The New Year brings the promise of fresh starts, updated goals, and brighter days. Whether you’re embarking on a health and fitness journey for the first time or refining last year’s efforts, it’s only natural to start with the foundation: your diet.

Yes, the word “diet” often carries negative connotations. However, the word refers to how we nourish our bodies. Regardless of the approach, your diet impacts how you feel, how well you recover, how your clothing fits, your energy levels, as well as measurable health markers like blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids. So, it’s a good idea to check in with your diet now and then to see if it’s helping you get closer to (rather than further from) your goals.

This year, we’re again looking at popular diets and nutritional approaches. How well do they combine science, sustainability, and personal well-being? Many of these are tried-and-true methods that have stood the test of time. Others may just be gaining traction.

If weight loss is one of your goals, remember creating a consistent energy deficit—where you burn more calories than you consume—is key. And, as always, the “best” diet depends on your individual goals, preferences, and lifestyle. Most importantly, it’s the diet you’ll follow, at least most of the time.

The Best Diets for 2025

1. High-Protein Diet

One of the most supported ways to control appetite, reduce cravings, and improve body composition is by following a high-protein diet. This approach helps preserve or build calorie-burning muscle while supporting overall diet quality.

Another variation to consider is the Satiating Diet, which prioritizes filling, nutrient-dense foods, including protein, healthy fats, and fiber. By focusing on satiety, this diet helps reduce hunger and promotes adherence over the long term.

2. Mediterranean Diet

Consistently ranked as one of the healthiest diets, the Mediterranean Diet emphasizes whole, natural foods and daily activity. More than a diet, this lifestyle approach is one that’s rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats (like olive oil), and quality proteins. It’s adaptable to most lifestyles, making it a perennial favorite.

Other popular lifestyle-based approaches to consider include:

• Ayurvedic Diet: Based on ancient wisdom, this approach promotes vitality through whole, minimally processed foods and mindful eating practices.
• Clean Eating: By avoiding ultra-processed and refined foods, this diet focuses on consuming wholesome, nutrient-dense options.
• Intuitive Eating: An anti-diet movement that focuses on listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues, with the goal of fostering a healthier relationship with food. It isn’t, however, as easy as it sounds. Many of us are out of practice when it comes to understanding hunger and thirst cues, especially when distracted or offered highly palatable foods.
• Volumetrics Diet: This method is one of the new lifestyle approaches. It prioritizes low-calorie, high-volume foods with the goal of helping you feel full while maintaining a calorie deficit. Because you eat “more,” you’re less likely to feel deprived even while consuming fewer calories.
• 80/20 Diet: Rather than following a “diet,” this flexible guideline encourages you to eat healthfully 80% of the time while allowing indulgences 20% of the time. It can be applied to any dieting style and is less of a rule than an attitude designed for moderation. 

The foundation of all these lifestyle approaches is the consumption of real, whole foods that nourish your body, mind, and spirit, combined with a more active lifestyle to help you feel more vibrant and energized. Plus, they can also help you drop a few pounds if needed. 

3. Low-Carb Diet

Reducing carbohydrate intake has been shown to aid weight loss and improve metabolic health for many people. Of course, no macronutrient is “bad.” And carbohydrates are necessary for fueling an active lifestyle and brain power. That said, lowering the amount of carbs consumed (especially refined carbohydrates) has been found to improve results for many. Popular variations include:

• The Ketogenic Diet (or Keto, for short): This very low-carb, high-fat diet is designed to induce ketosis and promote fat-burning and energy efficiency.
• Part-Time Keto: Because the ketogenic diet is difficult or impractical for many to follow, especially long term, this more flexible dietary approach alternates between low-carb days and moderate-carb days.
• Atkins Diet: An established lower-carb plan that gradually increases carb intake as you near your goals.
• Carb Cycling: A strategic method that adjusts carb intake based on activity levels, ensuring you have enough energy for workouts.

4. Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) has gained significant attention for its potential to enhance weight loss, improve insulin sensitivity, and support autophagy (i.e., the body’s ability to clear out damaged cells and regenerate new, healthier cells). Popular forms of IF include:

• 16:8 Method: Fasting for 16 hours and eating during an 8-hour window.
• Time-Restricted Feeding: Limiting all meals to a specific time frame each day.

Before diving in, it’s essential to determine if fasting aligns with your health needs and lifestyle. It’s not for everyone, but there are tips to help your body acclimate if you want to give it a go.

5. Plant-Based Diets

Plant-based (aka vegetarian) eating continues to rise in popularity, with benefits ranging from improved health to environmental sustainability. It feels like there are endless variations of this type of diet. Some of the most popular include:

• High-Protein, Plant-Based Diets: You don’t necessarily need to eat animal products. In fact, with some knowledge and preparation, you can meet your protein needs with only plant sources like legumes, tofu, and quinoa.
• Vegan Diet: Any animal foods (including any foods derived from animals) are off-limits, which may help improve gut health (due to the increased intake of fiber) and decrease inflammation. 
• Flexitarian Diet: This diet emphasizes plant foods while allowing occasional meat or fish. Because it allows for more flexibility, it’s continuing to gain in popularity, whether you’re reducing animal products to promote health, decrease environmental impact, or lower grocery costs.
• Pescatarian Diet: Adding fish and seafood to a mostly plant-based diet allows for quality protein and omega-3 benefits and also increases your dietary options.

6. Paleo Diet

The Paleo Diet encourages eating whole foods that were presumably available to our ancestors (though there’s admittedly a lot of debate on the subject), like meats, fish, vegetables, and nuts. Variations like the Whole30 Diet add a stricter elimination component, which can be especially beneficial for those trying to identify food sensitivities.

7. Diets for Specific Health Goals

Many people change their diets not to lose weight but rather to improve health. Sadly, the Standard American Diet has been found to lead to an increased risk of heart issues, lower energy levels, obesity, diabetes, and more. Fortunately, health experts, including doctors and researchers, have designed diets that specifically help address these types of health concerns. And many are supported by loads of research. Check out: 

• DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension): Designed to lower high blood pressure to help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, which can be silent killers.
• MIND Diet: This powerful nutrition plan combines DASH and Mediterranean principles to support brain (including mental) health and improve overall health markers.
• Anti-Inflammatory Diet: Chronic inflammation, even at a low grade, can contribute to a host of health complications. This diet is designed to combat chronic inflammation to support overall health.
• Low FODMAP Diet: Helps manage chronic digestive discomfort caused by fermentable carbohydrates, which can lead to bloating, gas, heartburn, abdominal pain, etc. It may also help you pinpoint unresolved food allergies and sensitivities.
• Low-Histamine Diet: Reduces foods that may trigger allergic reactions or sensitivities by helping decrease the histamines naturally found in many diets.

Diets to Approach with Caution

Not all diets are created equal, and some popular ones may do more harm than good. This can be especially true of fad or fly-by-night diets that start trending on social media. In general, it’s best to avoid restrictive, unsustainable diets. Some that have gotten press in the last few years include the Grapefruit Diet, HCG Diet (or other extremely low-calorie diets), and juice cleanses.

Choosing the Best Diets This Year

Ultimately, the best diets this year are the ones that align with your goals, preferences, and lifestyle that you can stick to over the long term. By focusing on nutrient-dense, whole foods and maintaining a sustainable routine, you can enjoy better energy, improved health, and even weight loss if desired. 

It’s important to remember there’s no one-size-fits-all best diet. We all have different goals, bodies, lifestyles, and eating preferences. So, the diet that works best for you may differ from the one that works best for your partner, siblings, best friends, or co-workers. Be curious as you explore to find what diet works best for how you feel as you strive to reach your goals.

Fortunately, there are many healthy choices! And with a little trial and error, combined with an open mind, you can find the best diet for YOU this year!