The holiday decorations have been put away, the new year is underway, and your resolutions…well, have they already been swept away?

If one of your resolutions was to adopt a healthier lifestyle in the form of losing weight,  combat health issues such as hypertension or high cholesterol, or simply feed yourself and  your family a more balanced diet, inspiration may be on the way!  U.S. News and World Report recently released their best diets for 2012 list.

Diets are rated and categorized according to their primary benefits, such as overall healthy living, weight loss, diabetes control, and easiest to follow.  Some highlights follow:

• DASH Diet.  Ranked as best overall diet, I like this one as it isn’t gimmicky.  At its core it is simply smart eating by incorporating a certain amount of foods from specific food groups.  Heart-healthy and nutritionally varied, the DASH diet was originally created to combat hypertension, but can function as a balanced diet for anyone looking to lose weight or make healthier foods choices.  More information can be found here.
• Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet (TLC).  Created by the National Institute of Health as a means to lower LDL cholesterol (the “bad” one), this diet took second place in the overall diet category.  Essentially it espouses increasing fiber intake while decreasing unhealthy sources of fat such as fatty meats and whole milk.  The dietary recommendations are approved for children and teenagers as well.
• Mayo Clinic Diet.This diet is focused on weight loss, but still ranks third in the overall diet category.  It doesn’t require you to count calories, and you are free to snack as much as you’d like on approved foods.  It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while limiting intake of saturated fats and salt.
• Weight Watchers (WW).  Numero Uno for U.S. News and World Reports category for weight loss.  Most are familiar with WW; no foods are off limits as their points system assigns values to everything based upon protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, and calories.  The number of daily points you are allotted depends upon your current and goal weights.  Support is a big part of the WW theory; with the option of in person WW meetings or online support, this is an attractive option for many.
• Biggest Loser Diet.  Ranked second for weight loss, the Biggest Loser Diet not only emphasizes healthy eating through appropriate portions of foods (heavy on fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains), it also encourages keeping a food journal and exercise to help you slim down.

And remember…resolutions don’t need to start on the first day of the new year.  If your goal is to adopt a healthier diet, for whatever reason, don’t let a day of bad eating cause you to give up this goal.  You can start again…as many times as needed!