GOOD ADVICE

Every new diet book explains why it's better than all the previous ones. This new plan, claims the author, holds the key to losing weight and keeping it off.  It will succeed where the others have failed.  So we decrease our fat intake. Or increase it. We eat more protein. Or less. We eat more carbs or cut them out. 

And the question remains: Which is the best diet to lose weight? 

Well, we now have the answer.  A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine put 811 overweight adults through four different diets, each one a different proportion of fat, carbs, and protein.

The result?  On average, participants lost twelve pounds after six months and kept nine pounds off after two years.  No matter which diet they followed.   In terms of losing weight, no diet was better than any other.  Because all diets work through a single mechanism--they restrict your calorie intake. 

People lose weight when they eat less.

If that's true, then the best diet is the simplest one.  So ask yourself: 
What's the one thing you can change that will make the biggest difference in your calorie consumption?  Everyone has one thing.

And each person's one thing could be different. For some, it might be sugar.  For others, fried foods.  For others, sodas.  What's important is to keep it simple. Pick your one thing that can have the biggest impact and then focus 100% of your effort on that one thing.