Abstract
For all obese or overweight people who have recently lost weight, weight return is a common issue. Different treatments have been suggested as answers, such as nutrition therapy, behavioral therapy, exercise, or a combination of them. This article’s objective is to identify the finest eating regimen or diet to keep off recent weight reduction.
Results
Meal replacement, a low-carb, low-glycemic index (GI) diet, a high protein intake, and moderate fat consumption have all shown some benefits in maintaining weight. The outcomes, though, are debatable. Although additional research is still needed, a diet similar to the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet appears helpful for weight maintenance. Certain unique behaviours, such as not staying up late at night, consuming fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, and adhering to a healthy pattern, were linked to decreased weight gain. Some unique foods have been recommended for maintaining weight. Specific foods’ functions, however, are not proven.
Conclusion
Healthy diets advocate low carbohydrate, low GI, and moderate fat foods; nevertheless, it is unclear whether these foods are effective at halting weight gain. It appears that eating fewer calories aids individuals in maintaining weight loss. It is necessary to conduct more studies to identify obesity management strategies that successfully maintain weight loss.
Introduction
Overweight and obesity are ranked as the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. There were 1.5 billion overweight persons worldwide in 2008, with 200 million obese men and about 300 million obese women.
Most dieters gain their first weight in three to five years, and it’s common to regain about half of the weight lost after a year. According to experts, maintaining even a little portion of weight loss—between 5% and 10%—is a remarkable accomplishment. In reality, weight maintenance is defined as a change in weight after the weight loss of up to 3% of the actual body weight.
Thermogenesis decreases once the fat is lost, which makes it harder to reduce fat. After losing weight, there is a danger of increasing calorie intake due to a decline in hormone levels, particularly leptin and thyroid hormones. Adipocytes experience cellular stress during this time, which causes them to begin storing fat again.
The ability to maintain weight is influenced by genetics, behaviour, and environment. Diet is the one among them that has the biggest impact on how steadily your weight fluctuates. According to several studies, adjusting the distribution of calories from macronutrients and consuming fewer calories than necessary is important. Additionally, eating habits including binge eating and a high carbohydrate diet lead to weight relapse.
It has been established that higher resting metabolic rate (RMR), greater food constraints, and infrequent dieting are all linked to weight growth.
Some habits for maintaining weight loss include limiting the consumption of takeaways and fast food, cutting back on food intake, following a low-fat diet, and drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages. These actions require supported tactics via phone or email to become habits.
Since the studies are not conclusive, it appears important to develop programmes that will make it easier to maintain weight over an extended period. Although some review studies have been done on the effects of various foods and diets on weight loss, we are not aware of any review articles that have been done on the impact of foods and diets on preventing weight gain following weight loss. Today, it would appear that maintaining weight is just as significant as losing weight. As a result, we reviewed the data to see how different diets affected weight maintenance after weight loss.
Meal Replacement for weight loss
Meal replacement is one strategy that has been widely utilised to avoid weight gain. It has no adverse effects and is risk-free, effective, and economical. With this approach, there is higher participation, adequate nutrient receipt, and a reduced dropout rate. These meals have a set amount of calories and are nutrient-rich. These nutrient-dense, low-fat meals can take the place of main meals and snacks.
According to a study conducted for weight loss, a liquid version of the very low-energy diet (VLED) was used. After that, participants were randomly assigned to receive a structured food plan along with either two meal replacements or orlistat and exercise. During weight maintenance, there was no discernible difference between the groups in terms of weight change.
In a different study, obese persons were given the option of following an isocaloric, food-based meal plan or low fat, low GI, with a balanced ratio of CHO/Pro meal replacement. This group experienced a greater amount of weight increase, however, a higher percentage of participants in this group maintained their weight than in the other group.
In a prospective strategy, 100 patients were assigned at random to either Group A, which contained an energy-restricted diet, or Group B, which featured an isocaloric diet, which substituted two meals per day. The patients were then given orders for the same calorie meals, with just one replacement each day for the following four years. During the weight-loss phase, both groups’ body weight decreased, but group B experienced a bigger drop and better weight maintenance.
