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Eight of 10 people who start a diet choose one that is guaranteed to fail. Now we know why. A calorie is a calorie, and for weight loss, the type of diet doesn’t matter. That is what a landmark study recently reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. The Key to losing weight requires basic math: burn more calories than you eat.

As the world struggles with obesity a epidemic levels, millions turn to weight-loss solutions such as Atkins, Zone or Ornish diets that claim benefits of one macronutrient over another. But statistics show that 80% of people on these and other diets are almost certain to fail in their weight-loss efforts.

The study, from Harvard School of Public Health and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, compared weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein and carbohydrates. Each diet contained healthy fats, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and was low in cholesterol. Each dieter was encouraged to cut 750 calories a day from their food intake, exercise 90 minutes a week, keep and online food diary and meet regularly with diet counselors to chart progress. The researchers concluded that successful weight loss happens with calorie restriction that allows dieters greater variety of food choices and enables them to stick with the plan over a longer time.

Confused? For permanent weight loss, ask yourself these questions: what do my lifestyle and food choices look like when I maintain my weight? How will I continue to practice the changes I have made? Are my portions distorted? What can I do to keep my portions in check?

Regardless of the type of diet, the study found that dieters who attended all or most counseling meetings had greater weight loss—22 pounds compared with the average 9-pound loss. Remember, a healthful lifestyle requires planning, proficiency and practice in making appropriate choices, estimating portion sizes, and diligence in monitoring energy intake and activity. These skills take time to develop and maintain.

Reducing portion size appears to be the most important weight-loss strategy for everyone. Typical food and drink portions today are usually double a standard serving size—a trend now called “portion distortion,” which describes the perception of large portions as appropriate amounts to eat as a single serving. This distortion is reinforced by packaging, dinnerware and serving utensils that have also increased in size.

For weight loss, all that really counts is cutting calories consistently. It takes 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat.

If you are maintaining your weight and want to lose pounds, find 750 calories (the amount easily found in a restaurant-size appetizer or dessert) to cut out of your daily intake. Practice this seven out of seven days, and you have a weekly 1.5-pound weight loss. Aim for 300-400 calories at breakfast and lunch, 100-200 calories for snack, and 400-500 calories a dinner, for a total of 1,200-1,500 calories—reasonable for weight loss. See the table below to see what a typical day’s intake may look like.

Get Active! By the Editors. The Active Life. Exercise and Fitness.

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