5 Weight-Loss Truths Hidden in Trendy Diets

It’s January and many of us have weight loss on the brain. Perhaps you’re psyched about using the latest, greatest plan to slim down this "diet season." Sure, you may drop 10 pounds in a week eating cabbage soup and little else, but once you go back to eating like a normal person you’ll gain it right back.

That’s the biggest problem with most fad diets: they generally don’t give you eating patterns that you can stick to long-term. Essentially, they set you up to fail.

Here are 5 weight-loss from Eating Well and how to apply them with common sense to your own healthy weight-loss plan.

#1: Eat delicious foods that you love. The bottom line of French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano: food should be savored and enjoyed. Guiliano is right: we should continue to eat foods that we love, like chocolate and cheese—just in small portions. Deprivation diets only work for a short time. Making room for a small treat every day can help you stick to an overall-healthy eating plan for the long haul.

#2: Have some lean protein, good carbs and lots of veggies. Meals that are precisely 30 percent protein, 30 percent fat and 40 percent carbohydrates can reset your metabolism in a way that results in weight loss, reduced risk for heart disease and loads more energy. Science shows that gram for gram, protein tends to be more filling than carbohydrates or fat. Vegetables and whole grains contain fiber, which causes you to digest them more slowly than refined carbohydrates like pasta or white rice.

#3: Don’t be afraid of fat. If the Atkins diet taught us anything, it’s that following a fat-free diet isn’t always the best way to lose weight—especially if your favorite fat-free foods are big, caloric cookies and bagels. Then, the more sensible South Beach Diet came along and taught us to opt for healthy fats, like almonds and fatty fish (think: salmon and tuna), over the artery-clogging burgers and bacon that Atkins permitted. South Beach also encouraged carbohydrates that fall low on the glycemic index (i.e., they don’t cause rapid spikes and drops in your blood sugar)—vegetables and whole grains like brown rice and barley. And we all should adopt the philosophy that judicious amounts of healthy fats trump unlimited refined carbs any day.

#4: Soup can help you lose weight. Various studies show that soup is highly satisfying. People who consumed the fewest calories on days when they ate soup. Broth-based soups packed with vegetables and lean proteins or fiber-rich beans give you the biggest bang for your caloric buck.

#5: Keep an eye on sugars. Cutting added sugars is good for our health and our "bottom lines". The closer sugars are to the top of the list, the more the food contains.

You may not lose weight as quickly but you’ll keep it off longer and feel better while you’re doing it!