One simple diet change may be all you need to lose weight

There’s good news for people who are trying to drop a few pounds but struggle with complicated diet plans and feeling deprived over long lists of what NOT to eat. A new study suggests a simpler approach may work just as well: Eat more of certain foods and don't worry so much about calorie counting.

Barry Gutierrez / AP

The new researcher, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, tracked 240 obese adults with metabolic syndrome, designing a program that divided then into two diet groups:  

• the standard American Heart Association (AHA) diet 
• a high-fiber diet

Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions, including high-blood pressure and high blood sugar, that increase a person's risk of heart disease or diabetes. 

In the high-fiber group, detailed instructions were provided on exactly how to boost fiber intake to 30 grams per day: increase fruits, vegetables and whole grains, without aiming for specific calorie limit. 

The AHA group had to follow the plan's multiple requirements: specific calorie goals, cutting saturated fat to a certain percentage of overall daily calories, increasing fiber, and increasing fruits and vegetables. For more on the American Heart Association diet go here.

Neither group had specific advice for physical activity.

Based on self-reported food intake and tracked body weight over time, the completion rate for both groups at the end of one year of participation was very high, nearly 90 percent.

The good news: weight loss at one year for both the AHA diet and the high-fiber diet groups were very similar, an average of 4.6 pounds for the fiber-diet group and 5.9 pounds for the AHA diet.  

But here is what really counts for the average person: the nearly identical weight loss at the end of one year was achieved with one basic change in the diet — increasing dietary fiber (that does not mean taking daily fiber supplements). 

The more restrictive Heart Association diet, which requires vigilance, did not result in superior weight loss.

This new study, conducted by researchers with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, supports earlier science suggesting that one dietary change may be easier and more effective for many people long term. While the AHA diet has long been documented to promote weight loss and improved general health, it may be daunting to maintain for a long period of time.

Because no matter what plan you follow, mental focus and long-term commitment are both essential to losing weight and keeping it off.