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Diets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diets

Everywhere you can find tips for particularly effective diets that promise rapid weight loss without the yo-yo effect. But which diet is really effective? We have checked the studies for you.

Low-fat and low-carb diets are particularly well known. With the two nourishing forms it concerns in each case to do without on a nutrient particularly strongly, either on fats or on coal hydrates. This is supposed to lead to weight loss.

In a 2014 meta-analysis, Bazzano et al. concluded that a low-carb diet is significantly more effective than a low-fat diet in terms of weight loss, fat mass and cholesterol levels. The study was conducted with overweight adults over 12 months. Overall, the low-fat group lost just under two kilograms, while the low-carb group lost a good five kilograms. For some factors, such as blood pressure, there were no significant differences between the groups at the end of the study period. However, another meta-analysis from 2015 cannot find any significant differences in terms of weight changes between low-fat and low-carb diets. And also in a study from 2018 with a good 600 test persons* no significant differences between the two diets can be found after 12 months. The study situation is therefore inconclusive for these two diets, but it suggests that the selected diet form is not decisive.

 

Tips for changing your diet

Here are a few tips from us on how you can best approach the topic and how you can change your diet in the long term.

First of all, it helps if you write down for several days how much you actually eat. It is important that you do not leave anything out and do not deceive yourself. After a week or two, look at your food diary: Which meals were unnecessary and too big? What could I do without and what not at all?

Calculate how much energy you need. With which of your meals can you cover these needs? Write yourself a weekly meal plan and buy only that! This way you avoid unnecessary snacks in between meals.

It helps if you make the dietary change together with someone. Team up with your roommate, a good friend, or if you still live at home, preferably with your parents. It is easier and more sustainable to tackle such a project together. It might also be a good idea to tell your fellow students about it. This increases your motivation, because someone is watching you ;)

3. try to reach your goal with small steps. Don't be depressed if the pounds don't fall right away. Losing weight slowly is good and makes sense, because your body can adjust better.

Important note: Losing weight requires perseverance, discipline and honesty. Don't let yourself be influenced too much by advertising, no woman needs 90-60-90 measurements and no man needs a six-pack. So think about whether you really want to lose weight or whether you just think you should. But if you feel uncomfortable or there are health complications, then go ahead and try paying more attention to your diet and test your will.

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Lose weight and stay slim: Three methods in the long-term test | SWR Doku (German)
Conclusion

We are offered many different diets, each claiming to be the best and most effective. At the end of the day, however, one thing is paramount:

How many calories are you eating?

Whether you eat calories at eight in the morning or 10 at night, whether you eat them in the form of carbohydrates or fats, and whether or not you take a break of several hours between meals, it doesn't really matter. When you reach a calorie deficit, that is, when you eat fewer calories than you lose in a day through your basal metabolic rate and physical activity - that's when you lose weight. If you eat more calories than you need, you gain weight. With all the diets you can achieve such a calorie deficit. The problem with diets, however, is their long-term nature, and many of them lead to the well-known yo-yo effect. The diets can often not be integrated into everyday life for a long time and therefore only lead to short-term weight loss. If you want to lose weight, try to change your diet in the long term. Follow the 10 rules of the DGE (German Nutrition Society), so that you eat a wholesome and healthy diet.