"A
study last year in the
Annals of Internal Medicine made one of the most convincing cases yet: Researchers found that men and women who switched to a low-carb diet lost 14 pounds after one year—eight pounds more than those who limited their fat intake instead. The high-fat group also maintained more muscle, trimmed more body fat, and increased their protein intake more than their carb-heavy counterparts. These results are promising not only because researchers looked at the diet long-term, but also because they didn’t limit how many calories the participants could eat, debunking the idea that LCHF only works as well as any other calorie-capped diet"
http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/tips-plans/truth-about-low-carb-high-fat-diet
There are summaries of more studies here :
https://authoritynutrition.com/23-studies-on-low-carb-and-low-fat-diets/
Some short-term. Some longer-term. The low-carb diet often saw the highest improvements in risk factors (especially higher HDL and lower trigs, and see study 15 for effect on diabetes medications !), and other diets were often calorie-restricted.
I love the conclusion. As a non calorie-counting low-carber who enjoys what they eat, it makes sense to me
"it seems clear from these studies that low-carb diets are at the very least NOT harder to
stick to than other diets.
The reason may be that low-carb diets appear to reduce hunger (
9,
11) and participants are allowed to eat until fullness.
This is an important point, because low-fat diets are usually calorie restricted and require people to weigh their food and count calories.
Individuals also lose more weight,
faster, on low-carb. This may improve motivation to continue on the diet."
I've been low-carb for over 4 years now, and only lost weight or stabilised. Improved BP, BS, lipid profile. What's not to like ?
Geoff