3 Weight-Loss Lessons that Actually Work, According to Science

by Lexi Petronis

Does it seem to you like weight-loss tips sometimes change on the regular? Yeah, it can be a little overwhelming. But the good news is that there are some diet strategies that are irrefutably backed by science...which means there's at least some sort of solid base for those of us feeling like we would like to shed a few pounds.

Forbes came up with a list of six of them, , and I found these three to be especially intriguing. What do you think?

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Diet matters more than exercise. This isn't to say that working out doesn't matter...it does! But when it comes to weight loss, specifically, according to Samuel Klein, MD: "Decreasing food intake is much more effective than increasing physical activity to achieve weight loss. If you want to achieve a 300 [calorie] energy deficit you can run in the park for 3 miles or not eat 2 ounces of potato chips." Experts say that it's easy to binge after working out, so you end up taking in more calories than you had burned.

There's no combination of foods that will magically make you lose weight. Low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, no-sugar...experts say that it basically doesn't matter what diet you follow, because there's no real evidence that one particular diet will work better with your own metabolism. Basically, they say: Any diet will work if you follow it.

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One calorie equals one calorie, even if it's made up of nothing nutritious. Experts point to Mark Haub from Kansas State University, who lost 27 pounds eating nothing but junk food on the "Twinkie Diet." Says Marion Nestle, Ph.D.: "A calorie is a calorie no matter what it comes from. You can gain weight eating too much healthy food as well as unhealthy. From the standpoint of health, it's better to eat your veggies…. It's just a lot easier to overeat calories from junk food than healthy food. But it can be done."

What do you think of these weight-loss lessons? Does anything surprise you?

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