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Read the updated version of this answer here——————Every single person is going to answer this question telling you what diet you should do.And I’m not here to tell you what you should do, I’m just here to show you the way, the rest is upto you.*Puts on trench coat and sunglasses•So take a seat and buckle up motherfuckers because I’m about to learn you some things.Firstly. Here’s the dirty secret of the dieting world: EVERY diet works.Don’t believe me? Fine. Let me drop some facts on your face.In 1964 a group from the Institute for Medical Research in Oakland, California, examined precisely this issue in case studies of five obese patients who resided in a hospital metabolic ward.The researchers fed each patient a liquid formula diet containing the same number of calories per day – either 800, 850, or 1200, depending on the patient, for ten weeks or more.Every three or four weeks the investigators changed the formula to vary its content of protein (from 14 to 36 percent of calories), fat (from 12 to 83 percent of calories), and carbohydrates (3 to 64 percent of calories).The title of the published report of the study summarised the findings: "Calories Do Count"ALL of the obese patients lost weight at a constant rate, regardless of the macro composition of the diet. It did not matter whether the fat or carbohydrate was extremely low or high – what mattered was the total calorie deficit.Yep. All diets work by, in one way or another, whether they admit it or not, having you control your calorie intake.Fasting diets have you eating inside of a restricted window of time; or, as is the case with ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) diets, restricting you to one meal in a day.Low carb diets have you greatly reducing calorie content via restricting carbohydrates, or, in the case of Ketogenic diets, omitting carbs completely.Vegan diets have you eating only plantsPaleo has you restrict ALL processed foods.etc, etc.You get the idea.So. To clarify – EVERY diet works because it has you controlling your calorie intake. You need to find a diet that you enjoy and can see yourself sticking to for the long term. That’s what matters.People don’t fail diets, people fail to maintain a diet for the long-term. And the reason is because they fall for dumb-fucking shit like juice cleanses; or The Rabbit Carrot Diet, or some other wacky shit their favourite celebrity told them to do. Also: celebrities don’t know shit about nutrition and fat loss – stop listening to them.Find a diet YOU enjoy and can stick to. Here’s some considerations that will help you do just that.–– Considerations for picking a diet• Diet & Taste Preference.This is the type of diet you’re choosing to follow. Whether it be high carb, low-fat or low-carb, high-fat, vegan/vegetarian, Paleo, whatever – I’m not gonna sit here and judge. Do you, homie.When selecting a diet, consider these things:• Taste preference – It should accommodate foods that you enjoy eating• Takes into consideration any health limitations, allergies etc.• Something you can adhere to for the long termImportant note: There are ongoing debates about what is and isn’t ‘optimal’ – "Low carb isn't optimal because..." // "Fasting isn't optimal because..."; "Yh, but Vegans..." etc.It's all noise.Understand: Optimal is subjective. What may be optimal for you may not be optimal for another, and optimal gets trumped by adherence. Every. Single. Time. So do what you can realistically stick to in the long run. That's what matters. And that's what's "optimal".• Personality Type?This sounds complicated, but it's not. Simply, your personal idiosyncrasies play an important role in how you set up your diet. I've noted that people generally fall into two categories, what I've labelled:Moderators: moderators are people who can moderate food intake. These are the people who can have a few bites and stop. These types of dieters do well with a much less rigid and more flexible approach. They thrive on the "IIFYM" based diets. They don't have many trigger foods and can eat everything in moderation.Restrictors: restrictors are the polar opposite. They need a lot more structure and rules (and certain restrictions). These are the people who do well with removing certain foods if they cause bingeing or overeating. These types of dieters respond much better, mentally, to energy spikes and energy fasts.• "Must Haves"'Must haves' are things that you absolutely must have in your diet or it's a no-go. Now, don't get me wrong, chances are that there will be some things you'll have to remove if they're going to impede your progress (like trigger foods); but generally, these will only amount to a small number of things, whereas the must haves will be the overarching things, like certain foods, macros, etc.Must haves will also include your work circumstances – do you travel? Are you sedentary / seated for large parts of the day? Does your job have odd work hours, like working night shifts?