New Research Determines Which Diet Is Most Effective On How To Maintain Weight Loss

New research shows you how to keep those unwanted pounds off for good after working so hard to lose it in the first place.

A frustrating fact for those trying to maintain a healthy weight is that only one in six overweight people can maintain their weight loss over a long period of time. Many feel that finding a method on how to maintain their weight loss can be as allusive as the proverbial pot of gold.

One of the reasons why people tend to regain their weight after losing excess pounds is that their bodies experience a reduction in metabolism. In other words, their bodies burn fewer calories. This reduction in their metabolism makes it difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

Researches at the Boston Children's Hospital have a solution to this problem after studying the effect on metabolism of three types of diets:

1. A Low Fat Diet with 60% of daily calories from carbohydrates, 20% from fat and 20% from protein
2. A Low Glycemic Index Diet with 40% of daily calories from carbohydrates, 40% from fat and 20% from protein and
3. A Low Carbohydrate diet with 10% of daily calories from carbohydrates, 60% from fat and 30% from protein.

The results show that the low carbohydrate diet produces the best improvement in metabolism after losing 10 to 15% of body weight. However, the low carbohydrate diet also causes hormonal changes that can lead to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease.

The low fat diet has the worse effect on metabolism of the three diets studied. Metabolism plummets with the low fat diet, which can make it difficult for weight loss patients to keep the excess pounds off.

The low glycemic index diet, on the other hand, produces similar improvements in metabolism as the low carb diet without the negative hormonal changes. Another plus for the low glycemic index diet is that it does not reduce or eliminate any food groups. This gives weight loss patients a larger variety of foods to choose for their meals, which may encourage them to remain on a healthy diet.

The combination of beneficial effects on metabolism, no negative changes in hormonal chemistry and no elimination of food groups may make the low glycemic index diet the best choice to keep the excess weight off over the long term.

Charles A. Pennison

References:

JAMA: " Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight Loss Maintenance "
Boston Children's Hospital: " Study Challenges The Notion That Calorie Is Just A Calorie "