From Fiona Haynes,
Your Guide to Low Fat Cooking.
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Déjà vu all over again

Each year we pledge allegiance to some diet or other, and resolve to change things once and for all. Lured by advertising that shows the before and after of a few radically transformed individuals, whose results are said in small print to be "not typical," it’s no wonder we give up when we don't see almost immediate results.

A year passes and most of us are back where we started, resolving once again to change things. We happily spend money on diet books, supplements, meal replacements and more, only to throw in the towel after a few weeks. And when we do achieve some weight loss, we often allow ourselves too much latitude, adding in more treats or eating an extra slice of pizza, just because we achieved our goal and became thinner. Our weight creeps up again and the cycle continues.

Dieting, it seems, is just too hard. The truth is, we’re looking for that elusive quick-fix rather than to make permanent changes. Making these changes requires commitment and patience, a certain amount of self-forgiveness for slipping up, and ideally a support network.

Don't give up

Research published in January 2005 Journal of the American Medical Association shows that you will achieve moderate weight loss if you stick closely with a program for at least one year. It apparently doesn’t matter whether the plan is Ornish, Atkins, Weight Watchers or the Zone. The point is that restricting calories in some form over a long period leads to sustained weight loss.

What about the longer term?

These findings shouldn’t surprise us. But it will be more interesting to see the fruits of even longer-term studies, the ones that track a large group of dieters following a variety of plans over a three- to five-year period, to see which programs are most successful, not only in terms of helping us lose weight, but also in terms of improving our overall health and fitness. We still don’t know whether any particular dietary approach might even be detrimental to our health in the long run. The jury is still out.

What should we do?

In the meantime, the different diet camps will continue to duke it out, waving scientific evidence to support their particular method, and fad diets will still come and go. As for us, well the best we can do is educate ourselves as much as possible about making good choices, even in the face of apparently contradictory evidence. Yet surely we can agree on a few old fashioned basics:

• watch portions
• reduce our intake of artery-clogging fats
• eat more whole grains
• eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
• drink water
• exercise daily

A quick fix? No. A healthier lifestyle? Yes.

For more on weight loss options, visit About.com's site on Weight Loss, where you can find lots of information on different diet methods and plenty of practical advice.