The traditional viewpoint is that weight loss is only available with energy restriction. This, we are told, can be accomplished through a reduction in food intake, or through an increase in physical activity. However, observations from scientific studies challenge this idea, and suggest that conscious energy restriction or increased physical activity are not required in order to cause losses in body fat and improvements in body composition. This is explainable because weight gain is not caused by eating too much food, but is caused by eating the wrong types of food. Low quality foods high in sugar, refined carbohydrates, oxidised fats and foods containing additives and sweeteners cause metabolic changes that include insulin resistance, and these changes increase energy storage and at the same time decrease energy oxidation rates. If these foods are the cause of weight gain, it makes sense that swapping to high quality diets devoid of such metabolic poisons would cause weight loss without the need to restrict energy.
Weight loss following consumption of high quality diets, without the need for energy restriction has been well reported in the nutritional literature. The macronutrient profile of many such diets differs markedly, but such diets have one thing in common, and that is their composition comprising of high quality foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. For example, in one study1, researchers investigated the effects of a 12 week ad libitum low fat carbohydrate rich diet on the weight loss in a group of healthy but overweight Danish workmen. The subjects were requested to limit the fat intake of their diets in exchange for increasing carbohydrates, but no energy restriction was placed on food intake. The results of the study showed that the subjects lost a significant amount of body weight on the diet (approximately 4.4 kg), all of which was body fat. This weight loss was not regained at week 24 nor at week 52 of a follow-up conducted at the cessation of the study.
The key part of this study was that although there was no energy restriction placed on the subjects, dietary changes were based on improving the quality of the diet. The carbohydrates requested to be consumed by the researchers placed an emphasis on whole grain sources of cereals, on fruits and on vegetables. Dairy products, another food group that is associated with weight loss, was also emphasised. The subjects were free to eat unlimited amounts of these foods, with the only restriction placed on the amount of fat in the diet. This data supports many previous studies that show weight loss effects for ad libitum diets containing high quality foods. Many traditional diets have similarly shown weight loss effects when ad libitum intakes are allowed. The authors calculated that the weight loss of the subjects cost 14.7 US dollars per kg. Therefore the weight loss was relatively affordable and suitable as a recommendation for low income individuals, something that is often overlooked in scientific research.
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