How to Lose Pounds Fast

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A team of European researchers confirms what many weight-loss gurus have claimed: eating more protein and fewer refined carbohydrates helps to keep the pounds off.

Among men and women who had lost at least eight percent of their body weight on a low-calorie diet, those who spent the next six months following a maintenance diet high in protein and low in refined carbs were the least likely to regain any weight, and were also the least likely to drop out of the study.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets many people turn to for weight loss might have potentially harmful long-term effects on the colon, a small study hints.

In a study of 17 obese men, UK researchers found that a protein-heavy, low-carb diet created certain changes in the colon that could, over time, contribute to colon cancer risk.

The study looked only at short-term shifts in certain compounds that are byproducts of metabolism, and not actual disease risk. So it does not show whether high-protein diets really raise the risk of any colon diseases.

SUNDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) — Curbing calories is the key ingredient for diabetics seeking to lose weight, and low-fat diets that are either high in protein or high in carbs are equally effective, researchers say.

“I think there are two key messages from this study,” said study lead author Jeremy D. Krebs, a senior lecturer with the school of medicine and health sciences at the University of Otago in Wellington, New Zealand. “The first is that no matter what diet we prescribe, people find it extremely difficult to sustain the changes from their habitual diet over a long time. But if they are able to follow either a high-protein diet or a high-carbohydrate diet, they can achieve modest weight loss.”

SUNDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) — Curbing calories is the key ingredient for diabetics seeking to lose weight, and low-fat diets that are either high in protein or high in carbs are equally effective, researchers say.

“I think there are two key messages from this study,” said study lead author Jeremy D. Krebs, a senior lecturer with the school of medicine and health sciences at the University of Otago in Wellington, New Zealand. “The first is that no matter what diet we prescribe, people find it extremely difficult to sustain the changes from their habitual diet over a long time. But if they are able to follow either a high-protein diet or a high-carbohydrate diet, they can achieve modest weight loss.”

The Zone Diet, created by Dr. Barry Sears, is a somewhat scientific approach to dieting, which at its core focuses on controlling the hormone levels in your body that are key to weight control and health. The basic tenet, in bold headlines on the Zone Diet website is that it “… is not a diet. It’s a healthy, balanced lifestyle.”

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – While the low-fat diet craze led some doctors to worry that Americans would instead start eating too many carbohydrates, a new study suggests that eating low-fat doesn’t have to increase carbohydrate-fueled health risks.

Instead, if extra carbohydrates are part of a diet plan that includes more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, the risk of diabetes – the biggest related health concern — could actually drop, at least in older women, according to the findings.

However, a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet could create problems in people who already have diabetes, researchers caution.