Normally I'm not one to take too much heed of studies into weight loss - there are a lot of dodgy studies done and I'm sure if you worked it right, you could prove anything with your study - but when I was in at the gym the other night there was an article posted on the noticeboard with details of a study done by CSIRO who seem to be a pretty reliable source.

The study initially tracked people on three different diets - low fat, low carbs and the diet recommended by the HeartSmart foundation - for 12 months. They found that there was no difference in weight loss between the plans, so long as you followed a plan, you'd lose weight.

The article was about the follow up study. I'm not sure how much later they followed up but they checked if the people in the study had kept losing, maintained or gained. This was where the differences between the plans really showed. The people on the low fat and low carb diets hadn't stuck to their plans and had gained weight.

Those on the HeartSmart recommended diet, which basically involved adjusting their normal diet to make it healthy, kept on plan.

It's pretty understandable really - it is far easier to adjust your habits than change them completely. I can't even follow a plan. Any diet that says you have to eat certain foods on certain days losses me before I start. I went on that Quick Start diet with the soup once. I got to 3 o'clock and was craving a salad roll so bad I couldn't stand it. Then I thought about it - if I was craving chocolate or hot chips or pie then it would have been worth fighting, but how stupid is it to beat yourself up for wanting a salad roll. Mmm salad roll... I could go one now... one of those Vietnamese rolls with the marinated carrot stuff... Anyway, I should be getting some exercise. I've been a lazy-butt all day.