Secret to diet success is simplicity itself

FROM paleo to gluten-free or vegan to Atkins, with so many diets doing the rounds it can be confusing separating weight-loss fact from fiction.

Australian nutrition icon Dr Rosemary Stanton offers one simple solution to working out what diet best suits you.

All you have to do, she says, is ask yourself: “Can I stick to this diet for a long time?” and “Does it leave out any major food groups?” If you answer “yes” to the first question and “no” to the second, you will be taking the first steps to healthy and achievable weight loss.

“The diet needs to be something that you can stick to for good,” Dr Stanton said. “It’s not a matter of changing your eating habits for three weeks … it’s got to be forever.

“It also needs to be healthy and provide what your body needs.”

Dr Stanton said most diets failed her simple quiz.

“Most of the diets fail because usually the person can’t stick to it,” she said.

“It’s all very well to say you’re going on a diet that’s all eggs or pasta, but you can’t stick to that sort of thing forever. There’s no such thing as a healthy diet that restricts the type of things you can eat.”

Dr Stanton said eating smaller serves from the five food groups was the best way to go.

She said not feeling bad about the occasional junk food was also part of a healthy approach to shedding the kilos.

“In my 50 years of experience I have never found that a diet of no junk works for more than a couple of months, because you just can’t stick to it,” Dr Stanton said.

“It should be eaten without a feeling of guilt because when you feel guilty you get no pleasure from it.

“Make a conscious decision to enjoy it and make sure the junk food is the best quality you can find.”