Best Diets for Fat Loss Ranked (What Actually Works for Weight Loss)

Summary

Dr. Mindy Pelz ranks four popular diets for weight loss, weighing their potential benefits against their drawbacks. Her main takeaway is to treat diets as tools that may suit different goals rather than committing to one approach indefinitely.

4. Carnivore diet

The carnivore diet centers on meat. Some versions also include animal fats, eggs, fish, herbs, or spices.

Potential benefits, as described in the video:

• Rapid weight loss and quicker entry into ketosis
• Reduced hunger
• A short-term elimination approach for people exploring food-related gut or autoimmune symptoms

Drawbacks:

• Highly restrictive and monotonous
• Little or no fiber
• Potential nutrient gaps, including vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, iodine, and plant antioxidants

Pelz presents the carnivore diet as a short-term or therapeutic tool, not a long-term diet.

3. Vegan diet

The vegan diet excludes meat and all other animal products.

Potential benefits:

• Can provide plenty of fiber, vegetables, beans, and plant nutrients
• Pelz cites research in which 75% of participants lost weight and average calorie intake fell by about 20%.
• She also mentions improvements in A1C and blood pressure.

Practical tips:

• Emphasize whole plant foods, beans, greens, and a variety of colors.
• Avoid relying on vegan processed snacks and convenience foods.

Drawbacks: Getting enough protein and certain nutrients—including B12, vitamin D, iron, zinc, calcium, and omega-3s—may be challenging. Pelz suggests paying attention to protein sources and considering amino acid supplementation.

2. Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole foods, healthy fats such as olive oil and fatty fish, and a broad range of food choices.

Potential benefits: Pelz describes it as balanced and nutritionally complete. She cites research linking it with weight loss and improvements in blood pressure, inflammation, triglycerides, belly fat, and overall disease risk.

Potential drawback: Grains and other carbohydrates may not work well for everyone, particularly those who have difficulty tolerating them. Traditional versions also limit red meat. Pelz favors food quality and suggests that a modern adaptation could include grass-fed red meat.

1. “Ketobiotic” diet

Pelz’s preferred approach combines low-carbohydrate eating with fiber-rich plants, whole foods, and fermented foods.

Guidelines she gives:

• Aim for about 50 grams of net carbs per day (total carbohydrates minus fiber).
• Get carbohydrates mainly from vegetables and lower-glycemic fruits, such as berries and green apples.
• Include whole foods such as wild fish, grass-fed beef, and olive oil.
• Add fermented foods, such as sauerkraut.
• Prioritize protein. She mentions around 30 grams per meal or roughly 1 gram per pound of body weight as approaches people use.

Pelz says this approach may support ketosis, appetite control, blood-sugar management, fiber intake, and gut health. However, it remains relatively low in carbohydrates, excludes bread in her version, and may not suit everyone or be appropriate all the time.

Overall advice

Pelz suggests choosing an approach based on your goals and circumstances. She describes carnivore eating as a short-term option, vegan eating as a way to emphasize plants, Mediterranean eating as a sustainable everyday pattern, and ketobiotic eating as her top choice for weight loss.

She encourages flexibility rather than strict diet identity, while noting that individual needs and tolerance vary.

Presenters and sources mentioned

• Presenter: Dr. Mindy Pelz
• Research cited in the video:
  • A Nutrients study on the carnivore diet, said to be from 2026
  • A Nutrients review on ketogenic diets, said to be from 2025
  • Mediterranean-diet research described as covering more than 2,600 studies and nearly 37,000 people
  • An unspecified analysis of 22 studies on grass-fed meat
• Books mentioned: Fast Like a Girl, Eat Like a Girl, and Age Like a Girl