When compared to a structured diet and exercise programme for weight reduction and maintenance, meal replacement-based dietary interventions had no appreciable effects on hunger, fullness, diet satisfaction, or diet quality. However, they also reported increased physical activity, which may have influenced the outcomes. The organised diet group dropped much more weight and maintained greater weight reduction.
The use of this approach has some restrictions. The majority of study subjects are volunteers, which makes them more motivated to participate. Second, they might not have the money to buy meal substitutes. Last but not least, eating the same foods every day can result in nutritional tiredness.
Dietary compositions of various macronutrients
To determine the best dietary combination for maintaining weight, some studies have experimented with varying the percentages of the macronutrients. Low-carb, low-glycemic-index, low-fat, high-monounsaturated-fatty-acid (MUFA), and high-protein diets fall under this category. However, there is a lot of contradicting information available.
According to research, participants assigned to low-protein, high-GI diets maintained their weight loss at a higher rate than those assigned to high-protein, low-GI diets. A low protein, high GI diet caused significant weight gain, whereas a high protein, low GI diet resulted in weight loss that was followed by weight decrease. In another trial, altering the diet’s GI had no discernible impact on weight maintenance, but the low GI group ate less.
In comparison to a low-fat diet, an energy-restricted diet with moderate fat may offer more benefits for weight maintenance. Finding exact methods for appetite management is essential since levels of gut-derived satiety signals decline when on a low-energy diet (LED). Although a moderate-fat, high-MUFA diet with a low GI causes an increase in GLP-2 and PYY in the MUFA group compared to a low-fat diet, no differences between the diet groups were observed in appetite ratings, ad libitum energy intake, or body weight during weight maintenance.
In a recent study, participants were randomised to either a high carbohydrate and protein breakfast or a low carbohydrate breakfast (LCb) (HCPb). While the HCPb group continued to lose weight and had lower wanting scores for sweet, high-fat, carbohydrate or starch, and quick foods during the weight maintenance period, the LCb group gained weight during this time. Positive correlations existed between weight change and desire score.
Dietary habits
Patients in the first group stayed late less at night, engaged in more physical activity after losing weight, consumed fewer calories from protein, and received more emotional support than patients in the second group who re-gained weight. The key to good weight maintenance is supposed to lose more weight during the initial phase of weight loss and to eat wholesome foods. People who do not acquire weight consume fewer calories than obese and overweight individuals. Other behaviours include consuming more fibre, whole grains, veggies, and fruits while consuming less fat and processed grains.
When compared to other people, weight gainers have different perceptions of hunger and cognitive control. Patients who started lighter and lost more weight were able to avoid weight gain. More calcium intake causes a slower rate of weight gain. The National Weight Control Registry found that those who were maintaining their weight loss consumed a range of meals from the base of the food pyramid, but fewer foods from the other food groups.
Dietary adjustments
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is one of the diets that has been researched for weight maintenance. Increased consumption of fruits, veggies, and low-fat dairy products are all part of this diet. Patients who follow this diet can lose as well as maintain weight, and this benefit has been linked to dairy products rather than fibre.
Despite a brief effect on hunger reduction, gelatin has no additional impact on weight loss compared to milk protein.
It appears that a six-week refeeding window following weight reduction is more effective at maintaining weight and improving food control than a four-week window.
Unconventional foods
Studies have examined the impact of several foods on maintaining weight. For instance, people who combined their green tea and caffeine intake with a sufficient or high-protein diet did not experience weight gain. A higher hunger score and lower contentment were only observed in the group that consumed enough protein. According to a recent meta-analysis, green tea has no appreciable impact on maintaining weight loss. In regular users of low caffeine, it might have some negative effects.
Consuming capsaicin did not significantly vary from placebo in terms of weight changes. The capsaicin group had a greater respiratory quotient and resting energy expenditure, although these factors were unrelated to weight regain and returned to normal following therapy.
Discussion
The results of this study demonstrate that altering the content of macronutrients or replacing meals has no beneficial benefits for maintaining weight. Changes to dietary habits are required to maintain weight loss, including appropriate food selections and good lifestyle practices. More fibre, MUFA, low-GI carbs, and protein intake seem to prevent weight gain, even though long-term maintenance of dietary adjustments is challenging.