• Body Fat %I've touched on this in detail in a previous meditation essay. Simply, your body fat levels will dictate what sort of macro composition you should be using. Due to things like insulin resistance, people with higher a body fat % tend to fare better on a lower carb diet. And conversely, someone with a lower body fat % tends to fare better with a carb-focussed diet – there are, of course, exceptions. But this holds true for most.I just want to point out that it's not necessary for people with a high level of body fat to go low carb, and as long as there is a calorie deficit in place, you will lose fat. However, from experience, people with high levels of body fat (20%+) tend to fare much better restricting carbohydrates initially. Their energy levels tend to stabilise, they feel less lethargic, cravings subside, and due to the water loss from going low carb, it acts as a motivator as they see results from the get go.• Training AgeThis seems frivolous, but it's actually an important consideration. If you're just starting out, you don't need to worry about things like "carb and calorie cycling", or other complex ideas. Your first goal should be to simply learn the basics – the things that will make the most difference: calorie intake, food quality, learning about macronutrients, micronutrients etc.• Injuries and Medical HistoryPretty straightforward: any injury or medical history that may affect your training and diet should be factored in. Even if you think you're perfectly healthy, it doesn't hurt to get a check-up before starting a new diet and training programme.All of this is important to understand because while the basics of changing your body composition are simple –energy balance– each person's personal psychology and physiology will differ. To make all this more palpable, someone who has never exercised before and has a lot of fat to lose will have different physiological and psychological requirements than someone who stopped training for a while and gained some body fat in the interim.Conversely, a lean beginner is going to be in a different place than an overweight beginner.Gettit? Good.Once you've understood your psychological and physiological needs of dieting, you can start to set up your actual diet. And on that note.Weight Loss Versus Fat Loss?We need to take a quick diversion before we resume because you need to understand the difference between ‘weight loss’ and ‘fat loss’.Uh, what’s the difference?Good question.Let’s get into that.If you’ve read any fitness magazine, or been kicking around the fitness space for a while, you’ll undoubtedly be familiar with the fact that there’s a difference between ‘weight loss’ and ‘fat loss.’When people refer to body weight, they're talking about everything that makes up your body mass — things like your muscles, body fat, organs, water, bone mass etc. Weight loss is easy: depleting your water level, removing carbs from your diet ...hell, stopping eating altogether will make you lose ‘weight’.Fat loss is the process of losing body fat while trying to maintain our muscle mass. This is the next level up — the guy who’s realised the difference between weight loss and fat loss and knows that in order to look good (naked) he needs to focus on stripping fat while holding on to his precious muscle mass.The error most guys make when trying to lose fat is not understanding the subtle nuances that the process involves. So what happens? They do indeed lose fat, but at the same time lose a lot of muscle mass.Fat loss is this:Weight loss is this:Gottit? Good. Let’s move on.When it comes to diet setup, there's a hierarchy of priority.As the pyramid above illustrates:• Calories come first.Despite what you may have heard about hormones and insulin and good and bad calories and demonic toxins living inside of you, bent on eating your insides; the number one reason you’re not losing fat or gaining muscle is because you’re either eating too much – yes, even when you’re adamant you aren’t – or, you’re not eating enough.And the number one factor when it comes to diet is the need for an energy imbalance in some form.– If your goal is to lose body fat: the amount of energy coming into your body needs to be less than the energy going out. And the most efficient way to do this is to eat less food.