What Is the Best Diet to Lose Weight? A More Balanced Way to Think About January Weight Loss

by Lucia Stansbie

Let me start by saying something that might sound surprising coming from a nutritionist: weight loss is not the holy grail of health.

Health is not a number on the scale, and body weight alone tells us very little about metabolic health, nutritional status, stress resilience, or long-term wellbeing. That said, I also recognise something very real. January is often the moment when people pause, take stock, and realise that—between busy schedules, stress, illness, family demands, or simply life happening—they haven’t had the chance to focus on nourishing themselves or moving their bodies in a supportive way.

As a result, weight may have slowly crept up. Clothes feel tighter, energy feels lower, and motivation can feel fragile. Wanting to be proactive at this point is completely understandable.

What often follows, however, is confusion. A quick Google search for “what is the best diet to lose weight” opens the door to thousands of conflicting messages, dramatic transformations, and growing pressure to consider weight loss drugs such as Ozempic or other GLP-1 agonists. For many people, this creates anxiety rather than clarity.

My aim with this article is to offer a calmer, more grounded way to approach weight loss—one that prioritises health first, sustainability second, and weight change as a possible outcome, not the primary goal.

Before Thinking About Diets, Ask the Right Question

Before changing how you eat, it’s essential to understand why weight gain has happened in the first place.

In clinical practice, weight gain is very often not just about food quantity or exercise. Conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), an underactive thyroid, insulin resistance, chronic stress, disrupted sleep, perimenopause, and gut-related imbalances can all influence body weight regulation. In these situations, focusing purely on calorie restriction or following a popular diet can lead to frustration and, in some cases, worsen metabolic stress.

If an underlying health condition is present, addressing that root cause should always come first. Only once this has been explored does it make sense to look at modifying eating habits with weight management in mind.

Why There Is No Single “Best Diet” for Weight Loss

One of the most important things I try to communicate to clients is that there is no universally “best” diet—because bodies do not all work in the same way.

We know from nutritional science and genetics that people differ significantly in how they regulate appetite, store fat, respond to carbohydrates, and manage blood sugar. For example, variants in the FTO gene, one of the most studied genes linked to weight regulation, are associated with increased appetite and a stronger drive to eat energy-dense foods. This doesn’t mean weight gain is inevitable, but it can mean that certain restrictive diets feel much harder to sustain.

Other genes, such as ADIPOQ, influence how fat tissue behaves and how efficiently the body manages insulin sensitivity and inflammation. These subtle differences can affect how easily someone loses weight, how their body composition changes during dieting, and how likely weight regain is once a diet ends.

Understanding these biological differences helps explain why one person may thrive on a Mediterranean-style diet, while another struggles with constant hunger or low energy on the same plan.

Weight Loss Is Easy to Start—Harder to Maintain

Many diets can produce short-term weight loss. The real challenge, and the one most people struggle with, is how to lose weight and keep it off.

From a physiological perspective, aggressive dieting often triggers adaptive responses: increased hunger hormones, reduced metabolic rate, and loss of lean mass. Over time, this makes weight regain more likely. This is not a failure of discipline—it is a normal biological response designed to protect the body.

Long-term weight stability is far more likely when eating habits support blood sugar balance, adequate protein intake, muscle preservation, and satiety. Importantly, these habits must fit into real life. A plan that constantly feels like a battle rarely leads to lasting results.

Where Genetics Adds Useful Context

This is where genetic testing can add meaningful insight—when used thoughtfully and interpreted within a clinical framework.

Genetic testing does not tell you what you must eat, nor does it replace the need to address lifestyle or health conditions. What it can do is help identify which eating habits are more likely to support your body, based on how genes involved in appetite regulation, fat metabolism, and insulin sensitivity tend to behave.

At Food Power Nutrition, genetic testing is used to refine nutritional strategies, not to prescribe rigid diets. It helps move away from trial-and-error dieting and towards a more personalised, sustainable approach to weight management.

A More Supportive Way to Approach January

If January is the moment you’ve decided to refocus on your health, that’s a positive step. Just remember that meaningful change doesn’t come from panic, pressure, or extreme measures.

Understanding whether weight gain is linked to an underlying health issue, improving eating habits in a way that supports your physiology, and using personalised insights where appropriate creates a far more solid foundation than chasing the latest trend.

Weight may change as a result—but often, the first improvements people notice are better energy, a healthier relationship with food, and greater confidence in their choices. And those are outcomes worth aiming for.