You have to stick to a diet for it to work

Very few people succeed at losing weight and keeping it off, especially on a food-restricted plan. For decades, researchers have been studying different methods and approaches to weight loss.

From elimination diets, low carb or low fat to time-restricted eating and eating based on your DNA, further studies are needed to determine if any of these methods can bring about lasting weight loss and health benefits.

Elimination diets remove foods from your diet for a period of time that are later reintroduced, one at a time. The entire process takes about five to six weeks, but it can help identify symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation and nausea that certain foods may cause. Although some use the diet for weight loss, the true purpose of the diet is to identify food sensitivities and intolerances.

Genes influence how our body works, including how we metabolize food. Some research claims that our genes can determine the success of weight loss based on a low-carb or low-fat diet. However, studies show that either diet is effective, and scientists state that we cannot use our genes to determine the most effective weight-loss method.

The idea behind a low-carb diet is to reduce the intake of refined carbohydrates in foods such as white bread, pasta and cereals that are quickly converted into sugar in our bodies, eventually leading to unsteady energy levels and hunger. The thought is that by cutting carbs, weight loss will be easier because the body will burn more stored fat for fuel.

Since a gram of fat has twice as many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrate, low-fat diets have gained momentum. However, the fat-free product takeover has been quite misleading. Fat-free cookies, cakes and other foods that once got their flavor and texture from fat are now loaded with sugar and refined carbohydrates. A fat-free label may comfort dieters to fit sweets into their plan, but sometimes swapping a few grams of fat for none isn't necessarily better.

Time-restricted diets are a fasting approach that have a certain window of eating as much food as desired during the allotted time followed by a designated period of hours of not eating. Studies have shown that this type of approach can lead to weight loss by reducing total calorie intake for the day.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the average caloric intake for an adult has increased by 460 calories compared to their data from the 1970s. The majority of those extra calories are coming from refined grains and fats found in processed foods. Regardless of where the calories are coming from, too many lead to stored fat in the body.

The best diet for weight loss is one that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables, minimally processed foods, reduced intake of sugar and meals that are self-prepared. Ultimately, for a diet to be effective, a person has to be able to stick to it.

Missy Corrigan is executive of community health for Sumter Family YMCA. She can be reached at mcorrigan@ymcasumter.org or (803) 773-1404.