Which Weight-Loss Diets Actually Work?

Photo credit: bigstock.com

Photo credit: bigstock.com

There is so much confusing and contradictory information regarding weight loss out there. Traditionally, a low-fat diet was thought to be the way to go. Other diets tell you to cut out carbs and focus on proteins. More recently, some diets suggest chowing down on fat and cutting out sugar instead. So what is going on here? What dietary changes are actually linked to weight loss?

In this article, we’ll cut through all the confusion and show you the commonalities among diets that actually work, and how to save yourself from frustration on your path to a healthy weight.

Which diet is best?

The answer is, it depends on the person. There are many proven diets for cutting weight, such as the Paleo diet, the Mediterranean diet, the low carb Atkins diet. There are a series of common traits that the most effective diets for weight loss all have.

They emphasize good foods over calorie restriction. “Eating less” might seem like the most obvious thing to do if you want to lose weight, but what you eat is much more important than taking in fewer calories. Simply taking in less calories is not going to help much if those calories still consist of junk food.

Eating healthy whole foods is the best way to lose weight, and if you eat healthy foods, oftentimes it’s what you cut out rather than add that makes the most difference. Eliminating unhealthy foods can make an enormous difference which leads us to the next few items on the list:

Good diets cut out refined carbs, trans fats, and vegetable oils. These three categories of food items are some of the worst offenders when it comes to contributing to obesity.

Your body needs carbohydrates, but refined carbs cause all kinds of haywire with your health.  In these carbs, the endosperm and whole grain are removed by a special process producing a “refined” flour. This contains starch which gives you energy, but very little nutritional value. Refined carbs cause spikes and subsequent crashes in blood sugar levels. Refined carbs can contribute to not only obesity, but diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well.

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