Do you tend to place yourself on diets or would you attempt to healthy as just a part of a life-style? Personally, I do not like the idea of dieting; it seems too restrictive to eliminate entire recommended food groups and do not find that to be sustainable within the long-term. Ultimately, I would like something that I'm able to integrate into my normal life instead of needing to count the calories and fat in each meal.
One of the very most sustainable plans which i have discovered (note, we're not calling it a diet), may be the 90-10 concept. 90 % of what you put in the body is made up of the healthy choices, and 10 % may be the less-healthy options.
The 9010 Nutrition website offers an excellent outline with this particular plan. Their “Green Tier” list (the 90%) is quite extensive and does not eliminate any individual food group. It contains vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, secondary vegetables and grains, healthy fats, and “free foods” such as mustard or lemon juice. The “Yellow Tier” foods (the 10%) also contains a number of foods that many of us know and love for example bacon, beer, and tortilla chips. The “Red Tier” food list (as in Avoid eating) includes packaged foods as well as most baked goods. For full access to the website, they are doing charge a nominal fee, but it's a smaller amount than some of the extensive programs such as Dieters or Nutrisystem.
Overall, I do think that it's a sustainable method of eating. I believe you can either balance your 90/10 daily or weekly, but I haven't paid to read all their materials. It also seems adaptable to other dietary restrictions such as vegetarian or kosher.
