If dieting were easy, then we’d all be the perfect shape now. Unfortunately, rarely do we stick to our diets, especially the ones that require us to go cold turkey on almost everything we love. In most cases, carbohydrate-rich foods like rice, bread, and pasta are the first on the hit list. However, thanks to breakthroughs in the field of nutrition, we might not have to give them up altogether. According to a new study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, skipping carbs two days a week can help us lose more weight than a full-time diet!

It seems unbelievable at first, but British researchers have come to this conclusion as they observed 115 women who were randomly assigned one of three diet regimens. Some were asked to try the twice-a-week no carbs diet with restricted calorie intake, others were tasked to stick to a similar low-carb diet with no restriction on calories, and the rest were saddled with a 1500-calorie-a-day Mediterranean diet every day of the week.

Results revealed that those who participated in the twice-a-week low carb diet lost nine pounds in four months while those who went on a full-blown diet lost only five pounds. Another impressive breakthrough was that women on the twice-a-week regimen also showed improvements in their levels of insulin and leptin—factors that contribute to tumor development in breast cancer patients.

As all 115 women were at risk for breast cancer, the findings are significant. Those on the twice-a-week calorie-restricted diet reduced insulin resistance by 22 percent, while those on the same diet but without calorie restrictions reduced it by 14 percent. Lastly, those who went on the full-time Mediterranean diet reduced insulin resistance by only 4 percent.

Need more ideas for losing weight? Try these articles:

• Pound Patrol: 7 Bad Eating Habits You Should Drop to Control Your Weight
• Don't Be a Diet Diva! 5 Things You Can Do Instead of Dieting
• What You Should Know About 5 Popular Fad Diets
• New Study: Loving Your Body Helps You Lose Weight
• Think Right, Eat Right: 8 Tips for Keeping Your Weight in Check

(Photo by Lionel Titu via sxc.hu)