Get rid of the yo-yo effect and use the Mediterranean diet to help you lose weight

"Quickly lose more than ten kilograms of fat in a month!" Are you familiar with this phrase? If so, then you should take some time to read this article carefully. Some magic diets or product advertisements always promise that they can help us lose weight successfully in a short period of time. But what happens when we actually do it? Is it to maintain the lost weight? Or quickly return to original form?

The Mediterranean diet keeps you from the yo-yo effect

An Israeli study tried to answer this question. They recruited office workers who participated in a dietary study for two years and continued to track their situation for the next four years. For the first two years, the people followed three different weight loss diet plans:

‧Low-fat and low-calorie diet

‧Mediterranean low-calorie diet

‧Low-carbohydrate, non-calorie-restricted diet

Overall, the Mediterranean diet produced the most significant changes, but the other two diets also performed well. The Mediterranean diet is a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, legumes and healthy oils (such as olive oil), with moderate alcohol, and low in foods such as sugar, red meat and saturated fat.

86% of the participants were men, and most were slightly obese at the start of the study. They also educate their spouses about the diet plan so that they can follow it themselves at home. At the end of two years, 85% of people had continued with the diet plan, and those who followed the Mediterranean diet and the low-carb diet lost more weight than those who followed the low-fat, low-calorie diet.

Four years after the study officially ended, 67% of people continued with their diet plans, 11% had changed their eating patterns, and 22% had stopped losing weight.

The benefits of a Mediterranean diet

Everyone in the original study regained some weight, but was thinner than when the study began. Over the six-year study period, the people who followed the Mediterranean and low-carb diets lost the most weight, 3.2 kg and 1.8 kg respectively. Additionally, all participants experienced improvements in total cholesterol.

Whether it is lowering cholesterol or losing weight, this study shows that the Mediterranean diet and low-carbohydrate diet are more effective. That is to say, if you want to change your eating habits, try to incorporate the concepts of the Mediterranean diet or a low-carbohydrate diet.

An interesting point about this study is that the subjects are office workers. Since we spend most of our time at work, improving the lifestyle of office workers will be representative to most people. In addition, after two years of the study, the researchers no longer required the participants to continue following the diet they had during the study. The initial two-year dietary intervention continued to have a positive impact, especially in the Mediterranean diet and low-carbohydrate groups.

The key to losing weight is persistence

Losing weight is not a problem for most people; the hardest part is keeping it going. The Mediterranean diet is a very good diet and has many positive benefits for the body. Whether it's the Mediterranean diet, a low-carb diet, or another diet plan, picking one that best fits your lifestyle is key to your long-term success. Of course, dietary changes alone are not enough; regular exercise is also important.

Overall, the Mediterranean diet is better because it is a more balanced diet with more choices. Finding a plan that a person can follow long-term is key to successful and sustained weight loss, as the yo-yo effect can be dangerous. Everyone can start a diet but eventually stop. So the key is really just picking a healthy choice that you can sustain over the long term.

This article is provided by Kate Culture Publishing House, excerpted from (http://www.books.com.tw/exep/prod/booksfile.php?item=0010592900)