'Eat no fat' dieters beat no-carb bunch

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Nov. 16, 2004. 06:17 AM

'Eat no fat' dieters beat no-carb bunch

MARILYNN MARCHIONE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS?Regardless of how they shed pounds in the first place, those who lost the most weight and stayed that way did it by limiting fat rather than carbohydrates, according to new research that could add fuel to the backlash against low-carb diets.

Dieters have been turning away from Atkins-style plans as a long-term weight-control strategy, and the new study gives them more reason: Low-fat plans seem to work better at keeping weight off.

"People who started eating more fat ... regained the most weight over time," said Suzanne Phelan, a Brown Medical School psychologist who presented results of the study yesterday at a meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity.

The study used the National Weight Control Registry, a decade-old effort to learn the secrets of success from people who had lost at least 30 pounds and kept them off for at least a year. The registry is run by doctors from the University of Colorado in Denver, the University of Pittsburgh and Brown University in Providence, R.I.

They studied 2,700 people who entered the registry from 1995 through 2003. Their average age was 47, most were women, and they had lost an average of 72 pounds initially. Doctors compared their diets to see whether one type or another made a difference in how much weight they had lost and how much they had regained a year later.

All reported eating only about 1,400 calories a day, but the portion that came from fat rose ? from 24 per cent in 1995 to more than 29 per cent in 2003 ? while the part from carbohydrates fell, from 56 to 49 per cent.

The number who were on low-carb diets (less than 90 grams a day) rose from 6 per cent to 17 per cent during the same period.

The type of diet ? low-fat, low-carb or in between ? made no difference in how people lost weight initially.

But those who increased their fat intake over a year regained the most weight. That meant they ate less carbohydrates, because the amount of protein in their diets stayed the same, Phelan said.

"Only a minority of successful weight losers consume low-carbohydrate diets," she and the other researchers concluded.

Colette Heimowitz, a nutrition expert and spokeswoman for the Atkins diet organization, noted that the study considered 90 grams to be low-carb, while Atkins recommends 60 grams for weight loss and 60 to 120 for weight maintenance.

She said that for many of the dieters studied, "the carbs aren't low enough for them to be successful." They also should have replaced carbs with more protein rather than fat, she said.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Er. I probably should have posted this in General Discussion. I was going to go on a serious posting against the low-carb craze but then I got caught up in silly poll choices. Alas.

Somebody should probably move it to a better category. Thanks.

There is also a typo in the fifth poll choice. carb, not card.

[threetonesun]

Exercise > diet.

[dreamz Veteran]

Exercise > diet.

584931485[/snapback]

true, although i don't exercise either (i know i should). i eat whatever i want, and i'm still thin.

eat right + exercise.

[zh3n]

I try to eat right and excerise most of the time. I am on the go most days so I basically eat when I can,which can be anywhere from late evening to late night :o But when I do eat it's usually low-carb and/or low-fat

[CAH]

I believe it's the fats in foods that make you fat. Unless you lay around 24/7, then most carbs will get used or burned up before ever turning to fat.

I think it's silly to blame breads today. It's not the bread itself, it's the meats, cheese, butter, peanutbutter, etc. that you pile on it.

[Rudy]

last year after i xmas i decided to try to lose weight, i didnt have much time to do exercises so i didnt, and i didnt want to have to make myself a healthy meal every day because that would be too expensive and i would have to cook noe healthy meal and one regular meal (for my gf). so what i did is i tried to reduce my portions, i eat about the same amount of food as my gf now and i lost ALOT of weight (well i didnt need to lose that much so what i lost is a lot)

a good example is when i go to Moxies, i used to get Buffalo chicken strip which is a huge plate of 5 strips and the rest of fries, and after i would usually get a white chocolate brownie that i would share with my gf. now when i go there, i ask for the kids size chicken strip and i ask if i could get the buffalo strips instead of the farm animals lol, this meal is not only half the price of the other but i get 3 strip and half the fries, after im done eating it, im just as full as when i used to get the full plate and sometimes i dont even get the brownie cuz im too full

[todd]

"No, I really don't need to diet. I eat what I like and I like what I eat."

:p

[dmeags]

I constantly have to watch my weight for my wrestling team... we have a regular workout routine that keeps all of us in check. Regular exercise with eating reasonable amounts of foods (enough so you're full, not stuffed) seems to be working well for me.

[threetonesun]

true, although i don't exercise either (i know i should).  i eat whatever i want, and i'm still thin.

eat right + exercise.

584931620[/snapback]

thin != healthy :p

Also, whatever you want can be very different for different people. What I want is a whole pizza for lunch everyday. What I eat is a small sandwhich.

last year after i xmas i decided to try to lose weight, i didnt have much time to do exercises so i didnt, and i didnt want to have to make myself a healthy meal every day because that would be too expensive and i would have to cook noe healthy meal and one regular meal (for my gf). so what i did is i tried to reduce my portions, i eat about the same amount of food as my gf now and i lost ALOT of weight (well i didnt need to lose that much so what i lost is a lot)

584931795[/snapback]

Yup, most Americans suffer from eating too much, not eating the wrong things.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Common sense... keep below 8g of fat per day (very very tough but can be done if you are discliplined) and exercise three times a week if you wanna do a serious diet. You will shed weight and be fit and healthy in NO time.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

your brain needs a certain amount of carbs a day to even function correctly and your body NEEDS fat to function correctly... thats dumb... and im sure these people dont know that carbs will be turned into fat when you dont burn them off... :wacko:

[Raum]

I'm a firm believer in common ****ing sense.

-Eat **** that has nutritional value

-Avoid stuff you eat just for the taste and that isn't filling or nutritional

-Workout

I've never seen an obese or unhealthy looking person (In the context of weight) that follows this plan.

Maybe that's because it works. **** diets, **** nutrition fads, just eat right and exercise. Unless you have some medical condition that directly effects this, I don't see how it won't work for you.

I'm someone that eats until I'm full. I'll sit there and eat two chicken sandwhiches, a bunch of carrots, a banana and some chicken fingers. I eat tons more than most people do, but the fact that I get off my ass and do physical **** helps. Also, like I said, don't eat snacks and **** that don't even fill you up, things that just taste good, like a cookie or some oreos. What good is that doing you? Wow, you have a good taste in your mouth for 2 minutes, then you get ****ty after breath, have unhealthy stuff in your system, can develop loads of health problems and so forth. Have some ****ing discipline.

I don't do obscene amounts of exercise, I usually hit the gym 2 times a week or so and do some weight work at home every few days. I do about 5 miles of walking on most days. I've actually been losing weight recently because I've stopped eating lunch....

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

No but I should. At my age, my wife sometimes tells me to

takecare of myself

And I know she is right

[youm0nt Veteran]

high carb,high protein with intense exercise. :yes: