Not All Calories Are The Same

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, right?

Nope!

Research on why only a few people can maintain weight loss has found that not all calories are created equal!

This is what they did:

21 young adults who had just lost 30 pounds were put on three different diets to see how those diets messed with or enhanced their metabolism. The diets were: low fat, low carb, and low glycemic.

While on the low fat diet, people burned fewer calories, making it harder to keep off weight.

People on the low carb diet burned the most calories, but had increased risk of heart disease.

The low glycemic diet offered medium calorie burning, with little risk of negative effects.

Interesting, right??

This means that diets that reduce a blood sugar surge after a meal, either low glycemic or low carb, might be the best choice if you want to keep off the pounds!!

Here's what one of the researchers said:

"These findings suggest, from a metabolic perspective, all calories are not alike. And for the best long-term outcomes, avoid restricting any major nutrients, either fat or carbohydrate, and focus on reducing refined carbs like white bread, white rice, potato products and sugary foods.

"Our findings suggest that actually trying to restrict either carbs or fat is not the best way (to achieve long-term weight loss) and instead to focus on the quality of the fats and the quality of the carbs. The traditional carbohydrates that we've eaten for thousands of years, for example steel-cut oats rather than instant oats or stone-ground breads rather than highly-processed breads, these traditional carbohydrates digest slowly and they slowly raise blood sugar slowly, so there isn't the same surge and crash.

"But all of the refined carbs that invaded our diets with the low-fat craze seems to lead to metabolic changes not only making us hungrier, but causing metabolism to fall. And that combination is a recipe for weight gain."

Daaaaaaaang!

We had no idea!

Time for the world to change it up and STAY healthy!

[Image via AP Images.]

Tags: calorie, calories, carbs, change, diet, disease, food, foods, health, healthy, heart disease, metabolism, pounds, recipe, research, researchers, weight, weight loss