Best Diet for Maintaining Weight Loss

There are many tools for maintaining weight loss, including changing our self image ( who we perceive ourselves to be), our self care, styling our new bodies & surrounding ourselves with supportive friends in environments that inspire us.

One important tool rarely talked about is the actual diet method that we followed to lose & keep off the weight for the long term.

Here’s the latest research on the best diet for maintaining weight loss. 

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that a diet relatively high in protein and low in refined carbohydrates is more successful than other diets at maintaining weight loss.

Researchers enrolled overweight adults from eight European countries who had lost at least 8% of their initial body weight with a low-calorie diet. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five diets to prevent weight regain over a 26-week period: a low-protein and low-GI (glycemic index) diet, a low-protein and high-GI diet, a high-protein and low-GI diet, a high-protein and high-GI diet, or a control diet based on the current European dietary recommendations. The high protein diet provided 25 percent of calories in the form of protein, while the low protein diet consisted of 13 percent protein.

Research Results

Five hundred forty-eight subjects completed six months on the assigned diets. In the analysis of participants who completed the study, only the low-protein/high-GI diet was associated with subsequent significant weight regain (1.67 kg, or 3.6 lbs) by the end of the dietary intervention.  Weight regain was less in those who consumed high protein compared to low protein and in low-GI diets compared to high-GI diets.  High-GI foods include white flour, white rice, and other refined carbohydrates.

This study shows that a modest increase in protein content and a modest reduction in glycemic index can lead to an improvement in compliance and maintenance of weight loss.

Larsen TM, et al.  Diets with High or Low Protein Content and Glycemic Index for Weight-Loss Maintenance. 2010. N England J Med 363:2102-13.

So for those of you who  have reached your ideal weight, continue to follow a low glycemic eating plan with an emphasis on lean protein.

If you are looking for the perfect program to set you up for long term weight loss, look no farther than my Ageless Body Makeover Program. In 5 weeks you will be on your way to an Elegant Eating and Lifestyle plan that you will serve you for the rest of your life.