–If your goal is to gain muscle: the amount of energy coming into your body needs to exceed the energy going out. While strength training is more important than nutrition in this regard, without adequate nutrition, you're not going to be providing the body with the nutrients it needs to grow. In this guide I'm going to be taking you through everything you need to know to set up your own diet. Whether your goals are to lose fat, or gain muscle.Setting calorie intake.I’m going to give you guys a super simple way to set your calorie intake. While people will try to impress you with fancy equations, the truth is, the most complicated equations and the simplest (like the one I’m about to show you), only have a 5% difference. And seeing that your calories will be adjusted anyway, the easier it is to set your numbers, the less paralysis by analysis and the sooner you can start getting results. Cool? Cool.Fat Loss: take your bodyweight in pounds and multiply it by 9-14Why the range? Simple: depending on a few factors your calorie needs will vary.If you’re a sedentary female, think office job, who trains anywhere from 3-5x per week: go with the lower end (9-10)If you’re a female who works a fairly active job, think cashier, or any job that has you on your feet quite a bit, go with the mid range (10-12) • If you’re a sedentary male, office job, who trains 3-5x per week, go with the low to mid-range (10-12).If you’re a male who works a fairly active job, like I dunno, maybe you’re Batman or something. Then go with the higher end (12-14).• Once calorie intake is set, Protein comes next.Fun fact: the word protein comes from the greek word proteos, meaning “primary”, or “taking first place” – which is apropos because protein intake is the first thing we set.Protein is (literally) the building block of the muscles, so if your goals are improving body composition, whether that be gaining muscle or losing fat, consuming adequate protein is essential.Protein and Its Importance in Fat LossMuscle Retention: When you’re in a calorie deficit –which as you know by now is needed to lose fat – the body starts to use its own energy stores for fuel. Strength training – provides the stimulus – and eating sufficient protein stops the body from burning muscle. And if looking good naked, being toned, lean,or ripped, is your goal – eating sufficient protein is very important.Satiety: Protein is more satiating than either fats or carbohydrates. So, when calories are low and hunger is inevitably high, protein will help keep you full.How much do you need?A simple heuristic: scale protein intake with body fat levels. The leaner you get the higher the intake.So.• 15% + (men) and 25%+ (women): 0.6 - 0.7g/lb• 10-12% (men) and (17-22% women): 0.7g - 1g/lb• 8-10% (men) and 12-15% (women): 1g/lb• Any leaner, say if you were planning on competing: 1-1.2g/lb (4-6% men, and 10-12% women)Some people might be wondering why the "0.6g" recommendation. The general rule is to set protein intake "per pound of LEAN MASS". But the problem is, figuring this out is both time-consuming and troublesome, not forgetting hardly accurate. Using "per pound of bodyweight" is easier and tends to work pretty well. However, while this works well for leaner folk, it doesn't work as well for people who have more fat to lose (20% + bodyfat).For example, if someone is 250lbs, using per pound of bodyweight would mean 250g of protein. This amount is unnecessary especially as their body fat is far higher than their lean muscle mass. I've found using 0.6g/lb to work well for this population.250 lb x 0.6g/lb = 150 gram of protein. Far more reasonable.• And lastly, you have carbs and fats.Now, if you scroll back up and take a look at the triangle image, you’ll note that carbs and fats are in the same section. This is because once calorie and protein intakes are set, the number of carbs or fats you consume is totally up to you. If you prefer a higher carb diet, then eat a higher carb diet; if you prefer a higher fat diet, then eat a higher fat diet.Remember: the psychology of dieting is more important than the physiology of dieting – pick what suits your taste preference.Setting carb and fat intakes?This is really simple. Fat intake works as a "lever"; the higher your fat intake, the lower your carb intake. And, the lower your fat intake, the higher your carb intake.Set fat intake between 0.3 – 0.7g/lb.If you prefer a higher fat diet, go with the higher end (0.7g/lb), if you prefer a higher carb diet, go with the lower end (0.3g/lb). Or, of course, if you prefer a moderate split of the two, then go somewhere in the middle (0.5g/lb). I'm not here to tell you what you should do, only what you can do and then you decide what suits you best.