To maintain weight, however, a diet rich in low-GI foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein-rich meals, nuts, canola, and olive oil may be beneficial. The related mechanisms include altering body composition, increasing satiety, and decreasing desire and hunger as a result of hormonal signals. Therefore, in addition to a diet like DASH, instruction on healthy eating habits may aid obese people in maintaining their weight.
A successful weight loss technique has been meal replacement. Its benefits include simpler adherence, fewer food options, and controlled calorie and nutrient content, but it could get monotonous after a while. However, its efficiency in maintaining weight is still up for debate. It can be the result of an altered macronutrient profile or the number of foods that were substituted.
The nature of your diet may help you avoid gaining weight after you lose it. The effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets for long-term weight management is debatable despite their widespread use for weight loss. Poor dietary compliance is one of the most common problems associated with these diets. Additionally, they require supplements due to nutrient deficiencies. Higher protein intake is associated with less weight gain, while reduced carbohydrate intake has no further effects.
Consuming micronutrient dietary supplements has been linked to lower body weight and resting metabolic rates in men and reduced levels of hunger in women, but there aren’t enough studies to determine how they affect the risk of weight gain following weight reduction. According to a study, long-term use of the vitamins B6 and B12, as well as chromium, was strongly linked to less weight gain.
It’s not clear if increased dairy consumption indicates successful weight maintenance. The dietary diversity score is used to evaluate the diversity of foods (DDS). Only one study has demonstrated the inverse relationship between lower DDS and lower body mass index (BMI). It is crucial to eat only one specific type of food since, when energy intake rises along with DDS, the lower food group diversity lowers energy intake. Self-efficiency, cognitive control, weight monitoring, making the right food choices, engaging in high levels of physical activity, consuming more low-calorie-dense meals, and eating smaller portions are dietary practices that can help obese people maintain their weight loss.
Unfortunately, despite successfully losing weight, the majority of people stop engaging in healthful practices. Other foods with a high isoflavone content might be useful for weight maintenance even though the special foods don’t have a proven involvement in them. Products made from soy include a lot of isoflavones. Additionally, some particular actions might help you keep your weight in check. Previous studies have demonstrated a possible link between sleep deprivation and central adiposity and obesity. Therefore, it will be important to determine in the future whether or not sleep length is associated with weight maintenance. In this regard, it’s also necessary to evaluate other habits.
Gelatin, capsaicin, and green tea have all been attempted as weight maintenance diets or additions, but more research is required to determine their long-term effects. Although the DASH diet has many positive health effects, its impact on losing weight is still up for debate. Much more research is required in this area because the recommended servings are identical to those that have already been studied.
Meal replacement diets have several restrictions, some of which have already been stated. Although they appear more convenient because they do not need a person to alter their eating habits, they offer no additional benefits compared to changing the mix of their diet’s macronutrients. Overweight individuals can learn eating habits to prevent weight gain with the use of nutritional counselling. When a healthy diet like the DASH is followed, it works better.
According to research, consuming less saturated fat and more plant protein is linked to a decreased risk of weight gain. The DASH dietary approach does not share the same restrictions as the meal replacement pattern, but it may alter the macronutrient structure of a diet to some amount.
The self-reported data, higher number of men than women in the study, the design, lack of a sample group, withdrawal rate, engaged volunteers, and low dietary compliance are only a few of the studies’ limitations that should be noted.
Conclusion
Success can be defined as maintaining a reduced body weight over the long term. Meal replacement can help people lose weight, but it cannot ensure weight maintenance. Low carbohydrate, low GI, and moderate fat foods are encouraged in healthy diets, but it is unclear whether these foods are effective at preventing weight gain. It appears that eating fewer calories encourages people to keep the weight off. Additionally, certain unique activities are linked to improved weight loss maintenance.
Some examples of these practices include drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages, going to bed earlier, and eating more nutritious foods. No particular food can certainly support weight maintenance. Therefore, more study is required to identify methods for managing obesity with a focus on successful weight reduction maintenance.
