When it comes to dieting, it can be hard to decide which method is right for you with endless choices out there.
From keto to intermittent fasting and whole30, which has piqued our interest most this year?
By utilising Google search volumes from Ahrefs, Golfsupport.com can reveal the highest trending diets this year:
| DIET TREND | NUMBER OF ONLINE SEARCHES THIS YEAR: |
| Keto | 25,434,000 |
| Intermittent Fasting | 11,700,000 |
| Paleo | 3,834,000 |
| DASH Diet | 2,070,000 |
| Atkins Diet | 1,512,000 |
| Military Diet | 954,000 |
| Sirtfood Diet | 927,000 |
| Whole30 | 558,300 |
| Alkaline Diet | 549,000 |
| Noom Diet | 540,000 |
Coming in at the top as the highest trending diet is keto, with a whopping 25.4 million searches this year alone – the equivalent of 69,682 online searches a day!
The ketogenic diet (keto for short) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that gets your body to use fat as a form of energy and is said to offer many health benefits. Some of the benefits are said to reduce risk of certain cancers, improve acne and support weight loss.
Following behind in second place is intermittent fasting with 11.7 million searches to date – this diet is used by many to lose weight, enhance their health and live longer. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating which has been endorsed by many celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Kourtney Kardashian and Halle Berry.
In third place is the paleo diet with 3.8 million searches so far this year. The paleo diet is a dietary plan based on food eaten by those during the Palaeolithic era.
The reason for this is because hunter-gatherers are presumed to have lived with lower rates of lifestyle disease, obesity and diabetes.
Other diet trends that made the list include:
4th: DASH Diet – 2 million searches
5th: Atkins Diet – 1.5 million searches
6th: Military Diet – 954,000 searches
7th Sirtfood Diet – 927,000 searches
Despite being around since 2009, Whole30 has recently gained a huge amount of popularity. Barging its way into eighth place with 558,000 searches so far, this diet is designed to change the way you feel and eat within 30 days.
From Busy Phillips to Miley Cyrus and Megan Fox, this diet has been tried by many of our favourite celebrities.
In ninth place is the alkaline diet with 549,000 searches this year. This diet is based on the principles that replacing acid-forming foods with alkaline foods will improve your health. It is said to help improve kidney health, improve back pain and prevent osteoporosis.
Completing the top 10 diet trends of 2020 so far is the Noom Diet, with 540,000 searches currently.
Of the diets on the list, Noom is the most modern. It uses an app and has been likened to having a trainer, health coach and nutritionist all in one place.
The aim of the app is to create behavioural changes centered around food and exercise. With a 4.6 rating and over 16,000 reviews it may be a diet worth considering!
SURVEY REVEALS OUR DIET HABITS:
Interested in knowing where people’s views lie when it comes to diet culture, Golfsupport.com surveyed 3,250 people. The results found that 58% of those surveyed have tried a diet this year. Of the 58% that have tried a diet, 32% have tried over three different methods.
When it comes to the main reasons why people want to lose weight, Golfsupport found these to be the top five:
- Self-image and confidence (72%)
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle (65%)
- Social media (63%)
- To improve mental health (59%)
- Want to look good for a special day (44%)
Participants were also asked who they turn to most for support when it comes to weight loss and the internet came out on top! 62% find turning to social media, online forums and weight loss journeys are the most effective methods when trying to stay on track. Following thereafter are their partners (54%), family (51%) and personal trainer (47%).
In the hopes of helping those trying to get fit and lose weight, Owen Hutchins from MyVitalMetrics.com provided these tips to get them started:
The first thing to establish with any new diet plan is what your goals are – are you trying to lose weight, gain weight or have more energy?
Once you know your goal, the next step is to get some baselines. You won’t know if your diet is working as intended unless you measure and get some hard facts about your current state.
Keep in mind that scales may not tell the whole story, so it might be an idea to get a DEXA Scan for body composition if that’s your aim, or to take whatever qualitative baseline you want, if its energy or simplicity you are looking for.
Next, any diet must be sustainable. If your diet plan is for anything less than 12 weeks, that may be an indication that it’s not a sustainable diet.
Extreme calorie deficits, total exclusion of multiple food groups or total food replacement with some supplement drinks are all examples of extreme diets which aren’t sustainable.
These might produce some short-term weight loss, but behind the scene they are doing massive damage to your body’s metabolism, and history has shown us that they inevitably lead to weight regain – and usually more than there were before.
There is no one approach which works for everyone, and you should be guided by your current state of health, and body composition. However, one rule is universal.
Whatever approach you choose the critical factor to your success will be your consistency and adherence to your diet.
Sticking closely to a harsh diet Monday to Saturday and then having a massive cheat meal or whole day on Sunday will do much more harm than good.
If you know that you will have a meal out or with friends one or two days a week, incorporate this into the overall plan.
In terms of which diet to choose, it’s very much down to the individual case.
In general people who are starting with a body fat of >25% (male) or >30% (female) will probably have issues with insulin resistance, in which case a lower carb approach, and one which concentrates all the calories into fewer meals would probably work well.
If you are already leaner, and looking to define your diet, along with an exercise routine, you may be able to incorporate more carbs into the plan, and time a majority of your calories around your workouts.