–– Setting Up Your DietI know I just blasted your face off with a bunch of information. So, now I’m going to illustrate, with examples, how you'd take all of this and put it to use.This is Tim. No, he isn't wearing a bra, his arms folded, ok? ENOUGH QUESTIONS INTERNET PERSON, we're moving on.As I was saying. Tim wants to lose fat. So, we're going to, again, use the pyramid to help guide us.Tim weighs 190lbs. Remember, calories first.Unlike Bob, Tim is not very active, so we'll go with the lower end of 10 as his multiplier.To work out his calorie intake:190 (lbs) x 10 = 1990 calories per daySo, Tim's fat loss calorie intake per day is going to be 1990.Next, we need to set his protein intake.Even though Tim is going to be in a deficit, seeing that he's carrying quite a bit of body fat his protein requirements don't need to be crazy, so, we'll set his protein intake to 1 gram per pound also.190 (lbs) x 1 = 190 grams of protein per day.Carbs and fat?Seeing that Tim has quite a bit of fat to lose, we'll keep his carb intake lower – to read why: see this.So, we're going to set his fat intake to 0.6g/lb.190 (lbs) x 0.6 = 114 grams of fat per day.So, now, Tim's macros are looking like this:- 1990 calories- 190 grams protein- 114 grams of fatThis leaves us with carbs. To work out his carb intake, we're simply going to fill in the calories that remain after having set fat and protein with carbs.To work this out, this is what we're gonna do.Step 1.We're going to first work out the calories in Bob's protein and fat totals. To do this, multiply his protein intake by 4 (because there are 4 calories in a gram of protein) and multiply his fat intake by 9 (because there are 9 calories in a gram of fat). So, it'll look like this:190 x 4 = 760 calories from protein64 x 9 = 1026 calories from fatStep 2.So, we now know that Bob is getting 640 calories from protein, and 576 calories from fat. We now need to add the two totals – protein and fat – together.760 + 1026 = 1786 caloriesSo, Bob is getting 1786 calories from his fat and protein intake.Step 3.We now subtract the fat and protein total (1216 calories) from his total required calorie intake (1990 calories):1990 - 1786 = 204 calories left to distribute to carbsStep 4.And now, the last step. Just divide 204 by 4 (because there are 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrates).204 / 4 = 51 grams of carbohydratesSo, Tim's total calorie and macronutrient intakes are:- 1990 calories- 190 grams of protein- 51 grams of carbs- 119 grams of fat–– What should you eat?Ok. So you've understood how to set up your diet and you've probably even worked out your own intake. But now you're staring at these numbers and probably wondering what the hell do I eat?This is generally where I respond with an extremely ambiguous and annoying answer like "Just eat like an adult", but, that's not really helping anyone. Neither are the plethora of other terms you hear in the fitness world, like:"Just eat clean" – the problem with this line of thinking is that it creates a black and white; good and bad, neurotic mentality toward food. You should eat clean (good) while avoiding junk (bad). But the truth is, no food is inherently 'bad'. Do some foods have more of a likelihood to be 'bad', sure.Hyperpalatable foods that can trigger overeating can fall under this category. But as I mentioned before, trigger foods can vary person to person. What triggers one person to overeat will differ from somebody else. If you find you can stop eating at once slice of pizza, but can't control yourself around chocolate, does it make sense to avoid pizza? Of course not.It's best to avoid this sort of thinking and mentality when it comes to food"If It Fits Your Macros" – this is the polar opposite of the eat clean maxim. Eat whatever you like as long as it fits your macros. While the intent behind this message was to prevent the neurotic mentality of 'eat clean', as is bound to happen, people bastardised the term and began eating all sorts of junk and weird food combinations to 'hit their macros'.While this type of diet works, it doesn't work for everyone. Nutrition is more than just calories and macros. And food quality does matter.While there isn't one 'best' way to eat, here is a general guideline: the 80(90)/(10)20.The 80(90)/(10)20 RuleThe 80(90)/(10)20 rule is a great way to think of your diet. 80-90% of the time, your diet should consist of whole, nutrient-rich, foods. Think: Whole grains, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, rice, oats, lean meats, fish, healthy fats like Olive Oil etc. and then 10-20% of the time feel free to enjoy some "junk" food, or indulge in whatever your heart desires.What you eat will also be influenced by your goal and personality type.• If you're a Restrictor personality type: While no foods should be off limits, some foods should be limited. For the restrictor type personality, restricting foods that you have trouble controlling yourself around should be kept out of the house. The more the temptation is there, the more likely you are to break down and overeat. This becomes even more important when you're dieting and hunger and cravings are at an all time high.• If you’re in a caloric deficit, you’ll be better off choosing foods that are low in energy density and high in nutrient density. These foods will help keep you full when calories are low. Energy-dense foods like cereal, chocolate bars, ice cream, Pop-Tarts, etc. are less filling and thus less satiating. This is why you can eat a chocolate bar and be hungry again ten minutes later, while a [calorically] comparable meal filled with protein, carbohydrates, and veggies will keep you fuller for longer.