My Experience on Different Fad Diets (Keto, IF, Recomp, Paleo, etc)

From popular diet pills, healthy food deliveries, and different workout styles. Everyone has more or less, the same goal right? Build muscle, shed fat, get fit. One of the biggest factor in building the best body is DIET.

But how do we know which ones really work and which ones don’t? Through trial & error. We are all different. We have different bodies, lifestyle, and sleeping habits. So it’s best to research and experiment to see what’s best for you (with doctor’s approval of course).

Today I’ll be sharing with you all the fad diets I’ve tried through the years. So you can get insights not from a bodybuilder or competitor. But from a normal person.

My Experience on Different Fad Diets

(in chronological order)

Duken Diet

Duken Diet in a Nutshell

The Dukan Diet is a high-protein, low-carb weight loss diet that is split into four phases.

These are the four phases of the Dukan diet:

1. Attack Phase (1–7 days): You start the diet by eating unlimited lean protein plus 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran per day.
2. Cruise Phase (1–12 months): Alternate lean protein one day with lean protein and non-starchy veggies the next, plus 2 tablespoons of oat bran every day.
3. Consolidation Phase (5 days for every pound lost in phases 1 and 2): Unlimited lean protein and veggies, some carbs and fats, one day of lean protein weekly, 2.5 tablespoons of oat bran daily.
4. Stabilization Phase (indefinite): Follow the Consolidation Phase guidelines but loosen the rules as long as your weight remains stable. Oat bran is increased to 3 tablespoons per day.

Source: The Healthline

My Experience: I felt deprived I wasn’t even able to finish the attack phase by Day 6. Dukan diet eliminates a LOT of your food choices limiting you with bland, tasteless, unenjoyable meals. You need to have a big budget and a bigger self-control to make this work.

Paleo

Paleo Diet in a Nutshell

A paleo diet is a dietary plan based on foods similar to what might have been eaten during the Paleolithic era, which dates from approximately 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago.

A paleo diet typically includes lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds — foods that in the past could be obtained by hunting and gathering. A paleo diet limits foods that became common when farming emerged about 10,000 years ago. These foods include dairy products, legumes and grains.

Other names for a paleo diet include Paleolithic diet, Stone Age diet, hunter-gatherer diet and caveman diet.

My Experience: Thanks to Paleo MNL, I was able to cruise through a few months on the Paleo Diet because of their diet delivery services. No need to think about what to buy in the groceries and what to cook. If you don’t have the luxury of having a diet delivery service, you’d spend a lot of time meal planning. What to buy in the groceries, and what to cook.

Did I lose any weight on Paleo? Nope. Did I enjoy it? Surprisingly yes. But it’s too expensive to keep regularly.

Keto

Ketogenic Diet in a Nutshell

The keto diet is essentially a high-fat diet — your meals are 70 or 80 percent fat; about 20 percent protein; and about 5 percent carbohydrate. It is not an Atkins high-protein diet. The keto diet switches you from burning glucose (which carbs provide) to burning ketones (which fat produces) for energy

My Experience: It was easy for me to go keto because of my love for fatty steaks and bacon. It lasted a good 3 months and lost a hefty amount of weight too (5lbs). BUT, I started missing my periods, and getting hormonal mood swings. So I did my research and found out Keto is also not recommended for women and long-term ue because depriving us of carbohydrates can cause hormonal imbalance.

Keto is recommended for blood sugar control for people with Type 2 Diabetes, not for everyone. Consult a doctor or better yet, don’t try it at all.

Intermittent Fasting

IF in a Nutshell

Intermittent fasting (IF) is an umbrella term for various eating patterns designed to improve health that cycle between a period of fasting (or reduced calorie intake) and non-fasting over a defined period.

or in simpler terms; skipping meals. You either skip breakfast, lunch, or dinner OR choose a meal and forget the rest. It can differ from a 14-hr, 16-hr, 20-hr, to an even 24-hr weekly fast.

My Experience

I tried to do the 16-hr fast. The most recommended, and safest number that can show visible improvement. It was good for a few months, then my schedule made it hard for me to stay fasted. As a single-working mother, I wake up as early as 4:30AM to prep things, and sleep a little later at night. By the time I’m done prepping, I’m already starving.

Did I lose weight? Yes. Because eating in a limited number of hours forced me to go on a calorie deficit.

Recomp/IIFYM

Recomposition Diet in a Nutshell

Knowing your total calorie intake for maintanance (iffym calculator) and depending on your goal you can:

• deduct 100-200 calories – to “cut”
• add 100-200 calories – to “bulk”
• Keep protein high (.75g-1g per lb bodyweight)

My Experience

While food logging can be tedious, I found this diet plan worked for me best. It’s flexible enough to work with whatever goal I have. It doesn’t restrict me from the food I want to eat as long as they’re within my daily limit. Minimal deduction and addition makes the change sustainable and realistic.

I gained, lost, and maintained weight with IFFYM/Recomp. I highly recommend this if you can work with a tracking app. Here’s the best body recomposition tutorial if you want to learn more.

What App Do You Use to Track Food?

The ever trusty My Fitness Pal. It has the BIGGEST database, you can scan barcodes, and add custom food. Just make sure you double check if the data is accurate. Some entries are fake numbers.

Final Thoughts

Weight loss in general is calorie deficit. In reality, ALL diets work. Because their limitations from hour to food choices, can control how much calorie you take.  It’s just a matter of commitment and consistency. Some, are more realistic to work with. Others like the Keto or Duken diet, isn’t healthy in the long run. Don’t forget to consult your doctor or nutritionist first before trying any fad diets.