Cut the Fat, Lose the Weight

Cut the Fat, Lose the Weight

By Jennifer Gruenemay, ACE-Certified, LifeScript Staff Writer
Monday, June 16, 2008

Women who reduce their total fat intake, replacing foods high in saturated and trans fat with high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, lose fat from around their waistlines. Many popular diets claim that a high-carbohydrate intake will pack on the pounds, but according to a seven year study of 19,000 post-menopausal women, this claim is untrue. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that following a low-fat diet high in complex carbohydrate helped women reduce their weight by 4.8 pounds in just one year and helped keep it off in following years. And keep in mind this wasn’t a starvation diet, just simply a new focus on what to eat. But if you do want to lose a significant amount of weight, think what you could accomplish with this same approach but on a reduced-calorie diet. While the best weight-loss advice you can follow is to do what works for you, considering a high-fiber diet is definitely a smart approach. Not only can you trim fat from your tummy, but increasing your fiber intake and reducing total dietary fat, especially saturated fats, can also reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.