• If you're a "hardgainer", doing the opposite of the above is beneficial. You naturally have a low appetite but require a large number of calories to gain muscle. And there's only so much rice, veggies, and chicken breast you can consume before wanting to kill yourself. So, to prevent death by food, fit in some energy dense foods – like ice cream – to get those calories in. Also know, the rest of us hate you.• Some people don't want to 'fit' in tiny amounts of treats on a daily basis, and would rather have a day on the weekend where they can consume more calories. And this is totally fine. If you are one of these people, read this.–– But, Aadam, what about supplements?Ah, supplements. The fitness world is rife with an innumerable number of supplements all claiming to help you lose fat, gain muscle, have more sex, and live longer.Unfortunately, as sexy as these claims are, there are very few supplements that actually work and even then, these only work if your diet, training, and lifestyle are in order.Here are some of the supplements that may be beneficial.• Muscle Gain / Fat Loss– Creatine.Creatine is perhaps the most thoroughly tested supplement and has been shown to work over and over again. Though, everyone’s response to it differs. Some people find a stronger effect, and others not so much.Regardless, it works. Creatine increases muscle protein synthesis and improves power output, in turn this helps you perform at a higher level in the gym, which can lead to more muscle growth. And no, it’s not a steroid. Creatine is cheap, perfectly safe, and has even been shown to have health benefits.There are all these new fancy creatines coming onto the market, but none have been proven to be more effective than the cheaper creatine monohydrate.How much? Don’t worry about ‘loading’ creatine. Just take 5g everyday. When you take it doesn’t matter, but there is strong evidence to suggest that taking it post workout can be slightly more effective.– WheyI included this under supplements, but generally I classify whey protein (or any protein powder) as a food and not a supplement. While there’s nothing ‘magic’ about protein powder, it makes it far easier to get enough, high quality, protein into your diet.– CaffeineEveryone knows about this bad boy. Caffeine can help improve endurance and strength, and has strong appetite suppressant effects. It can also increase fat burning. Though, how potent these effects are depends on how tolerant you are to caffeine.How much? 4-6mg/kg bodyweight.• General Health–Fish oilFish oil refers to the two omega-3 fatty acids– EPA and DHA. While these fatty acids can be found in fatty fish, fish oil is a convenient and cheap alternative, especially for those who can’t stand eating fish (*raises hand*).Fish oil is basically the unicorn supplement. No, really. It pretty much does everything; control and reduce inflammation, increase fat oxidation, decrease fat storage, reduce the risk of diabetes and cancer, and improve heart health.Unicorn, see.How much? The general consensus is 250-500mg combined DHA/EPA.– Vitamin DVitamin D is a critical vitamin needed for our survival and is associated with aiding cognitive health, immune system regulation, and bone health. It can also help reduce the risk of certain cancers, heart disease, and increase testosterone levels.The body synthesizes vitamin D in the skin from the sun, and so, if you live in parts of the world where you don’t get much sunlight, supplementing with vitamin D is key.How much? Generally, anywhere between 1,000 IU to 5,000 IU, daily.**If you’re getting enough natural sunlight exposure regularly, go with the lower end, and conversely, if you live in a country that hates sunshine go with the higher end.– MagnesiumMagnesium is an important mineral needed for the contraction and relaxation of the muscles, the production of energy, and can improve insulin sensitivity.While magnesium can be obtained through the diet, due to inefficient absorption, it’s a good idea to supplement.How much? 200-400mg per day. Women on the lower end, men on the higher end.– ZincZinc is important for enzyme function, keeping your immune system strong, and in men who are deficient in zinc, can help increase testosterone levels. Shellfish and red meat are the best places to get zinc, so if you’re a vegan or vegetarian supplementation becomes important.Note: you’ll often see the Zinc and Magnesium combo ZMA being sold. Just be careful with these because they tend to be heavily underdosed.Hey man, but what about…– Mass GainersMass gainers tend to be marketed as the solution to ‘hard gainers’, but really they’re just high calorie protein powders. If you have the money and struggle to consume enough calories, they can be useful.However, you can simply make your own ‘homemade’ mass gainer. It’ll be cheaper, tastier, and you’ll know exactly what you’re getting.Here’s a simple recipe:3 scoops of chocolate whey protein300-400 ml WHOLE milk2 tbsp peanut butter1-2 bananas100g rolled oatsTotal calories: 1347 / 100g protein / 144g carbs / 45g fats– BCAA’sIf you’re consuming adequate protein from whole foods (including whey protein) you’re going to be consuming BCAA’s. So you don’t need to worry about supplementing.However, there are some exceptions.