Some folks switch their diets as often as they change their clothes – but diets aren’t always simply fads that come and go within a few months. Some diets have actually become so popular that they have helped to define entire years and even decades! You’ll almost certainly remember the meat-and-butter-packed Atkins diet or the trendy South Beach Diet of the early 2000s.
With that said, let’s take a closer look at the most popular diets of the 2010s. Do you think that any of them will make their way into the 2020s like Lucky Nugget Online Casino and our fantastic casino games did?
The Grapefruit Diet
The Grapefruit Diet was a very popular option back in the 90s, and it even made its way into the 10s later down the line. This diet, like others such as the Cabbage Soup Diet, followed a similar premise: eat low-calorie foods and you will lose weight. Such diets often include an average of 500-800 calories a day, which unfortunately meant that people’s bodies literally began to starve on them. They fell out of popularity when it became known that such a low calorie intake could harm your metabolism in the long run.
The Alkaline Diet
Remember when people were obsessed with reducing the pH of their bodies in a bid to shed extra pounds? Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow loved the Alkaline Diet, which included alkaline foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, seeds and grains. ‘Acidic’ foods like alcohol, dairy, bread, pasta and meat were a no-no for those following this eating plan.
Atkins and South Beach
The Atkins and South Beach Diets both maintained that cutting carbohydrates like pasta, rice and bread out of your menu would help you to slim down. Some people, particularly those with insulin resistance and type II diabetes, still swear by them today.
The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean Diet is no fad! Doctors across the globe still maintain that this is one of the best eating styles for your health. The diet encourages you to eat fresh veggies, fish and poultry, legumes, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and the occasional glass of red wine.
The Macrobiotic Diet
Madonna’s legendary Macrobiotic Diet mandated cutting out red meat, poultry, eggs, dairy and anything made of wheat. It replaces those foods with tofu, tempeh, sea vegetables, and copious portions of steamed veggies.
Gluten Free
Between 2010 and 2016, people went mad for gluten-free alternatives to traditional wheat-containing foods. Classic breads, pastas and flour products were replaced with alternatives that contained no gluten, which was said to cause systemic inflammation and gut issues. ‘Gluten sensitivity’ also became a major buzzword during this time.
Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig
Oprah sang Weight Watchers’ praises back in the day, while Kirstie Alley swore by the Jenny Craig diet. Both plans offered numerous tools to assist with weight loss, like meetings, point systems, food delivery, recipes, consultations and special low-calorie products. One of the biggest downsides – aside from the cost – was that these programs did not teach you how to make your own healthy dishes, meaning that many people picked up weight after stopping them.
Paleo and Keto
Paleo was all the rage in 2013, the year in which it was the most-Googled diet keyword. Also known as the Caveman Diet, it requires dieters to eat foods that were probably available during the Paleolithic era. This includes fish, eggs, red meat, fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, seeds, and healthy fat sources – all free range and grass fed, of course.
Keto came as a spin-off of the Paleo diet, and is still very popular today. The ketogenic diet mandates high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate eating that relies mainly on animal products. Even veggies are a no-go in many cases on this diet. Popularised by Kourtney Kardashian and the likes, the Keto diet aims to lower your carb intake to 30g a day, which will put your body into ketosis or ‘fat burning mode’.
Vegan and Whole Food Plant Based
A diet free of animal products is not new by any means, but it has seen a recent surge in popularity. 2019 was dubbed the ‘year of the vegan’ as more and more folks chose sustainable, plant-based foods to address issues like animal cruelty, climate change and health issues.
Whole Food Plant-Based or WFPB is a branch of veganism that allows dieters to only eat whole, unprocessed foods from plant origins. It offers creative substitutes for animal/processed products, like cream cheese made of soaked cashews and pizza bases made of cauliflower and ground macadamias.
