Painless Diets

We all know what to do to lose weight: eat less. It’s so simple that many of us refuse to believe it. We need something more complicated, some sort of scientific scheme or strategy to melt the fat away. Or maybe we just need an ordered regimen that helps us keep tabs on what we eat.

The following diets are fairly straightforward, easy to use and don’t require any dubious miracle drugs, fasts or cult memberships. Even better, they don’t ask you to completely give up your favorites, like sweets, breads, fried chicken or bacon. Well, maybe bacon. But as diets go, these are fairly painless. Give them a chance; they might be just what you’re looking for. But remember: Any diet plan is a short-term solution. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you’ll need to change your eating habits for good and exercise regularly.

The Volumetrics Eating Plan

This diet is all about good substitutions. Craving a candy bar? Reach for a banana instead. Replace those chips and dip with some raw veggies and low-fat dressing. According to Dr. Barbara Rolls, the author of the plan, the great thing about these substitutions is that they make you feel full without packing on the pounds. You can eat more of them without getting pudgy. It’s so ridiculously logical that it’ll probably work.

You get to eat: More. That’s right: You get to eat more. But you’ll have to replace high-fat, high-calorie foods like butter, mayo, cheese, and pudding with low-calorie, high-volume stuff like fruits and vegetables. Not that tough, right?

The Rainbow Diet

Colorful foods are good for you. That is, naturally colorful foods; a few pounds of Skittles will not do your body good. The Rainbow Diet is based on this simple inference, gleaned from a few million years of eating. Those who eat a “rainbow” of foods typically lead healthier lives. Richly colored fruits and veggies are chock-full of vitamins and nutrients that help you build and sustain a healthy body. The authors of the Rainbow Diet have gone to the trouble of finding out which colors correspond to which nutrients. The bottom line: Stay healthy and slim by eating a variety of brightly colored raw fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. Don’t eat too much overall and watch your fat intake.

You get to eat: Whole-grain breads, cheeses, dips -- you name it. Just cut back on high-calorie, high-fat foods and be sure you get a good dose of colorful fruits and veggies every day.

The DASH Diet

The DASH diet was developed to combat high blood pressure, but it can make anyone healthy and trim. This eating plan avoids salty and high-fat foods, and pretty much anything that’s bad for you. It asks you to increase your fruit and vegetable intake, and get a little exercise. It’s not the simplest plan -- there are meal planners and charts for counting calories -- but it’s very effective.

You get to eat: Plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Stop whining; they’re good for you. Of course, you’ll also get to eat the occasional slice of chocolate cake or bowl of ice cream. Just not every night.

The G.I. Diet

No, it’s not what GIs eat during basic training; G.I. stands for “Glycemic Index.” It’s based around the idea that different foods take different amounts of time to break down into glucose (or sugar), after you eat them. High G.I. foods act like a boost of alcohol fuel in a dragster: They burn up quickly and leave your tank empty. Conversely, low G.I. foods burn slowly and give you high mileage. If you eat them, you won’t need to fill up as often.

The diet was created by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto. According to him, high G.I. foods include breads and other refined foods. Low G.I. foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and lean meats. In short, the G.I. Diet is based on what nutritionists have been saying for years: Eat more fruits and vegetables, and cut back on breads and fat.

You get to eat: The G.I. Diet drastically cuts back your intake of processed foods like cookies, white bread, sugary cereal, and most other tasty miracles of modern food science. You can, however, splurge every so often and have a piece of all-natural sweet French bread with some butter. The G.I. Diet is pretty strict when it comes to traditional “goodies,” but it does leave you feeling full and satiated, so you won’t crave Ben & Jerry’s, Oreos or American cheese.

simple weight-loss solutions

These diets are probably the best out there. They’ll help you lose weight, stay healthy and achieve optimal nutrition. But again, they are only temporary fixes. Unless, that is, you stay on them forever. A lifelong diet that is high in fruits and veggies, and low in fatty meats, fats and refined breads will keep the pounds off almost indefinitely. Use these diets to knock the pounds off, but also use them as a guide to overall healthier eating.