Developed by the National Institute of Health’s National Cholesterol Education Program followed by an American Heart Association endorsement, Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) focuses on reducing the bad cholesterol deposition in the body. The TLC diet offers a lot of heart-healthy approaches to losing weight, similar to the Ornish and DASH diets. The TLC diet can highly reduce the risk of any cardiovascular disease, but the results are slow when compared to other diets.

Pros

• No starving: Compared to their aggressive diets, TLC won’t put any individual to starve and it is pretty much budget friendly and flexible. It is good for dieters who already keep a check of their calorie intake by referring to the nutritional label.
• The TLC diet follows the National Institute of health guidelines and it doesn’t eliminate any food group which makes it one of the easiest diets to practice. However, fatty meats and dairy products are a strict no for better results.
• The American Heart Association claims that the level of bad cholesterol can be reduced by 8 to 10% by six weeks if one strictly follows a TLC diet. A low-fat diet is a proven technique for weight loss and increasing cardiovascular health.
• TLC diet is rich in fiber and loaded with plenty of fruits and vegetables so one can stay assured that following a TLC diet will never make an individual feel food deprived.
• TLC diet basically focuses on reducing dairy products which are rich in fat and encourages the consumption of skinless lean meat like chicken or turkey. A low-fat diet includes cereals, fruits, and vegetables so an individual practicing a TLC diet need not spend anything extra.
• One of the biggest benefits of following a TLC diet is that it is balanced for everyone; hence, it can be followed by any age group including children as well as dieters. TLC diet helps in preventing type 2 diabetes and also increase the health of the cardiovascular system hence can be followed by any age group.

Like a rose with thorns, the TLC diet has a down side. Some of the downsides can actually discourage someone to practice a TLC diet are

• The TLC diet needs a lot of personal attention when it comes to consuming calories. One has to be responsible for everything they eat and should keep a thorough check so that the daily cholesterol intake shouldn’t go over 200 mg.
• The TLC diet is flexible, but the very same flexibility can become a curse. TLC diet has different consumption amount for all the elements involved in a diet. Keeping a check of the meat, fruits and vegetables, non-fat dairy consume can be a little overwhelming. Finding a daily diet with a calorie count not exceeding 1200 calories.
• The TLC diet wasn’t designed to reduce weight and focuses more on improving the cardio vascular health although it does lead to weight loss but very slowly. Someone expecting a quick outcome can get disappointed.