In the world of health and wellness, there are hundreds of different dietary programs and plans to choose from – all that tout the ability to make you healthier and lose unwanted weight. With so many diets to choose from, it’s hard to tell what will give you the results you’re looking for.
In this comparison, we’ll explore the features and benefits of these popular diet choices compared to the Fresh Tri app and the Iterative Mindset MethodTM. Let’s take a look!
Overview of Whole30, Keto, and Paleo
Each of these three dietary programs differ in form and function however, they are all structured around a “whole food” approach that emphasizes eating unprocessed foods.
Whole30
The Whole30 dietary program was created in 2009 by Melissa (Hartwig) Urban and her then-husband Dallas Hartwig. The founders believe that sugar, grains, dairy, alcohol, and legumes may affect weight, stress, and energy levels. While many people use this program as a way to lose weight, it is not the focus of this methodology – calorie counting and weigh-ins are discouraged during this 30-day elimination diet. This program is designed to be a “reset” to your system to reduce cravings and inflammation in the body triggered by certain foods.
Keto
The Ketogenic (“keto”) diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat dietary program originally designed to treat epilepsy and other seizure disorders. It waned in popularity in the 1990s as anticonvulsant drugs were introduced to the market, however, it has been gaining traction as a popular weight-loss strategy.
Paleo
The Paleo diet is a whole foods diet that focuses on the food groups consumed by our Paleolithic ancestors; it’s also known as the “caveman diet.” The modern version of this eating plan includes fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, and seeds. It excludes foods that became popular when agriculture became modernized, such as starchy vegetables, grains, legumes, and dairy products. People choose the Paleo diet to lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease, among other reasons, and it has some scientific backing.
Overview of Fresh Tri
Fresh Tri is a revolutionary science-backed app that leverages the power of the Iterative Mindset MethodTM. This method highlights the importance of practice and iteration as a means to establish long-term change and habit formation. It’s built specifically for your habenula – your motivation kill-switch. With gentle nudges and loads of educational resources, Fresh Tri helps users make sustainable changes for a happier and healthier life.
Research has shown that practice is key to establishing habits that can be maintained long-term rather than using a preset system to change a certain behavior. This can tremendously impact a person’s ability to lose weight (and keep it off), exercise more, drink more water, or adopt a positive mindset.
Fresh Tri was designed with real humans in mind – ones that stumble and need a little support as they practice and tweak their way toward lasting health and wellness. Researcher and medical doctor Kyra Bobinet, MD MPH, continues to work deep in the science of behavior change, and Fresh Tri participants reap the associated benefits.
Whole30, Keto, and Paleo Features
Let’s go over some of the key features of the Whole30, Keto, and Paleo diets.
Whole30
The Whole30 program is a 30-day elimination diet that aims to “reset” the body from the traditional Western diet. The rules are fairly strict and deviation from them can feel like a major setback. There are many foods to avoid, so it’s typically easier to note what you can eat: moderate amounts of meat, seafood, and eggs; lots of vegetables, fruit, natural fats, and herbs, spices, and seasonings. You’ll notice that these foods are minimally processed, and if you’re unable to pronounce the ingredients, you must avoid them.
After you have followed the elimination diet for a full 30 days, you carefully reintroduce the off-limits foods one at a time to look out for any reactions, such as gastric problems, body rashes, or energy dips. This reintroduction period can take a long time, considering many food groups are excluded. Food groups can be reintroduced in any order however, during reintroduction, you must also maintain the basic Whole30 plan.
There are no specific meal plans you must adhere to during a month of Whole30, but many resources and products are available that are Whole30-approved.
Keto
As it has historically been prescribed, the keto diet is a whole-food-based low-carb, high-fat diet to assist in seizure management. It requires complete adherence and is medically managed by a team of medical professionals. The use of the keto diet as a weight loss tool is not typically managed by a medical professional. This article will speak specifically about the use of keto as the latter.
The diet requires that participants reduce their carbohydrate intake significantly – under 50 grams of carbs per day. For reference, the typical American diet consumes more than 250 grams of carbohydrates per day. Participants then increase their fat and protein intake to make up the rest of their caloric needs. This is thought to reduce the body’s dependence on sugar as an energy source and uses fat as the primary source of fuel.
