Junk Food Diet Leads to Weight Loss?

-->Article from Mayo Clinic, on Junk food Diet<--

I was reading this article from Mayo Clinic and I couldn't believe a professor (from Kansas State University) actually tried a junk food diet AND lost weight AND increased his HDL (good cholesterol). His junk food diet over 10 weeks included: "chocolate-covered snacks, cream-filled cakes, sugary cereals, cookies and chips. For good measure, each day he also threw in a protein shake, a few veggies and a vitamin/mineral supplement"

This was a nutrient analysis of a sample daily menu:

• 1,600 calories (he tries to stay under 1,800 calories a day)
• 232 grams carbohydrate (56 percent of total calories)
• 60 grams fat (33 percent of calories)
• 44 grams protein (11 percent of calories)
• 25 grams saturated fat (14 percent of calories)
• 110 mg cholesterol
• 1,290 mg sodium

His preliminary medical results:

• A 27-pound weight loss over 10 weeks
• Body mass index now in the normal range (24.9)
• Total body fat reduced from 33.4 to 24.9 percent (between 18 and 24 percent is good for men)
• Total cholesterol reduced from 214 to 184 mg/dL (less than 200 is desirable)
• LDL "bad" cholesterol went from 153 to 123 mg/dL (less than 100 is optimal)
• HDL "good" cholesterol went from 37 to 46 mg/dL (60 or more is the target)

Even though he is mostly eating carbs, which are primarily sugars and double the saturated fats, he is consuming less calories than he needs. Therefore, he has maintained weight loss. With decrease weight loss comes lower blood pressure and blood sugar. However, long term effects of this junk food diet has not been studied yet, so I wouldn't recommend it! Healthy dieting, moderation, and consistent exercise are the most important factors to maintain weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.