I have recently had numerous individuals reach out to me about weight loss leading in to the following year. This week, I will share bits of information found through reading several articles including meta analysis (study of studies).
The conversation of these articles are intended to discuss weight loss specifically and not necessarily other health associated affects as this information can typically have a lot of “and, if or buts”. If there are other additions to the conversation please reach out to me as I can public additional content in the future.
Some individuals have special circumstanced where they should consult with a registered dietitian to accommodate their specific needs. This is no panacea but intended to share thought and incite on potential options.
What are my options (7 Common Diets)?
Meal replacements: These were found to be effective although typically not sustainable and according to this research, the data was subjectively submitted via a phone call and did not span beyond 2 years of research. One concern is meal replacement options may be limited by the cost per serving compared to other ideal options.
Hypocaloric diet: Follows the government food pyramid. It is still recommended per the FDA to consider lowering caloric intake by 500-1000 kcal per individual. (500kcal is commonly taught to be the generalized gold standard or caloric cutting).
- Hypocaloric dieting is typically what is shared and discussed most as it does not change much in terms of eating habits opposed to simply suggesting one modifies their portions to meet a reduction of 500 kcalories.
“Unbalanced hypocaloric diets: Where one nutritional plan is to decide to limit carbohydrates, fats, and/or protein in place of another macronutrient. At the time this study was done, there were minimal long term studies to provide effectiveness of this approach to modifying a sustainable diet.
High protein low carb:
Reduction of carbohydrates reduced glycogen which could lead to “rapid initial weight loss that occurs on these diets predominantly reflects the loss of body water rather than stored fat.”
At the time this study was published: “The length of these studies that examined high-protein diets only lasted 1 year or less; the long-term safety of these diets is not known.”
–Disclaimer: The strategy I’ve utilized during “contest prep” to drop body fat percentage to an unhealthy level was a high protein low carbohydrate diet. It did work well, however could have been balanced better to improve sustainability as my energy levels were low. Following a ketosis or paleo diet may be a trendy approach, however consider sustainability as to not feel you are enslaved to a particular approach.
Low fat diet: “Low-fat diets consistently demonstrated significant weight loss, both in normal-weight and overweight individuals. A dose-response relationship was also observed in that a 10 percent reduction in dietary fat was predicted to produce a 4- to 5-kg weight loss in an individual with a BMI of 30. Kris-Etherton and colleagues (2002) found that a moderate-fat diet (20 to 30 percent of energy from fat) was more likely to promote weight loss because it was easier for patients to adhere to this type of diet than to one that was severely restricted in fat (< 20 percent of energy).”
This approach to choosing a diet regimen may be easier in adherence with effectiveness as one may choose to limit foods with high fat content which is more caloric dense compared to fats and carbohydrates (9 kcal per 1 gram, compared to 4 kcal per gram for protein and carbohydrates). I also bolded the text for what is the most essential factor to any diet.. ease of adherence for the user. If one cannot sustainably stick with a diet, the ideal goals will not be achieved.
High Fiber diet: Adding fiber to your nutritional intake can be a great addition to supplement your nutritional intake. According to the Pubmed article of reference “a diet of foods high in whole fruits and vegetables may have favorable effects on cardiovascular and cancer risk factors (Bruce et al., 2000). Such diets are often lower in fat and higher in carbohydrates.”
Fiber in not absorbed by the body like carbs, fats, and protein macronutrients. Yet also facilitates “improved gastric and intestinal motility and emptying”.
Very Low Calorie Diets: It is important to consider that these diets although short term can facilitate weight loss, it is not sustainable. This increases a likely rebound effect of nutritional intake which could affect psychological factors in association to food. If one was to stick with a very low calorie diet, there is also a survival strategy utilized by our body naturally called metabolic adaptation. Thus, the body will slow your metabolism and hold on to “stored energy” or body fat as a method of self preservation.
I have read MANY books on diets and all of them make a compelling story as to why I should follow their programs. That being said, I can see where it is very confusing and overwhelming when you have so many ideas of “what is the right thing to do”. I would suggest avoiding putting a hard limit on your nutritional intake when it comes to extreme diets and do which ever plan best fits your preference. The gold standard approach of 500 calories less than a normal daily consumption is a simple approach without subjecting yourself to a resentful choice.
*(Kcal/Kcalories are referred to as what we commonly know as a calorie. The K=kilo is added for documentation accuracy as our foot labels are simplified down to a 1000th)*
Reference:
Institute of Medicine (US) Subcommittee on Military Weight Management. (2004). Weight-loss and maintenance strategies. Pubmed. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221839/
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