Cut Carbs, Not Calories, for Effective Weight Loss

Nutrition professor Mark Haub of Kansas State University proved that weight loss came down to calories in versus calories out when he lost 27 pounds on a diet of nothing but Twinkies, sugary cereal, cookies and Doritos. However, a new study shows that to lose weight more efficiently, cutting carbs is a better strategy. The new study, presented at the American Cancer Research Society meeting on December 8, found that a low carb diet, even just two days a week, was more effective than a low calorie diet to lose weight and lower insulin. Michelle Harvie, a dietician at University Hospital in England, tracked 115 overweight women. They were separated into three groups and asked to follow either a low calorie, low carb diet for two days per week, a low-carb diet for two days per week, or a low calorie diet every day. She then tracked their progress four months later. After the four months, not only had more women dropped out of the seven-day-a-week diet group than the other two groups, but they had lost less weight than the other two groups. On average, the low calorie diet group lost five pounds versus nine pounds with the other two low carb groups. Low carb diets also had another benefit for women. It significantly lowered their insulin levels (by 18 percent as opposed to only four percent for the low calorie group). Lowering insulin is an effective preventative measure for breast cancer.