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elleng

(131,162 posts)
Tue Feb 20, 2018, 07:22 PM Feb 2018

Counting Calories Is Not the Key to Weight Loss, New Study Finds.

'Anyone who has ever been on a diet knows that the standard prescription for weight loss is to reduce the amount of calories you consume.

But a new study, published Tuesday in JAMA, may turn that advice on its head. It found that people who cut back on added sugar, refined grains and highly processed foods while concentrating on eating plenty of vegetables and whole foods — without worrying about counting calories or limiting portion sizes — lost significant amounts of weight over the course of a year.

The strategy worked for people whether they followed diets that were mostly low in fat or mostly low in carbohydrates. And their success did not appear to be influenced by their genetics or their insulin-response to carbohydrates, a finding that casts doubt on the increasingly popular idea that different diets should be recommended to people based on their DNA makeup or on their tolerance for carbs or fat.

The research lends strong support to the notion that diet quality, not quantity, is what helps people lose and manage their weight most easily in the long run. It also suggests that health authorities should shift away from telling the public to obsess over calories and instead encourage Americans to avoid processed foods that are made with refined starches and added sugar, like bagels, white bread, refined flour and sugary snacks and beverages, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/well/eat/counting-calories-weight-loss-diet-dieting-low-carb-low-fat.html?

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Ferrets are Cool

(21,110 posts)
1. While I will not disagree with anything in this report...
Tue Feb 20, 2018, 07:28 PM
Feb 2018

doesn't it follow that if you replace sugar, refined grains and highly processed foods with veggies and whole food, you are going to lose weight??

BigmanPigman

(51,636 posts)
3. Another important factor is the time of day that you eat certain foods.
Tue Feb 20, 2018, 07:39 PM
Feb 2018

If you eat processed, white rice it turns into sugar right away and it is good for a cheap, energizing breakfast. But if you eat it at dinner it doesn't get burned off and is stored as fat.

Big Blue Marble

(5,151 posts)
4. I lost 60 pounds nine years doing both.
Tue Feb 20, 2018, 07:56 PM
Feb 2018

Count calories and eat unprocessed foods plus exercise. I have maintained my lowered
weight for all these years by following these guidelines.

I still weigh, measure, count my calories and record them everyday. It is a small
price to pay to maintain a healthy weight.

Phoenix61

(17,019 posts)
6. Go figure if you fill up on nutritious
Tue Feb 20, 2018, 09:10 PM
Feb 2018

fresh veggies and fruits you will lose weight. I'm sure it's just a coincidence they are low cal.

GreenPartyVoter

(72,381 posts)
7. I counted calories and made dietary and exercise changes to lose 150lbs.
Wed Feb 21, 2018, 05:55 AM
Feb 2018

I know plenty of heavy people who eat healthy foods. Portion control/calories matter.

GreenPartyVoter

(72,381 posts)
9. It's do-able. Just make small changes at a time. I opted to
Wed Feb 21, 2018, 10:26 AM
Feb 2018

use a Fitbit, a kitchen and bathroom scale, the trend weight site, and I log my food at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary

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