The safe, effective, and straightforward method for losing weight at home through a banting diet, which significantly restricts carbohydrate absorption, is steadily gaining popularity due to its associated health benefits.
Losing weight at home with a banting diet can lead to improved energy levels, better sleep, enhanced overall health, a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, all while shedding excess weight. Let’s delve into this weight loss approach with goodheathplan.com!
How to Lose Weight at Home with the Banting Diet
The banting diet, a longstanding remedy for obesity, is an approach that restricts carbohydrate intake while promoting a high-fat (LCHF) diet, similar to the keto diet. The macronutrient distribution in this diet for daily caloric intake typically consists of less than 5-10% from carbs, 65-90% from fat, and 10-35% from protein.
The banting diet essentially eliminates a food group to significantly limit carb absorption while emphasizing the consumption of healthier, unprocessed foods. The benefits include effective weight loss, increased energy levels, improved sleep quality, reduced hunger, elevated mood, and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. For some individuals, the banting diet becomes an essential long-term lifestyle choice.
Is the Banting Diet the Fastest Way to Lose Weight?
In contrast to crash diets for rapid weight loss, the banting diet is divided into four phases to facilitate a gradual transition to an LCHF lifestyle.
- Phase 1: During this one-week period, you are required to maintain your current diet without making any adjustments.
- Phase 2: This phase focuses on restoring gut health and acclimating to the banting way of eating. Its duration can range from 2 to 12 weeks, depending on your weight loss goals. During this phase, you’ll need to replace foods from the red and light red lists with those from the green and orange lists (more details below). Calorie counting and portion control are not necessary during this phase.
- Phase 3: In this stage, you initiate the transition to a banting diet that can improve mental clarity, sleep quality, acne and skin irritations, and even alleviate joint pain. You can extend this phase by incorporating intermittent fasting, exercise, sleep, and meditation techniques to reach your target weight.
- Phase 4: This is the final phase of the diet, commencing once you’ve reached your desired weight and typically continuing indefinitely to help maintain your new weight. During this phase, you have the flexibility to reintroduce foods that were restricted in the previous phase, determining which ones you can safely consume without gaining weight. If you find that your weight starts to increase, you can always revert to the previous phase for weight loss management.
Foods to Include and Avoid in a Banting Diet for Weight Loss

In the Banting diet, the green list comprises items such as fruits, green leafy vegetables, corn, asparagus, peppers, radishes, and so on.
When following a banting diet for weight loss at home, it’s important to steer clear of processed foods and opt for healthier choices that are low in gluten, sugar, starch, dairy, and caffeine. This diet provides a comprehensive list of foods to include and foods to avoid:
The Green List – Go-To Foods for Home Weight Loss
These foods can be consumed without restrictions:
- Fruits and vegetables: Green leafy vegetables, artichokes, asparagus, beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, mustard greens, spinach, cucumber, dill, garlic, kale, leeks, lemon, lettuce, toast, mushrooms, olives, onions, okra, peppers, radishes, chives, spinach, green onions, peas, tomatoes, and radishes.
- Meat, fish, and poultry: All types of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, organ meats, and naturally processed meats like salami, ham, bacon, cold cuts, eggs, bone broth, and cheese.
- Beverages: Caffeine-free herbal tea, flavored water, and filtered water.
- Seasonings: All types of vinegar and fermented soy sauce.
- Fermented foods: Coconut yogurt, kefir butter, cheese, kimchi, milk kefir, naturally fermented pickles, and sauerkraut.
- Fats: Any animal fats, butter, cream, coconut oil, fruit and nut oils, mayonnaise, and seeds.
The Orange List

Butter, milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, raw nuts you need to consume in moderation.
Foods on the orange list offer numerous health benefits but should be consumed in moderation to support your weight loss efforts:
- Nuts: All raw nuts and unsweetened nut butters (such as peanut butter).
- Dairy: Milk and milk alternatives, cottage cheese, cream, full-fat yogurt, and sour cream.
- Fruits: Apples, apricots, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, fresh figs, gooseberries, grapes, guava, jackfruit, kiwi, kumquats, lychees, kumquats, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papayas, pears, peaches, persimmon, pineapple, banana, plum, pomegranate, quince, raspberry, star fruit, strawberry, tangerine, and watermelon.
- Beverages: Tea and coffee (containing caffeine).
- Legumes: All types of beans, chickpeas, and lentils.
- Fermented foods: Fermented kefir drinks and kombucha tea.
- Fruits and vegetables: Beets, pumpkins, baby corn, carrots, potatoes, cassava, corn, turnips, Hubbard squash, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, zucchini, and sweet potatoes.
Light Red List

Foods that should not be consumed include ice cream, canned yogurt, dark chocolate, honey, maple syrup, and so on.
This is a list of foods you should rarely consume:
- Smoothies and juices: Fruit smoothies, canned yogurt or ice cream, as well as vegetable juices without added sugar.
- Snacks and chocolates: Dark chocolate (80% or more), dried fruit, honey, and pure maple syrup.
- Gluten-free cereals: Amaranth, buckwheat, bran, gluten-free pasta, millet, oats, popcorn, rice, sorghum, quinoa, tapioca, and coffee beans.
- Flour: Almond flour, coconut flour, corn flour, chickpea flour, pea flour, rice flour, and yellow cornstarch.
Red List

The critical list of items that should never be consumed includes fast food, candy, and gluten-containing foods.
This is the most critical list when it comes to losing weight at home on a banting diet, as it includes foods you should avoid completely:
- General foods: Fast food, foods with added sugar, chips, and sauces containing sugar.
- Sweets: All types of dark chocolate and confectionery, artificial sweeteners, canned fruit, coconut sugar, fructose, glucose, jam, malt, malt syrup, and golden syrup.
- Gluten: Foods containing gluten such as barley, bulgur wheat, durum wheat (durum), ancient wheat einkorn, rice flour, graham flour, khorasan wheat (kamut), orzo pasta, rye, and rice germ noodles.
- Cereal products: All breaded foods, breakfast cereals, and crackers.
- Drinks: Energy drinks, soft drinks, canned juices, canned teas, flavored milks, and milkshakes.
- Dairy-related foods: Coffee creamers, condensed milk, ice cream, and frozen yogurt sold in stores.
- Fats: Spreadable butter, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, margarine, fats, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, and safflower oil.
- Processed meat: Sausages and processed meats containing sugar.
Gray List

This list hinders your weight loss progress, including items like protein powders, baked goods, and sugar-free ice cream.
The gray list includes foods suitable for a banting diet but may slow down your weight loss progress, so consume them in moderation:
- Tasty treats like baked goods and unsweetened ice cream.
- Artificial sweeteners: Xylitol, erythritol, isomalt, stevia powder, and sucralose.
- Beverages: All alcoholic beverages, protein powders, and dietary supplements.
- Vegetarian protein: Naturally fermented tofu, soy protein, and processed beans.
The Benefits of Losing Weight at Home with the Banting Diet
Following a Banting diet can lead to various health benefits, including:
Improved Metabolism
Scientifically proven, the Banting diet can reduce insulin and fasting blood sugar levels while enhancing insulin sensitivity. Consequently, this diet is gradually gaining popularity as a potential method to reduce risk factors for both type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It also lowers triglycerides and high blood pressure levels, increases HDL (good) cholesterol, and reverses non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Enhanced Overall Health
High consumption of processed foods is linked to increased oxidative stress and inflammation, contributing to the development of chronic non-communicable diseases such as cancer and heart disease, which elevate the risk of death. In contrast, consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps reduce the risk of oxidative stress and inflammation. The Banting diet restricts processed foods and those high in sugar, emphasizing the consumption of healthy and nutritious foods that can provide the above-mentioned health benefits.
Is the Banting Diet the Best Approach to Weight Loss at Home?
There is substantial scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Banting diet for weight loss. When you restrict carbohydrates, your body is stimulated to maximize fat oxidation to meet its energy needs. Consequently, this diet has a higher protein content than other dietary methods and relies heavily on fat for energy, leading to increased satiety, reduced hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and an elevated metabolic rate. Additionally, eliminating foods from both the red and light red lists can increase the likelihood of faster weight loss, as processed and sugary foods are associated with excess weight.

Is the Banting diet the most effective method for losing weight at home?
While this diet offers numerous health benefits, it does restrict certain food groups that provide essential nutrients. Therefore, it’s advisable not to follow the Banting diet or any other diet continuously but to take breaks to ensure that your body consistently receives necessary nutrients.
Goodheathplan.com has just shared with you how to lose weight at home, including lists of foods to eat and avoid. To maximize effectiveness, consider incorporating exercise or engaging in your favorite sports alongside these dietary changes.

Johnny Jacks was born in 1985 in Texas, USA. He is the founder of Good Health Plan and is passionate about helping people improve their health and physical well-being. With over a decade of experience working in the healthcare industry, he currently works at Goodheathplan.com – a blog that shares knowledge on beauty and health.