Keto can be adapted to personal preferences while still having the intended weight-loss effects. You may hear people describe it as “dirty keto” or “lazy keto,” where participants focus solely on the macronutrient counts rather than the quality of food they are ingesting, so long as it hits their macros for the day.
There are no specific programs or meal requirements for the keto diet, no matter the version. However, there are many keto-approved products and resources available.
Paleo
The Paleo diet is a high protein content, high fiber intake, and high fat intake diet and is very popular with the Crossfit community. It has many of the same features as the other programs we’ve already spoken about. Paleo requires that participants stick to the rigid structure of allowed and not-allowed foods for optimal health. The Paleo diet is very focused on whole food intake rather than consuming what will fit the macronutrient requirements for the day.
On this diet, participants are less focused on the number of calories and more on the quality of the food they consume. The permitted list includes fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, eggs, lean meats (particularly grass-fed animals and wild game), fish, and oils from fruits and nuts (such as walnut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil.). Things to avoid include grains, legumes, dairy products, refined and added sugars, added salt, starchy vegetables (such as white potatoes and corn), and highly processed foods with hard-to-pronounce ingredients.
There are no specific programs of meal requirements for a Paleo diet however, there are many resources online and in print available for guidance.
Fresh Tri Features
Fresh Tri is backed by brain science, and we’ve set up a system that puts the user in charge, creating a simple, supportive environment for you to make the changes you want.
Here is a sneak peek at some of the Fresh Tri features:
Pick your Tri — we’ll guide you through some big-picture categories that help you narrow in on what you want to change first. Then, you’ll select the accompanying activities you think best suit your lifestyle and start practicing!
Get expert guidance – our team of nationally-recognized clinicians will provide you with actionable insights and real-life opportunities across all well-being topics, from healthy eating to social wellness.
Find your Tri(be) — we know that all good things happen in a community, and we’ve created an engagement center for you to connect, collaborate, brainstorm, and share. You also get access to individualized support and tons of additional resources to inspire and educate you along the way!
Fresh Tri vs. Whole30, Keto, and Paleo Feature List
Want to find out how Fresh Tri stacks against these dietary programs? We’ve got you covered.
| Fresh Tri | Whole30 | Keto | Paleo | |
| Approach to change | The Iterative Mindset Method™, a proprietary, research-backed way to change behavior | Strict adherence to an elimination diet. Not a long-term solution for change. | No support for change. May not be appropriate for long-term weight-loss success. | No support for change. Adherence to a dietary plan is required without deviation. |
| Research-backed practices | X | X | ||
| Personalization | X | X | X | X |
| Web-based resources | X | X | X | X |
| User-friendly app | X | |||
| Push notifications | X | |||
| Coaching options | X | |||
| Meal planning options | ||||
| Calorie tracking | ||||
| Fitness tracking | ||||
| Weekly reports | X | |||
| Status trackers | ||||
| Cost to consumer | Fresh Tri is free for everyone! | Whole30 is free to participate in; users pay for their own meals. | The Keto diet is free to participate in; users pay for their own meals. | The Paleo diet is free to participate in; users pay for their own meals. |
| Ratings | Fresh Tri’s app is rated 4.6 stars on the App Store and 4.6 stars on Google Play |
Who is Whole30, Keto, and Paleo Best For?
These diets are particularly attractive to people looking to change their eating habits and want to incorporate more healthy food choices.
Whole30 is great for people who are looking to rule out food sensitivities and change their eating behaviors.
Keto is best for people who are seeking to lose weight, manage blood sugar levels, and increase energy levels.
Paleo is best for people interested in aligning their dietary intake with our ancestors and consuming more whole, unprocessed foods.
Who is Fresh Tri Best For?
Fresh Tri is best for people who want to harness the power of the Iterative Mindset MethodTM, and break free from the cycle of perceived failure. We like to say that iterators never fail! With Fresh Tri, you’ll “tri” your way to lasting health and wellness through deep-rooted behavior change and brain science.
