“This new information should focus weight loss approaches on reducing calorie intake rather than any particular proportions of fat, protein or carbohydrate,” said Frank. M. Sacks M.D, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention in the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, which was one of the groups that conducted the POUNDS LOST study.
I remember a few years back, my then husband was trying the Atkins diet and I was steadfastly trying to stick to my Weight-Watchers. When he was pressuring me to switch, I said I thought it didn’t really matter which you followed – if you just cut down on calories, you’d lose weight. It just comes down to choosing what approach best suits your tastes.
“These results show that, as long as people follow a heart-healthy, reduced-calorie diet, there is more than one nutritional approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight,” said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D. and director at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which funded the study.
Interestingly, the study found that not only was weight loss the same between the diet approaches, it also found the improvement in risk factors was also the same. Improved risk factors include reduced levels of triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, lowered blood pressure, and increased HDL (good) cholesterol. All the diets also reduced the presence of metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and high blood sugar.
Not that any of that makes it any easier to cut down on the calories!
Sixty-six percent of Americans are overweight and of those 32 percent are obese. I’m one of those 66 percent but not the 32 percent, and every year I resolve to shed those extra pounds. Five years ago I was about 20 pounds lighter than I am now – that was after about two years of serious Weight-Watchers. I even made it to lifetime member! I wish I could blame the weight gain on the divorce but it’s been almost two years since that and the trend hasn’t reversed. Wish there was an easy way to do this ……
You can get sample menus from the study from the NHLBI. There also a cool menu planner to help you count those pesky calories.
I believe stories have the power to change the world, opening us up to new possibilities and compassion for our fellow beings.
I believe by sharing our divorce stories we can help each other, make the process of ending your marriage less traumatic for others, create a greater acceptance for divorce and most importantly do our very best for our children.
My 
