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Home » How to lose weight safely » The Mediterranean diet is the healthiest way to lose weight long-term – Metro.co.uk

The Med diet was the easiest to stick to (Picture: Getty)

A new study has found that intermittent fasting may help you lose more weight in the short term, but the Mediterranean diet is both healthier and easier to stick to.

Researchers found the Med diet is the most effective way to lose weight overall because more people were still sticking to it a year after starting than with other diets, like the paleo or 5:2.

Six in ten (57%) were still on the Med diet at the end of the year.

This compared to 54% of those who chose the 5:2 diet and just 35% who opted for the paleo caveman eating plan.

And, because a healthier diet isnt only about losing pounds, the Med diet presented other health benefits too. People saw big improvements in their blood pressure and glucose levels reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Following the diet encourages consumption of fruit, vegetables, whole-grain bread and cereals, legumes, nuts, seeds and olive oil with moderate amounts of fish, chicken, eggs and dairy and red meat once a week or less.

Our participants could follow the diets guidelines more closely than the fasting and paleo diets and were more likely to stay with it after the year, as our retention rates showed, says co-lead author Dr Michelle Jospe.

The Mediterranean diet varies, but generally itshigh in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, beans, cereals, grains, fish, and unsaturated fats such as olive oil. It usually includes a low intake of meat and dairy foods.

Co-lead author Dr Melyssa Roy added: In the real world, the one right way to lose weight and eat right is that you can find what suits you the best, and whatever diet is the best is the one you stick to.

If you choose something that suits you, and is basically a selection of healthy foods, and perhaps eating a bit less often, you can actually get real-world benefits and just live a normal life, and lose weight and see improvements in your health.

The study also found that people who managed to stay on an intermittent fasting diet where they ate a quarter of their normal calories on two days of the week lost slightly more weight.

Those following the fasting plan lost an average of nine pounds of 12 months, compared to an average of six pounds on the Med diet.

The study also showed expensive weight-loss products or ongoing dietitian advice werent really necessary.

The aim of the study was to look at how effective all three diets were in a real world setting, where participants self-selected which diet they wished to follow, without any ongoing support from a dietitian.

You can actually just choose a particular way of eating and apply it to your own life, says Dr Roy.

These people just literally got given advice on how to follow a diet then got left alone and then at least half of them actually managed to lose an amount of weight that from a medical point of view is clinically significant.

This work supports the idea that there isnt a single right diet there are a range of options that may suit different people and be effective.

Like the Mediterranean diet, intermittent fasting and paleo diets can also be valid healthy eating approaches the best diet is the one that includes healthy foods and suits the individual.

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The Mediterranean diet is the healthiest way to lose weight long-term - Metro.co.uk

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Home » How to lose weight safely » The Mediterranean diet is the healthiest way to lose weight long-term – Metro.co.uk