peer."Consuming a low fat, low calorie muffin and latte will ultimately make you pack on more pounds than having some scrambled eggs with a cup of tea."
9. They encourage staying active.
"Good diets will also advocate for increasing physical activity to lose weight,"says Arthur.
10. They avoid processed foods.
"All good diets will tell you to avoid food made in a factory," says Peer. 'That means refined, processed food. It's not even food–just a cocktail of chemicals that never goes off. You should ask yourself whether you could make the product in your own kitchen. If you couldn't make it in a regular kitchen, you shouldn't be eating it.'
Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more.
From: Marieclaire.co.uk.
Marie Claire Newsletter
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
Francesca is the Digital Editor at Red, mostly covering fashion and beauty for the site. She has a passion for travel, books and pizza, so a holiday in Italy is pretty much her dream scenario.
-
Cody Rigsby Has the Most Relatable Fictional Crush
"I just think he could really like throw you around in the bedroom."
By Brooke Knappenberger
-
Paris Fashion Week’s Street Style Is Paying Due Respect to Beauty
Hair clips, nail art, and piercings round out fashion month’s circuit.
By Samantha Holender
-
Ava Phillippe Wears Ethereal White to Stella McCartney’s Paris Fashion Week Show
She added a clutch and snakeskin sandals to complete the look.
By Rachel Burchfield
-
Senator Klobuchar: "Early Detection Saves Lives. It Saved Mine"
Senator and breast cancer survivor Amy Klobuchar is encouraging women not to put off preventative care any longer.
By Senator Amy Klobuchar
-
How Being a Plus-Size Nude Model Made Me Finally Love My Body
I'm plus size, but after I decided to pose nude for photos, I suddenly felt more body positive.
By Kelly Burch
-
I'm an Egg Donor. Why Was It So Difficult for Me to Tell People That?
Much like abortion, surrogacy, and IVF, becoming an egg donor was a reproductive choice that felt unfit for society’s standards of womanhood.
By Lauryn Chamberlain
-
The 20 Best Probiotics to Keep Your Gut in Check
Gut health = wealth.
By Julia Marzovilla
-
Simone Biles Is Out of the Team Final at the Tokyo Olympics
She withdrew from the event due to a medical issue, according to USA Gymnastics.
By Rachel Epstein
-
The Truth About Thigh Gaps
We're going to need you to stop right there.
By Kenny Thapoung
-
3 Women On What It’s Like Living With An “Invisible” Condition
Despite having no outward signs, they can be brutal on the body and the mind. Here’s how each woman deals with having illnesses others often don’t understand.
By Emily Shiffer
-
The High Price of Living With Chronic Pain
Three women open up about how their conditions impact their bodies—and their wallets.
By Alice Oglethorpe