The 18 Most Popular Diets in America

Bodybuilders and people who work out a lot can have trouble on a low-carb diet, so the carb-cycling diet was developed to alternate how many carbs are consumed based on workouts and long-term goals. Low-carb days put the dieter in a fat-burning state, and high-carb days help boost the metabolism.

The idea of “intuitive eating” is that food is neither inherently good nor bad. Instead, you should listen to your body and eat what feels right in the moment. This doesn’t mean that you can just eat whatever you want, whenever you want; intuitive eaters are encouraged to only eat when they’re hungry, stop eating when they’re full, choose foods that make them feel good, and not eat emotionally.

The gluten-free diet is for those who have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity. Gluten is a protein found in wheat and rye, so gluten-free people avoid foods that do or may contain gluten, including wheat bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, and beer.

As opposed to diets that focus on what to eat, intermittent fasting focuses on when to eat. The theory is that if you fast for a set number of hours every day (for example only eating within an eight-hour window), your body exhausts its sugar stores and instead burns fat, resulting in weight loss. A variation calls for dramatically restricting calorie intake (typically gto 500 for women, 600 for men) two or three days a week.

Many people confuse “vegan” with “plant-based,” but they’re actually not the same. Where a vegan diet completely eliminates all animal products, plant-based dieters still eat meat and animal products, albeit in very small quantities.