(Food-Beverage-News.Com, May 19, 2013 ) San Francisco, CA -- When comparing traditional food diets to pre-packaged meals with portion control, more people lost weight with the ready-made food than those who simply took advice on healthy eating and calorie counting.
Dr. Michael Dansinger, the nutrition expert at Tufts Medical Center, who was not part of the study, said that when given few choices, people tend to meet their calorie goals for the day.
"When there's less structure, than participants are making more decisions, and I think too often they're making decisions that undermine their goal to stick to a calorie target," he explained.
Medifast Diet 5 and 1 Plan was the pre-packaged food company in the study, as the Medifast company funded the study. People on that restrictive diet lost almost two times more than people on a regular diet being allowed to eat whatever they want.
What causes people to fail at traditional diets?
Many people have a bad relationship with food, which is why they can’t control themselves when they are given the option of picking out their own foods. They allow themselves bigger portions and different varieties of foods that might not be healthy. But those who followed the pre-portioned meals weren’t given a choice, leading them to consume less calories, and in turn lose more weight.
During the study, which lasted a total of a year, 15 of 60 people dropped out of the traditional diet plan, while only 10 of 60 dropped out of the Medifast plan. All participants were considered obese according to their BMI.
While there are significant drawbacks to packaged foods, such as affordability and questionable nutritional value requiring medical supervision, for healthy people it’s a great place to start to learn portion control. It’s important to remember that low-calorie diets are not a permanent solution to weight loss, as exercising helps maintain healthy weights.
About Garcinia Cambogia
Garcinia Cambogia (http://www.discountgarciniacambogia.com/) is a 100% all natural fruit extract that works as a dietary supplement to aid in weight loss. When taken as recommended, it works with Hydroxycitric Acid in the body to suppress appetite and slow metabolism.
