If you want to drop pounds quick, the one of latest methods to find popularity is intermittent fasting, which can be done in many ways. But it essentially implements periods of complete fasting or severe calorie reduction into someone’s regular nutrition habits, according to Healthline.
Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand recently published a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that compared the effectiveness and sustainability of the Mediterranean or paleo diet in contrast with the practice of intermittent fasting, particularly the 5:2 method, which is essentially a week of normal eating with two days of intense calorie restriction — 500-600 calories for the day — interspersed within it, Healthline reports.
The study followed 250 adults who were overweight but otherwise healthy and kept track of their weight loss, blood pressure and indexes, physical activity, body composition and adherence to their respective diets over a the course of a year.
At the conclusion of the study, researchers found that while people who stuck with intermittent fasting did lose the most weight, only 54% of those who started the diet could stick with it.
According to Yahoo! News, those who consistently followed a 5:2 intermittent fasting lost an average of 9 pounds over the year of the study.
Paleo fared the worst, reports Fox News. The study found 35% of people who had committed to Paleo were still on the diet at the end of the year.
At the end of the year, the Mediterranean diet was declared the winner. Six out of every 10 participants who had started on the Mediterranean diet continued it throughout the year. Yahoo! News reports that it not only was sustainable, it helped those who abided by it significantly lower their blood pressure as well as blood sugar. Those on the Mediterranean diet lost an average of 6 pounds over a year.
One of the lead-authors of the study, Dr. Melyssa Roy, told Fox News: “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.”
She also shared their findings that all of the diets were found to be healthy and beneficial for weight loss.
