Taking in fewer calories than you burn is the one guaranteed way to lose weight, the Harvard School of Public Health states. Some people burn more calories than others because they have a more active metabolism or because they're more active, but the basic rule still applies. Both monounsaturated fats and low-carb foods can have a place in a weight-loss program.
Monounsaturated Fats
Fats are a good and necessary part of your diet. Fat is required for transport of certain vitamins and to synthesize certain hormones. The four main types of fats in the American diet are saturated fats, found in animal proteins; monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, considered the "healthy" fats found in plants; and trans fats, man-made fats also called partially hydrogenated fat. Substituting monounsaturated fats such as olive, canola or peanut oil or avocados for saturated or trans fats is good for your health. But all fats have the same number of calories -- nine per gram. Monounsaturated fats help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease, but eating too many monounsaturated fats will prevent weight loss.
Low-carb Foods
Low-carb diets generally restrict carbohydrates in favor of foods high in protein and fat, such as meats, but often allow vegetables, which are usually low-carb as well. You can eat a low-carb diet that contains monounsaturated fats, which are actually a low-carb food. In fact, choosing monounsaturated fats such as olive oil in place of butter of peanut oil for cooking over trans fats such as shortening will improve your overall health.
Weight-loss Results
Low-carb diets and diets that stress monounsaturated fats, like the Mediterranean diet, can both result in weight loss, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health that was published in the February 2009 "New England Journal of Medicine." Diets were loosely based on the Atkins low-carb, Ornish low-fat and Mediterranean balanced diets. After a two-year period, the 80 percent who completed the trial following low-carb, low-fat and balanced calorie diets all lost around the same amount of weight, an average of 8.8 lbs.
Considerations
The best type of diet to follow, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, is the diet you'll actually stick to. You may do better cutting carbs from your diet and eating meat and salad than you do limiting yourself to a small portion of pasta with low-fat cheese. Maintaining a calorie intake of no less than 1,200 calories per day, eating around 500 calories per day less than you burn and increasing your daily activity level will result in slow but steady weight loss. Switching to monounsaturated fats and cutting simple sugars from your diet, which supply calories but few nutrients, in favor of vegetables and low-carb fruits will help you improve your health as well as your weight.
References
- Cleveland Clinic; Types of Fats; 2010
- Harvard School of Public Health: The Best Diet is the One You'll Follow
- "New England Journal of Medicine"; Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets With Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates; F. Sacks, et al.; February 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Dietary Fats: Know Which Types to Choose; February 2011
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