• Fasted training. If you train fasted, supplementing with BCAA’s can offset any potential muscle loss. Anecdotally, people tend to perform better when they consume BCAA’s during their workout, especially if training early in the day.• IBS. If you have IBS, consuming protein powder can be difficult if not impossible. In this instance, using a BCAA product pre and post workout can be beneficial.– Pre-workoutsThe two main ingredients in pre-workouts are caffeine and a form of nitric oxide boosters, like L-arginine. This is what gives you that ‘wired’ feel, the energy, and the crazy muscle pumps. You can get the same effect from consuming caffeine, 1-2g of table salt, and some carbs 30 minutes before training (something like a coffee and a mars bar work great).But, if you wish to use a preworkout, more power to you. Just know that there isn’t anything inherently special about them.– Fat BurnersThe legal fat burners you can purchase at your local supplement store are bunk. The main ingredient in fat burners is caffeine. The only fat burner that has been proven to work is a calorie deficit.Also, this.– MultivitaminsA multivitamin can be useful when you’re dieting and calories are low to help cover any nutritional deficiencies. Outside of that, don’t worry about them.NB – For all supplement questions or concerns, make sure you check out Examine.com.And that it. Everything you need to set up and be successful with your diet.Now, if you could “Upvote” this, that would be great. Then I can be a cool kid on Quora.

Here is a comprehensive answer from Dr John McDougall, taken from his website. (Dr McDougall has achieved superb results in helping a large number of people regaining health through a whole food plant-based diet, with plenty of carbohydrates.)“Extreme Nutrition: The Diet of Eskimos*The carnivorous diet of traditional Eskimo inhabitants of the frozen, northern, circumpolar regions of planet Earth (Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland), serves as a testament to the strengths and adaptability of the human species. The foods consumed by these hardy people are in "polar" opposition to those recommended by me (the McDougall Diet of starches, vegetables, and fruits): a carnivore vs. an herbivore diet. Unfortunately, misinformation surrounding the all-meat diet of the Eskimo has promoted dangerous eating habits to the modern-day general public.For more than 6,000 years, natives of the frozen North have lived with almost no contact with the rest of the world. Not until the mid-1800s were reliable records made of their daily lives, their diets, and their health. Early reports describe these people as looking beautiful and athletic when they were young, but then they aged quickly, and "men and women who appeared to be 60 or over were rare."Rumors have since circulated that traditional Eskimos have lived free of heart disease, cancer, and most other chronic diseases affecting western civilizations these days. Research published in the mid-1970s tried to explain this "Eskimo paradox" of living healthy with very few plant foods, on a high-fat, high-cholesterol, no-dietary-fiber diet. The omega-3 fish fats were noted as the miracle ingredient providing protection. Dietetic and medical experts have uncritically accepted this theory in the face of libraries filled with incriminating evidence to the contrary. They tell patients to eat more fish, poultry, and even red meat—like the Eskimos – and plenty of fish oil - in order to stay healthy.Pushing the Nutritional EnvelopeHunted animals, including birds, caribou, seals, walrus, polar bears, whales, and fish provided all the nutrition for the Eskimos for at least 10 months of the year. And in the summer season people gathered a few plant foods such as berries, grasses, tubers, roots, stems, and seaweeds. Frozen snow-covered lands were unfit for the cultivation of plants. Animal flesh was, by necessity, the only food available most of the time.The fat, not the protein, from animal foods provided most of the 3,100 calories required daily for these active people. Plants are the primary source of all carbohydrates, including digestible sugars and non-digestible dietary fibers. Eating raw meat indirectly provided Eskimos with enough carbohydrates in the form of glycogen (found in the muscles and liver of animals) to meet their necessary nutrient requirements and keep them out of a starvation condition called ketosis. Muscle tissue contains almost no calcium, and as a result the daily intake was about 120 