What’s the Best Diet?
By Joan Pleuss, R.D., C.D.E.

 What’s the best diet? In February, you may have heard or seen the breaking news about a study on this subject that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It was reported on television and radio stations, in newspapers and magazines, and on the Internet. Even Time magazine did a story on it.

The study
For this study, the investigators recruited 800 people to follow one of four different diets for two years. Two of them were low-fat, with one being high in protein and the other average in protein. The other two were high-fat, with the same differences in protein content. The high-fat, high-protein method was lower in carbohydrate than the average American diet but not quite as low as the Atkins-style diet. The low-fat, high-protein food plan was very similar to the Food Exchange System in protein and fat, as well as in carbohydrate content.
 
Same amount lost
At the end of the two-year period, all the study participants had lost the same amount of weight, regardless of which plan they had followed. Even though the menu plan similar to the Exchange System didn’t result in more pounds being lost, it rated equal to the other meal programs.
Since being overweight increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, all of the participants in the study were asked to eat heart-healthy foods and carbohydrates with a low glycemic index. By six months into the study, all the diets had lowered the risk for both heart disease and diabetes and continued to lower that risk for the two years of the study. That proves that losing weight by eating healthful foods has many benefits.
 
Group sessions increased losses
There are other findings from the study that are important to all TOPS members. The people who lost the most weight had attended the most group sessions. For each session attended, there was a weight loss of almost a half-pound. The lesson there is that it is important and very beneficial to attend your chapter meetings. Mark your meeting nights in pen on your calendar and join your fellow TOPS members for continuous support, strategy and stimulus to continue your calorie deficit. The study also found that those individuals who followed their plan the most closely also lost more weight. No surprise there!
 
Drastic changes vs. modest changes
What the study confirmed was just how hard it is for people to reduce calories. All of the participants had been given a meal plan that was 750 calories less per day than they needed to maintain their current weight. This proved unsustainable. Dieters adhered to the initial plan for the first several weeks, but by the six-month mark, they were consuming only 225 calories less than they expended. Even so, this modest decrease in calories resulted in a weight loss of 14 pounds at the end of six months. So, gradual small changes do count!
 
TOPS favors Food Exchange System
TOPS advises all members to obtain a food plan and goal weight from their healthcare provider. Because the Food Exchange System is an excellent program of which most healthcare professionals approve, TOPS recommends it and features it in most of its printed materials.
The Food Exchange System is a great system for grouping foods that are alike in calories, protein, fat and carbohydrate. It’s also an easy method for keeping track of the number of servings and
portion sizes to have each day for the number of calories needed to lose or maintain weight. In addition, it teaches you which foods are sources of protein, fat and carbohydrate.
The Exchange Lists have been used to help people control their diabetes as well as to lose weight.
 
The bottom line
What’s the bottom line? Persistence, patience, planning – and attending your TOPS meetings – will produce results that will benefit your waistline and your health.

Joan Pleuss, R.D., C.D.E., a registered dietitian, is currently a Senior Research Dietitian in the General Clinical Research Center located at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is a certified diabetes educator and has held positions with both the State of Wisconsin Dietitians Affiliated Credentialing Board and the American Dietetic Association. Joan also selects, edits, and provides the nutrition analysis for the “Recipes” page in TOPS News.
Joan writes several website articles about nutrition each year for TOPS.