A new study, published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 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.
This strategy worked for people whether they followed low-fat diets or low-carb diets.
This research supports the notion that diet quality, not quantity, is what helps people lose and maintain their weight most easily in the long run.
I can personally attest to the workability of this conclusion, based on an experiment I’ve been running on myself since August 2017 (6 months ago). At that time, as I ended my third year post-VSG and entered my fourth year post-op -- a year that is renowned for regain by VSG patients -- I resolved to up my daily veggies and fruits from 5 to 8.
In the next few months I lost 3 pounds, while raising my daily calories from 1,750 to 1,850. It was so exciting for me to be able to eat more food that was so nutritious and satisfying while (unexpectedly and unintentionally) losing another 3 pounds.
I know 3 pounds isn’t a lot of weight for those of us who’ve lost 100+ pounds with WLS. However, all 3 of those pounds appeared to come off my mid-section, hips and thighs, where I still carry some of that jiggly stuff that hangs on underneath extra skin that doesn’t go away without plastic surgery. Put another way, my pants now fit better. 😊
Live, do some science on yourself, and learn. 😉
Here’s a link to the JAMA article.
Here’s a link to The New York Times article about the study.
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