New Research Targets Most Effective Weight Loss Plans and Diets

As schools let out across the country and the summer vacation season kicks into high gear, more and more people are desperately seeking the miracle diet that will get them into top shape before it?s time to don those Speedo trunks or itsy-bitsy bikinis. Fortunately, recent research findings have shed new light on which of the hundreds of weight loss plans out there are most effective. This week, we?ll take a look at what three recently published studies had to say about the best way to lose weight.

Smaller Meals May be Overrated as a Weight Loss Strategy

For decades, nutrition experts and diet gurus have advocated the practice of breaking one?s daily food intake into several smaller meals spread across the day, rather than sticking to the traditional practice of eating three heavier meals. The logic behind this suggestion was that eating smaller meals more frequently would decrease hunger and curb overeating, perhaps even resulting in less calorie consumption over the course of a day.

However, the findings of one recent study call this long-revered piece of dieting wisdom into question. According to the research team at Children?s Hospital in Boston, breaking a meal up into smaller portions did not appear to impact the calories consumed by the subjects in the experiment.

The researchers served a fast food chicken nugget combination meal to a group of 18 overweight teens. Whether the meal was served all at once, in four separate portions served all at once, or in four separate portions served 15 minutes apart, the teens ate approximately the same amount of food each time. None of the alternate portioning strategies appeared to impact the amount of calories the teen subjects consumed. In addition, none of the subjects consumed an entire meal at one sitting, no matter which portion sizes were served. This suggests that hunger, rather than portion perception, may guide caloric consumption.

Researchers Begin to Unravel the Mystery of Hit-or-Miss Low-Fat Diets

For years, the standard assumption was that if you wanted to shed excess pounds, you had to eliminate excess fat from your diet. For decades, the default diet plan that doctors, nutritionists, and diet gurus alike recommended was based on a model of very low fat intake.

It makes sense on an intuitive level -- if you want to lose fat, you should eat less of it. But there was only one major problem -- the low-fat approach to dieting didn?t seem to work for everybody. It was assumed that those who succeeded on a low-fat weight loss regimen were able to do so because they were more motivated, more determined, and had more willpower than their less-successful counterparts.

The findings of a recently-published study are calling these long-held assumptions into question, however. In the May 16th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, study results were released that indicated why low-fat diets may not be effective for everyone who attempts them.

According to the researchers, overweight individuals tend to carry the bulk of their weight in different ways. Two of the main body types seen in obese individuals are apple shapes (large abdomen) and pear shapes (curvier bodies, with weight more evenly distributed). The study found that these two types of body weight patterns may be linked to different chemical compounds that can impact diet success. Generally speaking, apple-shaped individuals tend to have a higher blood insulin level than do their pear-shaped counterparts.

The researchers found that apple-shaped people experienced more weight loss success when they used a low-glycemic weight loss program, rather than a low-fat program. This type of plan emphasizes whole grains and other foods that do not result in sharp increases in blood sugar. Future studies will attempt to build on these findings to further pinpoint the most effective weight loss plans for different body types.

One Researcher Says a Healthy Dose of Realism Can Spark Diet Success

When it comes to mounting an effective weight loss effort, we are often our own worse enemies, according to a researcher at McGill University in Montreal. Barbel Knauper, a psychology professor, has undertaken a number of recent studies geared to assess the factors that can cause diets to succeed or fail.

After interviewing 132 women about their diets, Knauper developed several suggestions to increase the chances for weight loss success. They include:

• Stick to small, realistic goals, such as losing 1-2 lbs. a week

• Keep your diet ?rules? as simple as possible, such as ?eat less, exercise more?

• Make a plan if you are attending a social event where food will be served

• Pick a physician, friend, or family member to be your coach and help you stay accountable, and then check in with periodic progress reports

No matter which way you choose to lose weight this summer, do it in a sensible, consistent way that will boost your overall health. Happy dieting!