5 Best Diet Plan in Malaysia That You Must Try!

Clean eating has always been a popular subject of discussion, and the vast sea of information available in your fingertips, it’s easy to get confused between what’s good for you and what’s not. The biggest misconception around clean eating is that it’s boring, bland and difficult to start on, but that is not the case at all. Clean eating is a way to refresh your eating habits, going for the healthiest option in the food pyramid and cutting down on the not-so-healthy ones.

For those of you don't see the obvious , I am a proud Malaysian and as a Malaysian, we are well known for our love for varieties of food. We LOVE eating and hence, food runs in our blood no matter what time it is in the day. We are so lucky to be spoilt with choices and worse of all, we are surrounded by lots of restaurants, most of which are open 24/7. We are a nation that eats out like we take in oxygen.

As a result, we are currently the FATTEST country in South East Asia.

Thus, 47.7 percent or almost half of the Malaysian population aged 18 and above are either facing issues of being overweight or obese. And you know what, I’m scared. I’m worried about the future of my people, my kids and the kind of environment they’ll be brought into.

And I believe that part of the link to cause of this epidemic obesity comes down to our food - what we put into our body on a daily basis.

Let’s be honest, majority of us aren’t aware of how bad certain foods can be for us because we are accustomed to eating like this. We watch our parents eat this way as a result; we feed our kids with unhealthy stuff. Or perhaps we don’t want to acknowledge the dangers ahead until something terrible happens to us – high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure and more.



1.ATKINS DIET

Usually recommended for weight loss, the Atkins diet is a well known low-carb diet

The very nature of this diet plan claims that one can lose weight while consuming as much protein and fat as your hearts desire or in this case, your stomachs desire, as long as foods high in carbs are avoided. Recent studies have shown that weight loss can be achievable with low-carb diets without the need for calorie counting and can lead to various health improvements.

The physician Dr. Robert C. Atkins, who wrote a best-selling book about it in 1972, promoted the Atkins diet. From that moment onwards, the Atkins diet has been popular all over the world with countless books written. The diet was originally considered unhealthy and look down upon by the mainstream health authorities, mostly due to its high saturated fat content. However, saturated fat is actually harmless based on recent studies.

The diet has then been shown to lead to more weight loss and greater improvements in blood sugar, “good” HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and other health markers than low-fat diets.

The reduction in carbs and increased protein intake lead to reduced appetite is the main reason why low-carb diets are so effective for weight loss is that, making you eat fewer calories without having to think about it.

There are rules that you'll have to follow in an Atkin's diet which is to include both fruits and vegetables in the diet. There are also several foods to avoid while implementing the Atkin's diet like sugar, trans-fat, grains, vegetable oils, "diet" foods, high carb fruits and vegetables, starches and legumes. However, you should base your diet on meats, fatty fish and seafood, eggs, low carb vegetables, full-fat dairy milk, nuts and seeds and healthy fats which are found in butter, avocados and olive oil. As long as your meals are based around fatty protein source with vegetables or nuts and only healthy fats, you will lose weight. It's that simple.



2.KETOGENIC DIET

The ketogenic diet on the otherhand, also known as keto diet, for short offers many health benefits all while being a low-carb, high fat diet. Ketogenic diets may even have benefits against diseases like diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer and they share many similarities with the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets.

By replacing carbohydrates it with fat, the diet drastically reduces carbohydrates. Your body goes into a metabolic state called ketosis during the reduction in carbohydrates and during this period, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. Ketones are formed from fat in the liver, which supplies energy for the brain. With implementing Ketogenic diet, there will be massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels and along with the increased ketones, has numerous health benefits. Following this diet practice also proves to be an effective way to lose weight and it lowers the risk factors for disease. In fact, studies recently proved that the ketogenic diet is far superior compared to the often recommended low-fat diet.



3. VEGETARIAN DIET

A vegetarian diet focuses on plants for food which include the usual fruits, vegetables, peas, grains, seeds, dried beans along with nuts. There is no single type of vegetarian diet. If you didn't knew, there are various types of vegetarians: Lacto-vegetarian, fruitarian vegetarian, Lacto-ovo vegetarian, living food diet vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Pesco-vegetarian, and Semi-vegetarian. However the term, "semi-vegetarian," is not accepted by most vegetarian and vegan societies.

A vegetarian has to eat a wide variety of foods to ensure that their nutritional requirements are met thus, they have to make careful choices about their diet. Some vegans may need to take supplements. Most vegetarians are Lacto-ovo vegetarians, in which they do not consume animal-based foods with the exception of eggs, dairy, and honey.

Besides being a vegetarian for health considerations, there are a range of reasons. It is more ecologically sustainable to produce vegetarian meals, and the damage to the environment is reduced. Sure, many quit having meat for ideological, ethical, or religious purposes but most of the time, the focus is on personal health.

Studies over the last few years have shown that vegetarians have a lower body weight, suffer less from diseases, and typically have a longer life expectancy than people who eat meat.



4.VEGAN DIET

Unlike the vegetarian diet, Veganism is more of a way of life and a philosophy than a diet. When practicing veganism, a vegan does not consume animal-based foods all of which includes eggs, dairy products, and honey. Besides adopting veganism for health reasons, most vegans also adopt the practice for environmental, ethical, and compassionate reasons.

Today's modern intensive farming methods are harmful to our environment and are not sustainable in the long-term, as claimed by most vegans. If everybody consumes only plant-based food, it would benefit the environment, animals would suffer less, the production of food would improve, and there will be a vast improvement in both physical and mental health, vegans say.

Since vegans do not consume animal products, they will not even use animal-sourced clothes, soaps, or other products. Hence, for food products, tofu, tempeh, and mushrooms are the three of the many alternatives that can substitute the nutrients found in meat. A vegan's diet can assist in protecting bone and heart health, and also help to lower the risk of cancer.

There are important differences not many know between both vegan and vegetarian diets that impacts one's food choice and nutritional intake. One of the differences is that vegetarians will continue to consume dairy products and eggs but will not consume meat. On the other hand, Vegans consume absolute zero animal products. This means vegetarians don't have to necessarily consume supplement nutrients but they can still get calcium from milk, for instance but vegans would have to get their calcium source from plant-based sources only.

Since as the vegan diet is low in saturated fat and rich in nutrients, a vegan diet can be a highly nutritious choice. However, there will be some health risks if one goes on starting out on an animal-free diet without proper planning. Since all protein, vitamins, and minerals has to be from non-animal sources, vegan's food choice and preparation is very important.



5. WEIGHT WATCHERS DIET

This diet approach is a little different compared to the rest on this list but it is also as effective. Called the Weight Watchers diet, it allows people to focus on losing weight through diet, exercise, and a support network. Hence, a sense of community plays an important role for the Weight Watchers. All it needs is a support network for people who are looking to lose weight which is essential for both short-term and long-term success. As always, attempting to lose weight can be stressful, but with community support that gives out positive reinforcement, it can make the process less daunting.

In the 1960s, a homemaker who had lost some weight and was concerned she might put it back on formed the Weight Watchers with a network of friends. Today, the Weight Watchers is a huge company, with branches all over the world.

All dieters can join either the club in-person and attend regular meetings, or have it online. In both cases, there will be lots of support and education available for the dieter. This can be one of the best diet plans you can try in Malaysia too.