This article was first published in听
I was once asked why I don鈥檛 go out and write a diet book to make some easy money. It seems like it would be fairly simple. There are dozens of diet books out there, though many of them blatantly contradict each other. The only real problem seems to be choosing the particular diet to promote as the true one path to weight loss. That鈥檚 actually surprisingly difficult, given that there really is no good evidence that one diet is better than another.
For simplicity, we can lump diets into a few categories: low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, low calorie, very-low-calorie, or alternate day fasting diets. To confuse matters, some diets borrow principles from various categories and so the keto diet, paleo diet, carnivore diet and the like advocate high protein and various degrees of low carb strategies.
The question then becomes, is one diet superior to another? The short is answer is no. A reviewed 48 trials and found that all diets led to weight loss when compared to no diet. The low-carb diets did slightly better than the low-fat diets at six months, with 8.73 vs. 7.99 kilograms lost. The wrinkle is that at 12 months some of that lost weight was regained and the difference between low-fat and low-carb diets (7.25 vs. 7.27 kg) essentially disappeared.
While some people feel very strongly about the low-fat vs. low-carb debate, the evidence base is very messy. A recent study in the BMJ suggested while just a few months earlier, a study in JAMA suggested . Whatever your position on the issue, you can find a study that supports it, as long you are willing to ignore the contradictory evidence.
have become very popular recently, but they don鈥檛 necessarily perform any better than a classic low calorie diet. Low calorie and very low calorie diets promise to not just help you lose weight, but also to help you . Unfortunately, much of the data comes from animal studies, and the short-term weight loss seen with calorie restriction tends to .
The issue with every diet is that many people regain some or all of the lost weight with time. One problem is that some fad diets are simply not sustainable long term. Another problem is that weight loss inevitably leads to loss of lean body mass, which in turn leads to less energy expenditure. Essentially, as you diet and lose weight, your body needs fewer calories for everyday activities (what is often termed as your metabolism slowing down), and weight loss plateaus. One large trial in the found that high protein diets were better for keeping the weight off, but the difference between the low and high protein groups amounted to less than 1 kg.
For anyone truly interested in losing weight in the New Year, a series of small but sustained interventions may end up having a greater long-term impact. Eliminating high calorie drinks can have a substantial effect on weight control. Most people know that sodas are especially high in sugar and calories, but they often don鈥檛 realize that fruit juices, alcohol and even flavoured coffees have a deceptively high calorie count. Just cutting out these non-essentials from your diet can cut hundreds of calories from your daily intake. Let other people agonize over the latest diet. If you want to lose weight, don鈥檛 drink your calories. Drink water.
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