THE dumbest diets of the decade

We are firm believers that an overall healthy, balanced lifestyle is better than any diet you can try. We are also firm believers that in order to achieve a goal, you need a clear path. For that reason, diets can be extremely useful which is why we have been featuring and sharing some of the decade's most popular diets. These are not them.

To see the real diets that may actually work and help you lead a healthier lifestyle, click here. But, if you want to hear all about the diets ILIOS Foods has voted as the Dumbest Diets of the Decade, keep on reading.

The Master Cleanse:

The Master Cleanse is a great diet if you're looking to starve yourself, empty out your bowels all day every day and lose a ton of weight that you will almost instantly gain back once you start consuming food again.

This diet consists of drinking a mixture of lemon water, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days. To clarify, this weird spicy mix is the ONLY thing you will be consuming for 10 days except for baking soda dissolved in water you're allowed to chug right before you go to sleep. YUMMY!

The cabbage soup diet:

The cabbage soup diet is as restrictive as the Master Cleanse because you are ONLY allowed to eat cabbage soup until you basically can't stand it anymore... and until your friends can no longer stand to be around you and your newfound gassiness.

This diet is lacking in a whole bunch of essential vitamins and nutrients and contains zero protein or heart-healthy fats!

The Baby Food Diet:

The title of this diet says it all! There is no longer a need to evolve from surviving on breast milk or formula, to eating pureed peas, to FINALLY being allowed to chomp down on real food. There is also no longer a need for teeth!

The Baby Food Diet requires the person on it to replace 2 of their 3 meals with baby food. Considering one jar of baby food contains anywhere between 20-100 calories, you are essentially just starving yourself all while enjoying the mushy, gag-worthy delicacy that is pureed turkey.

The Tapeworm Diet:

Let's end this article on a high note. Introducing the most ridiculous, stupid and unhealthy diet we at ILIOS Foods has ever heard of: The Tapeworm Diet.

You may think that the word "tapeworm" is being used metaphorically... well my friends, you are wrong.

This diet consists of ordering an illegal tapeworm egg capsule from a black market website, swallowing the capsule and waiting for a little baby parasite to grow in your body. The tapeworm will grow and absorb all your calories and all your nutrients. But, you will lose weight! A ton of weight actually!

You will suffer from severe undernourishment, debilitating stomach pains and constant nausea and diarrhea. Regardless, you will more than likely end up in the emergency room at the hospital, but, if the tapeworm eggs spread to other parts of your body, you may even die!

All in the name of a slim figure! Cheers!

diets of the decade

We have been going over different diets all week to help promote healthy eating habits and help you achieve your 2020 goals and keep your resolutions.

ILIOS Foods wants to help you keep your 2020 resolutions

There are SO MANY different diets out there; some of them work, some most definitely don't. The key to embracing any lifestyle change is balance. Aim for discipline but be gentle with yourself if ever you can't help but chow down on those donuts your coworker brought in. You deserve it!

Another important factor to consider is having a well-rounded healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy is super important. However, if you're pretty much sedentary all day at the office and then go home and collapse on the couch in front of the TV, you're not doing your body much of a favour.

A general rule of thumb for weight loss is 75% diet and 25% exercise. You gotta move! Get to the gym, go on walks, dust off that treadmill... whatever activity you choose to incorporate into your healthy lifestyle, just commit and do it!

The general rule of thumb for weight loss is 75% diet and 25% exercise

To close off our DIFFERENT DIET WEEK, let's do a quick a rundown of some of the other diets out there. Remember, we're not doctors! Check with a healthcare practitioner before making any dramatic changes to your lifestyle.

The Flexitarian Diet:

So, this diet is pretty easy to breakdown; it's a simple mathematical equation:

FLEXIBLE + VEGETARIAN = FLEXITARIAN

Essentially, if you're following a Flexitarian Diet, you're a sometimes (most of the time) vegetarian. This diet requires you to eat lots of fruits and veggies and plant-based proteins with the occasional burger, steak or chicken wing thrown into the mix.

It is so important to not allow yourself to fall into what we call the "lazy vegetarian trap". Yes, pasta and carbs in general are vegetarian... do not focus your meals around carbs. Get creative with the way you cook your veggies, try fruits you never have before and explore the wonderful world of plant-based proteins. ILIOS Foods has got you covered there with our wide range of beans and legumes.

One of our FAVOURITE resources for creative vegetarian recipes is Oh She Glows. Check it out!

Intermittent Fasting:

Intermittent fasting is all the rage. It claims to help with weight loss, regulate your metabolism and add years to your life. There are several different ways you can do it, but here are some of the most popular:

The 16/8 Method:

This method requires you to fast for 16 hours out of your day and to eat your healthy meals and snacks during the remaining 8 hours. Basically, after dinner around 7/8pm you would stop eating until lunchtime the following day.

This is probably one of the easiest ways to practice intermittent fasting because you're sleeping for a good chunk of the 16 hours. And, good news! You can still drink your coffee so long as you drink it black since beverages with zero calories are permitted.