mg/day versus the 800 mg and more commonly recommended for good health. Plants (not people) synthesize Vitamin C, yet the Eskimo was able to avoid scurvy with the 30 mg of vitamin C consumed daily found in land and sea animals. Recommendations for vitamin C are 60 mg/day and higher daily. Low levels of sunlight, and preformed vitamin D from fish, met the "sunshine D vitamin" requirement for Eskimo health. By the grace of environmental design, Nature made sure there was just enough nutrition for the Eskimo to survive.Percent of Calories from Macronutrients from Various Diets[The table from the article couldn’t get copied here. See the link at the bottom to see it in the original publication]The McDougall Diet offers an ideal nutritional balance for the prevention of and long-term recovery from diseases caused by the American Diet. The Kempner Dietof rice and fruit takes diet-therapy one step further by allowing even greater recovery to bodies that have been burdened by excess protein and fat.There Is No Eskimo ParadoxThe human being is designed to thrive on a diet of starches, vegetables and fruits. The Eskimo experience serves as a testament to the miraculous strengths and adaptability of our bodies. We can survive on raw and cooked meat, but we thrive on starches, vegetables and fruits. These hardy people survived living at the edge of the nutritional envelope, but not in good health. Here are some of the health costs they paid:Eskimos Suffer from AtherosclerosisClaims that Eskimos were free of heart (artery) disease are untrue. A thorough review of the evidence concludes that "Eskimos have a similar prevalence of CAD (coronary artery disease) as non-Eskimo populations, they have excessive mortality due to cerebrovascular strokes, their overall mortality is twice as high as that of non-Eskimo populations, and their life expectancy is approximately 10 years shorter than the Danish population."Mummified remains of Eskimos dating back 2,000 years have shown extensive hardening of the arteries throughout their brains, hearts and limbs; as a direct consequence of following a carnivorous diet of birds, caribou, seals, walrus, polar bears, whales, and fish. The June 1987 issue of National Geographic magazine carried an article about two Eskimo women, one in her twenties and the other in her forties, frozen for five centuries in a tomb of ice. When discovered and medically examined they both showed signs of severe osteoporosis and also suffered extensive atherosclerosis, "probably the result of a heavy diet of whale and seal blubber."Eskimos Suffer from Severe Bone LossTheir low-calcium diet and lack of sunshine (vitamin D) are only minor factors contributing to the extensive osteoporosis found in recent and ancient Eskimos. Alaskan Eskimos older than age 40 have been found to have a 10% to 15% greater deficit in bone mineral density compared to Caucasians in the US. This research published in 1974 on 107 elderly people concluded, "Aging bone loss, which occurs in many populations, has an earlier onset and greater intensity in the Eskimos. Nutritional factors of high protein, high nitrogen, high phosphorus, and low calcium intakes maybe implicated."Protein, and especially animal protein, consumed in excess of our needs places serious burdens on the body. The liver and kidneys work hard to process the excess protein and excrete its byproducts along with the urine. As a result of this extra work, Eskimos have been reported to have an enlarged liver while living on meat, and to produce larger than average volumes of urine in order to excrete the byproducts of protein metabolism. The bones also play a role in managing excess animal protein (acidic by nature) by neutralizing large amounts of dietary acids. In this process bone structure and bone mineral content are lost through the kidney system, depleting the bones into a condition called osteoporosis.Eskimos Are Infected with ParasitesDiseases of animals are readily transmitted to humans when eaten. One example is trichinosis (an infection with the roundworm Trichinella spiralis), which is found in about 12% of older Eskimos; a result of eating raw and infected walrus, seal, and polar bear meat. In most cases this parasite infestation causes no symptoms, but illness and death can result.Meat-derived Chemical PollutionSince the 1970s the diet of the Eskimo has contained high levels of toxic, organic pollutants and heavy metals. These lipophilic chemicals are attracted to and concentrated in the fatty-tissues of land and sea animals. As a direct result of the traditional Eskimo diet (now contaminated by industry wastes), the bodies of these Arctic people contain the highest human concentrations of environmental chemicals found anywhere on Earth: "levels so extreme that the breast milk and tissues of some Greenlanders could be classified as hazardous waste." Eskimo women have been found to have levels of PCBs