So how do you know if a particular diet is not only right, but right for you? Before you start, first see if you can answer "yes" to the following 7 questions:
1. Does the diet provide a reasonable number of calories—an absolute minimum of 1,000 calories a day?
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2. Does it supply enough but not too much protein—at least the recommended 0.4 g per pound of body weight, but not more than twice that much?
3. Does it supply enough fat for satiety (but not too much), so that between 20 and 35% of the day's total calories come from fat?
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4. Does it supply enough carbohydrates to spare protein, so that you won't burn muscle tissue for energy and won't prevent the liver from running out of glycogen (ketosis)—about 100 g of carbohydrate for the average-size person?
5. Does it provide a balanced assortment of vitamins and minerals from whole food sources in all of the basic food groups?
6. Does it offer different foods every day so that you won't give up on the diet out of boredom?
7. Does it consist of ordinary foods that are available in supermarkets at prices you can afford?
Answered "yes" to all of the above? Then it's a "go."
The article 7 Questions to Ask Before You Start a Diet is adapted from Tighten Your Tummy in 2 Weeks and originally ran on RodaleWellness.com.
