We here at ShrinkGeek are not scientists.  We are not doctors.  The closest we come to being official “health experts” would be our resident personal trainer, Rob, and he is the first person who will point out he is not a dietician.  Much of the advice that we give here is based strictly on our own personal experience and the struggles we have had dealing with our own health and fitness issues.  Whether you agree with us or not I can promise that you’ll never see us make a claim or give advice that is in any way based on anything but what we truly believe is the healthiest option available.

Those humble statements aside, it’s really nice to have folks with fancy letters behind their names confirm one of your core beliefs.

The folks over at the New England Journal of Medicine released a report back in February in which they compared four different diets in an attempt to discern if there was an advantage to diets that emphasized protein, fats, or carbohydrates.  While a number of other factors entered into play (namely whether or not the dieters received one-on-one counseling or went to group sessions), the primary focus of the study was on the diet itself.

The conclusion of the study was that “reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize.”

In other words?  Pick a diet that you can live with.  They all work.

That being said, there were several factors that were consistent among all the groups.  All of the participants had a goal of 90 minutes of moderate physical activity on a weekly basis and were instructed to record their food and beverage intake in a daily food diary.

Even scientists agree – the key to weight loss is to eat less and exercise.