Top dietitian reveals which of today’s trending diets will really help you lose weight: fasting, keto or low cal?

There are seemingly endless tips and tricks for losing weight.

However, in an age of Ozempic and fad diets, it can be difficult to know what’s legit and what will actually help you shed pounds.

Joyce Patterson, a registered dietitian at Michigan Medicine, warns in her upcoming book Think Like a Dietitian that many Americans choose diets based on “minimal or misleading information.”

In the book, Ms. Patterson unpacks some of the most popular diet trends and gives her verdict on which ones could have lasting benefits.

For example, ultra-low-carb keto can indeed help you lose weight in a week.

And intermittent fasting – popular among people like Mark Wahlberg And Chris Hemsworth – it has been shown to quickly lose extra pounds and reduce the risk of heart attack.

But the key question with all these diets is; Will they keep the weight off in the long term?

“We live in a world full of messages about limit, eliminate and fast, and misconceptions surrounding dietary trends are common, such as the need for macronutrients or supplements,” says Ms. Patterson.

Ms. Patterson notes that many of the most popular diets floating around social media are based on “minimal scientific evidence” and focus on promoting vague terms like “reset your metabolism” or “cleanse.”

‘Many people are indeed interested in science. “But few receive comprehensive and reliable nutrition education and cannot distinguish between marketing gimmicks and good science,” she said.

“They make food choices and purchasing decisions based on minimal or misleading information.”

She continues to focus on individual diets, such as Keto.

Several studies have shown rapid weight loss on the keto diet – which strictly limits carbohydrates such as bread and pasta and emphasizes high-fat foods such as red meat and cheese, she points out.

a small study from 2013 found that 39 obese adults placed on a low-calorie keto diet lost an average of 13 percent of their starting weight.

They also had a ‘significant’ reduction in fat mass, insulin levels and blood pressure.

Additionally, in 2022, researchers at Stanford University found that mice on keto had longer lifespans because the diet strengthened their stem cells.

However, Ms. Patterson said there are not enough long-term studies to determine the long-term safety of the regimen.

The same sentiment applies to intermittent fasting, which has also become popular in recent years, thanks in large part to actors and influencers.

Following an intermittent fasting regimen involves alternating between days of fasting and days of normal eating.

On fasting days, dieters restrict their eating to certain times during the day, such as eating only at breakfast or dinner.

A study published earlier this month by researchers from Britain found that fasting could lead to weight loss and better brain health if practitioners do it for at least three days in a row.

However, a 2022 study of more than 24,000 Americans over 40 found that those who ate just one meal a day were 30 percent more likely to die from any cause within fifteen years than those who stuck to three meals a day .

Ms Patterson also warned against low-calorie diets, which are restrictive by nature.

She said they encourage an “all or nothing” mentality, which can lead to obsessing over certain foods, making you crave them more.

Many dieters also give up once they reach a plateau.

Instead of opting for one of these fad diets, Ms. Patterson recommends adopting an intuitive eating style. This means that you follow hunger signals and don’t deprive yourself of something tasty every now and then.

Specifically, she recommends following what she calls the 80/20 rule.

This means following general dietary recommendations, such as prioritizing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while eating what you crave for the other 20 percent.

“One of the most important experiences a dietitian can share is that perfection is not only unattainable, but also unnecessary,” she says.

‘A healthy diet does not have to be all-or-nothing. An occasional treat is not harmful.’

“From low-fat to low-carb to fasting, the most popular diets are ironically the most restrictive,” Ms. Patterson said.

‘It is no wonder that these are often the most unsustainable.’

‘It is common for people to adopt certain features of a diet, rather than the actual diet that has been studied.’

‘Without the right guidance, people can eventually engage in unhealthy behavior that endangers their health.’