The failure cycle is not your fault. You are not the problem. When you feel bad, your brain tries to protect you and decreases motivation to engage with the activity that made you feel that way. There’s a better way to get to your goals.
With Fresh Tri, we believe that you should be in charge of your goals and then able to try something in a low-risk, highly supportive environment. Through practice, you’ll build enduring habits. This isn’t a one-and-done method or a system: it’s an entirely new mindset that sets you up for an entirely new kind of life.
Employer Opportunities With Fresh Tri vs. Whole30, Keto, and Paleo
The Whole30, Keto, and Paleo dietary programs do not offer employer opportunities.
Fresh Tri drives clinical outcomes, high retention, and engagement, one mindset at a time. Our brain-based approach delivers sustainable change in health behaviors, especially for high-risk, high-cost individuals. Enterprise businesses such as Walmart partner with Fresh Tri to support their population with powerful alternatives to conventional behavior-change approaches such as goal-setting, behavior tracking and incentives.
These methods have proven fleeting or ineffective for many people. Our science-backed model shows that not only can we help people lose weight, but we can help them shift their mindset to build resilience and well-being long term.
Are you ready to Tri? Your employees deserve it. Get started today.
Competitor Reviews
The Whole30 diet has very mixed reviews online.
The Keto diet received a 3.9/5 rating for weight loss on the U.S. News Health website. Here is what they had to say:
“The keto diet performed the best in this category, with experts noting that the low-carb plan is generally a quick, effective weight-loss strategy. But one expert cautions that its effectiveness as a short-term diet doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. “The only benefit of this diet is short-term weight loss … but its potential health ramifications make it a less desirable option.”
The Paleo diet ranked No. 19 in Best Diets Overall. 24 diets were evaluated with input from a panel of health experts. Here is what they had to say:
“Experts showed little confidence in the paleo diet’s ability to prevent or manage cardiovascular disease. It was among the lowest-scoring diets in this category.
One expert panelist did note, however, that “studies show positive health outcomes (heart disease, weight and diabetes) when the diet is followed short term (less than 6 months). The big ‘if’ is if people follow the set guidelines for lean protein and healthy fats.”
Fresh Tri Reviews
Here are a few reviews of Fresh Tri:
I have been very pleased with my first few weeks using Fresh Tri. I really like how the app isn’t about dieting exactly but is more aimed at building a mindset that helps maintain healthy behaviors to support weight loss (for me, lowering my sugar intake). Loved my mindset coach and the live sessions have been super helpful. Easy to use flow & fun designs too!
- Madeleine Mersky
Fresh Tri takes a holistic approach to support MY health goals. It’s clear that they’re using behavior science to make me feel like I’m in control rather than being told what to do. I appreciate the clean design, community, coaching expertise, and customizable reminders. There’s tons of value packed into this one app.
- Dean Achelis
I have needed to increase my water intake, to improve my health, for a while now. I get caught up doing things or get too busy and end up sticking with the usual. I happened on to this app and I’m finding it to be a HUGE support and exactly what I needed to increase my water. It helps to see others choosing to improve, plus the positive comments are such an AWESOME part of this whole process. Kind comments in our world today is BIG in my book. There are also insightful videos that I’m learning from and enjoying. I will say I’m surprised that I am responding in so many positive ways to the format and execution of this app. But I am!! It’s EXACTLY what I needed!!!
Apple – georgiaj13, 05/22/2023
What’s Better: Whole30, Keto, and Paleo or Fresh Tri?
The decision to follow a Whole30, Keto, or Paleo diet depends on the individual and their health and wellness goals. These three diet programs may offer rapid results but require unwavering adherence to their strict plans.
This may not work for everyone and some may require a more nuanced approach, such as the practice and tweak approach that Fresh Tri supports. Fresh Tri isn’t a “quick fix” diet, or an abrupt overhaul of your current lifestyle. It’s a holistic approach that emphasizes gradual and sustainable behavior change that results in lasting health and wellness.
To learn more about Fresh Tri, download the app today.
