I've often wondered why people insist on trying to lose weight via low-carb (eg. Atkins) or low-fat diets. A study in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine this week found that what you eat matters less than the number of calories you take in:..participants were assigned to and taught about diets that emphasized different contents of carbohydrates, fat, and protein and were given reinforcement for 2 years through group and individual sessions. The principal finding is that the diets were equally successful in promoting clinically meaningful weight loss and the maintenance of weight loss over the course of 2 years...diets that are successful in causing weight loss can emphasize a range of fat, protein, and carbohydrate compositions that have beneficial effects on risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Such diets can also be tailored to individual patients on the basis of their personal and cultural preferences and may therefore have the best chance for long-term success.
In other words, it makes little sense to suffer by trying to avoid bread, pasta, or fats. As the old adage goes: everything in moderation.
Posts