The 5/2 Method:

This method involves eating normally 5 days out of the week (1500-2500 calories per day depending on your size, gender, etc...) and restricting your calories to 500-600 two days out of the week.

The "fasting days" should be spread out and not planned back-to-back. Ex. you should be reducing your calories on days 2 and 5 and eating normally the rest of the week.

Another version of this method, coined the "Eat-Stop-Eat Method" is essentially the same idea but instead of allowing yourself 500-600 calories on fasting days, you are not eating at all 2 days out of 7.

The Warrior Method:

This method is involves only eating raw fruits and veggies during the day (no dips!) and eating one huge meal at night.

Basically, you're fasting all day and then feasting at night. The food choices you make for dinner are similar to those recommended when on a paleo diet which we will see next.

The Paleo Diet:

The main idea behind the Paleo Diet is to eat what we would have eaten thousands if not millions of years ago. Foods that can be gathered, hunted and fished. This diet is appropriately also known as the caveman or Stone Age diet.

Here is a quick overview of what you can and can not eat when on the Paleo diet:

What to eat:

Fruits
Vegetables
Nuts and seeds
Lean meats, especially grass-fed animals or wild game
Fish, especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, mackerel and albacore tuna
Oils from fruits and nuts, such as olive oil or walnut oil

What to avoid

Grains, such as wheat, oats and barley
Legumes, such as beans, lentils, peanuts and peas
Dairy products
Refined sugar
Salt
Potatoes
Highly processed foods in general

The KETO Diet

We spoke about the Keto diet earlier this week so we won't go over it again in too much detail. Essentially a Keto Diet is high in healthy fats, incorporates a medium amount of protein and eliminated carbs completely to allow your body to achieve the metabolic state known as ketosis.

Check out our article from earlier this week to learn all about it!

The Keto Diet is all about healthy fats and eliminating carbs

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean Diet is by far the favourite diet we have looked at. Ok... maybe we're a bit biased since ILIOS means "sunshine" in Greek and Greece is a Mediterranean paradise.

This diet focuses on eating lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Asides from avoiding refined sugar and processed foods, this diet is not super restrictive and even encourages a nice glass (or two!) of wine with your meals.

Check out our video for all the DOs and DON'Ts of the Mediterranean Diet:

And now it's time to have a little fun with some of the WORST DIETS of the last decade.

Disclaimer: ILIOS Foods DOES NOT recommend any of these diets.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ILIOS FOODS' Vote for the dumbest diets of the decade

The Keto Diet Explained

Many of us, to kick off the New Year on the right foot, are looking into better eating habits and lifestyle changes to help us feel better and be healthier. We want to explore different diets and explain how they work and how you can incorporate them into your daily routine.

Before making any drastic diet or lifestyle change, please consult a doctor.

The Keto Diet is a low carb, high fat (good fats!) and medium protein diet. The general idea behind this diet is that by getting most of your calories from fats and protein rather than carbs, your body will eventually run out of blood sugars (carbs turn into sugar) to use for energy and will start using fats and protein which will eventually lead to weight loss.

By reducing your carb intake and replacing it with fat, this change puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat.

Along with helping with weight loss, the Keto diet may also help with acne, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.

This diet is not intended to be used long-term. Because you will not be eating a lot of fruits and veggies (fruits and veggies are high in carbs), you would be missing out on a lot of essential vitamins and nutrients. Also, because of the high fat content in this diet, this can lead to heart disease and/or liver problems. The increased protein intake may also have adverse effects on your kidneys.

Here is a very basic list of foods to avoid and foods you should be incorporating into your Keto diet but it is best to refer to a full Keto meal plan like the Diet Doctor's 14-Day Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan to make sure you're getting the right amount of all the good stuff.

NO LIST:

Sugary foods (soda, juice, smoothies, cake, cookies, ice cream, candy)
Grains or starches (wheat-based foods, rice, pasta, cereal)
Fruit (all fruit except for small portions of berries)
Beans and legumes (peas, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils)
Root vegetables (potatoes, turnips, carrots, sweet potatoes)

Low-fat or diet products (often highly processed and high in carbs)
Condiments and sauces (high sugar content)
Unhealthy fats (try to limit your intake of processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc...)
Alcohol (lots of sugar and carbs!)
Sugar-free foods (often highly processed and contain sugar substitutes which can throw your body off ketosis.)

YES LIST:

Meat (red meat, steak, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken and turkey)
Fatty fish (salmon, ILIOS tuna, trout, mackerel)
Eggs (bonus - get omega-3 eggs)
Butter and cream

Cheese (ILIOS has some great goat cheeses and brie!)
Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds)
Healthy oils (ILIOS extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil)
Avocados
Low-carb veggies (green veggies (ILIOS spinach), tomatoes, onions, peppers)
Condiments: salt, pepper, herbs and spices