Not-so-breaking news:  Americans are in sorry shape. 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released their annual “The State of Obesity” for 2014 and no state has anything proud to say. Six states saw increases in obesity while every all state saw no improvement.

With a grim obesity outlook for the United States, many people wonder “what is the best way to lose weight?”

With numerous fad diets, and even more numerous opinions, getting a clear answer is difficult. Turn on TV and you will see Dr. Oz praising the effects of metabolism boosters, green coffee beans, and miracle weight loss pills. 

Dr. Mehmet Oz, (we weren’t joking)  who serves as a Professor of Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons is one such dubious dietitian. He has received harsh criticism and was even called in front of Congress for a hearing  on his deceptive information and false claims. 

To clarify- his products are not scientifically proven to significantly or effectively lose weight. They also  do not need to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These miracle weight loss solutions don’t work. They don’t work. And for good measure? They don’t work.  

Okay, no pills or crazy fads for us. Healthy AND scientifically proven diet it is.  So let us actually turn to the top reports and see what is best!

Well… unfortunately, scientific reports and journals seem to be sending mix signals too.

On Monday morning, Annals of Internal Medicine released a report praising low-carb diets emphasizing their effectiveness over low-fat diets. Got it. No bread. No pasta. Let’s lose some weight!

Just as people were tossing their bread and pasta ready to seize their new diets, The Journal of the American Medical Association threw a curve ball Monday evening stating that bread may not be *that* bad for you. Their independent study revealed that “significant weight loss was observed with any low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet”. Okay, so now what? To bread or not to bread? 

The news on weight loss is plenty and there are many people, organizations, and agencies that claim to have the best method. However, every new pill or best diet practice must be taken with a grain of salt (Not sugar, that is apparently bad for weight too).

Different studies are run under different circumstances, and there are many variable factors that can prevent or promote weight loss.

Let us just get one thing straight- the best diet is one you can stick to and keeps you energized and satisfied.

We here at USDemocrazy do not know who believe. But we do know that bread is both devilishly and dangerously delicious.