in their breast milk five to ten times higher than women in southern Canada. These chemicals cause and promote many forms of cancer and cause brain diseases, including Parkinson's disease.Nutrition Has Gone Downhill for the EskimoThe notion that consuming meat, fish, and fish oil will promote health and healing has captured the attention of the scientific community in large part because of the misinterpretation** of the Eskimo experience. But life has gotten worse for the Eskimo. Over the past 50 years their traditional diet has been further modified with the addition of western foods. Rather than using a hook, spear, or club to catch their meal, as in the past, people living in this part of the world use the "green lure" (the dollar bill) and catch their meals through an open car window at the local fast-food restaurant. Obesity, type-2 diabetes, tooth decay, and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon have been added to the Eskimo's traditional health problems of artery disease, bone loss, and infectious diseases.People living in the frozen north these days have heated homes and drive around in comfortable SUVs. The challenging environment their ancestors barely survived through required a carnivorous diet. Those days of needing 3100 calories a day to counter the freezing cold and hunt for dinner are gone. The idea that current epidemics of obesity and sickness in these Northern people would be best fixed by returning to the old ways of carnivorous diet would not work unless they also returned to living in igloo homes and hunted their lands for every meal. Physicians and dietitians now caring for these people suffering from the western diet with the addition of too much traditional food (ancestral meat) should be prescribing a starch-based diet to help them lose excess weight and cure common dietary diseases.*The term "Eskimo" comes from a Native American word that may have meant "eater of raw meat." The word "Eskimo" has come to be considered offensive, especially in Canada. Many prefer the name "Inuit," which means "the people" or "real people." However, "Eskimo" is the term used in the scientific and historical literature and will be used here.**Misinterpretation is easy to spread because:1) People love to hear good news about their bad habits.2) Nutritional "facts," even when false and harmful, are used to sell meat, fish, and other foods.3) The media loves headlines that sell their products, like "The Eskimo Diet proves Meat's Good."Link: The McDougall Newsletter

This depends upon what areas of the body and how often the procedure is performed. While not a surgeon who regularly performs this procedure I do have serious reservations about it being done. Generally it is performed as elective surgery for cosmetic reasons. Liposuction is usually done on patients to remove subcutaneous fat or the fat that you can feel or pinch ("Pinch an inch"). However, subcutaneous fat is not nearly as concerning from a health impact perspective as visceral fat which is the deeper fat within your abdomen which you cannot feel and therefore most people have no idea about how much they might have. Given visceral fat's well documented association with chronic disease patients should be educated to be far more concerned about reducing visceral fat rather than subcutaneous fat from an overall health perspective.I routinely counsel patients on reducing visceral fat by:1). Reducing carbohydrate intake to roughly 20% of their calories.2). Replace these unhealthy calories which get eliminated by cutting back on carbs with healthier calories. First healthy non-starchy veggies: (broccoli, cauliflower, greens, etc.)3). Eat healthy fats such as avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, grass fed butter, 100% grass fed beef.4). Eliminate processed foods and eat instead foods in a natural form (fresh vegetables rather than "Veggie Chips").5). Introduce healthy exercise. I recommend emphasizing "High Intensity" exercise (once cleared by your physician to do so) such as sprint running, sprint swimming, weight lifting in short intense sessions, pullups, pushups, burpees, etc. You exercise more intensely but for less time with greater return on your effort.6). Healthy sunshine about 15 minutes a day for natural Vitamin D.7). Get about 8 hours sleep a night.8). Stand More! I routinely advise patients to adopt a standing desk or even better a walking treadmill desk.9). Realize and contemplate you get one body in life and it is the most valuable physical item you will ever be given. Take care of it extremely well because to the extent you do that you will be doing what is the most important thing to defining how much use and enjoyment you will obtain from it. Remove subcutaneous fat by liposuction may make your "car" look a little better but it will not improve how it drives. Eat healthy and be healthy and your fat will begin resolving.Sean OMara, MD