Chewing the Fat: Or Not Chewing The Fat--Same Thing Either Way

Books about dieting and weight loss. Geez, the shelves are packed full of some expert's latest "scientific" finding, or maybe a "re-discovery" of what humans are supposed to eat in the wild (nuts, berries and kuchikami at parties). The one thing all the books share in common is a claim to being the easiest, the tastiest, most hardcore, the one approved by Oprah ... you get the point.

Now comes a study saying what they really have in common are results. Doctors tracked patients over a number of years and discovered that whether they changed intake of carbs, proteins or fat, they lost about 13 pounds.

Didn't matter which diet craze, in other words. Eat bread, don't eat bread. Meat three times a day or none at all. Scarsdale or Atkins. Stick to it long enough and you'll lose 13 pounds.

Of course, most of us don't stick to a regimen for that long, meaning we need fast results. That's why there's the cocaine-and-cigarettes diet, but if you're seriously considering that one then weight probably isn't your biggest issue.