For a fast healthy diet- that you won’t stay on- try Atkins. It works. But you won’t stay on it. Of course- dudes rarely stay on any diet, so… If you are lucky, after losing down to your target weight with Atkins, you can then cut a few "problem foods " out of your diet all together (Chips are a good start, along with fries, and also sugar soda). If you do so, you may well keep about half the wieght off. Increase excersise, and you may keep it all off.
Really- they have done the study the Op asks for- and each food is clearly labeled with the results- they are called “calories”. Pretty much (unless you’re talking some very high fiber and low calorie foods like celery) a calorie is a calorie, and as far as WEIGHT goes, it makes little or no difference.
Atkins seems to work mainly by limiting calorie intake. You cut out 90% of snack foods, and just about every “empty calorie” food (sugar). The protien & fat make you not feel hungry at all, even if you are eating less calories than with sugar calories. It’s also dead simple, and you have a good reason not to “cheat”. It has been shown to work as well or better than “low fat” diets, and with the dieters reporting they felt far less 'deprived" during it. But yes- the chances are high you won’t stay on it (or any diet) for more than a year, and six months is average.
t-bonham is then basicly right. But he leaves out one factor- fiber. Increasing your fiber intake will help you lose some weight. Obese dudes are usually constipated to some extent, and the fiber makes you feel “full” to some extent. Thus, high fiber foods are- to a small extent- the “magic” food you’re looking for. I’d make a WAG and say that many obese dudes could drop 10# just by significantly increasing the amount of fiber they eat. Note that isn’t a lot. However, the Atkins allows plenty of lettuce and celery, so if you also increase fiber a lot with these, that will aid that diet also. And, the extra fiber will make your proctologist happy. :eek:
So here is my “magic diet”. Go on Atkins for at least 6 months- and make sure you get PLENTY of fiber. Eat a whole damn head of celery every day if you like (if you can’t- then try a fiber supplement and a LARGE glass of water. No “laxatives”- just fiber supplements- which are laxatives in a sense…). Add a brisk half-hour walk twice a week, and never drive any distance less than half a mile- walk instead. Afterwards, when you can’t take it anymore, cut a few 'empty calorie" foods out of your diet FOREVER. Say to yourself- “I will never eat another Chip.” Keep off sugar soda. Keep up the walks, and keep up the fiber.
Look, it *is * hard to never eat any ‘junk food’ again, and your vow to go to the Gym 4 times a week just means you’ll pay for a Gym membership you’ll never use after the first month. But any of us can cut out a few foods, walk a bit, and get more fiber.