Effect on Resting Energy Expenditure of Three Maintenance Diets

Patients who diet often regain all or part of lost weight, possibly because calorie restriction induces a decline in resting energy expenditure (REE). Whether the composition of the maintenance diet affects this decrease in REE was assessed in 21 overweight and obese adults (mean age, 30; mean body-mass index, 34 kg/m²).

After a run-in period of 12 weeks on a high-protein diet that resulted in a mean weight loss of 14.3 kg (13.6% of baseline body weight), participants were assigned to a random sequence of three different diets for 4 weeks each. The three test diets were low-fat (60% carbohydrate), moderate-carbohydrate (40% carbohydrate), and very low-carbohydrate (10% carbohydrate, 30% protein, 60% fat). REE was measured for each diet and c…