If January 1st is time for your annual diet, you’re pretty much like most Americans. And if you begin a diet every January its pretty clear that none of your diets have worked very well or for very long.
And you’re not the only one. The National Center for Health Statistics just released the latest numbers showing that 34% of Americans are obese, 32.7% are overweight and 6% are morbidly obese. That’s a 48% increase in obesity since 1988! It also means that over 2/3 of all Americans are now either overweight or obese.
While it’s tempting to just say “why bother”, you should resist that temptation. If you are significantly overweight its not a question of whether you will develop diabetes, heart disease or hypertension – it’s a matter of when.
So which diet should you choose this time – low fat, low carbohydrate, high protein or something else? Two meta-analyses of all studies comparing the major diets were published in 2008. And the winner is – envelop please – not a dime’s worth of difference between them!
The low carbohydrate diets are slightly better at 3 to 6 months, but there’s little or no difference by 12 or 24 months. Worse yet, by 24 months most of the weight has returned on all 3 diets.
Well, you knew that. Doesn’t the weight always come back?
The answer is – it doesn’t have to. The problem with most diets is that you lose muscle as well as fat.
That lowers your metabolic rate, which makes it almost impossible to keep the weight off long term.
But there is another way. Several years ago a doctor at the University of Illinois showed that a high protein diet with added leucine could preserve muscle mass during weight loss.
Shaklee has incorporated that breakthrough into their “Cinch Inch Loss Plan” and has published clinical studies showing that Cinch preserves muscle mass during weight loss and increases muscle mass when working out. Click here to check out Cinch Snack Bars and Cinch Energy Teas
So if you are saying “Is it time to diet already again this January, the answer is: “Yes, it is. It’s time to Cinch it and take that weight off for good!”
To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney
Professor, North Carolina University Medical School
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Follow me on Twitter