A new study has some answers on what diets are best for shedding the most pounds.A recent study by the New England Journal Of Medicine compared a low fat diet, a low carb diet (such as the Atkins diet), and a Mediterranean diet, which includes lean protein and vegetables along with oil and nuts.

The study followed 322 obese patients who were randomly assigned to one of the diets. The patients were followed for two years. At the end of the study, weight loss on the low fat diet averaged a little more than seven pounds, while those on the Mediterranean diet averaged a loss of 10 pounds.Patients on the low carb diet averaged a loss of 12 pounds.

"It's not surprising that the low carbohydrate diet led to greater weight loss, because when you're eating protein and fat it makes you feel full so you don't want to eat as much," said Dr. Eric Westman of the Duke University Medical School.The low carb diet actually lowered cholesterol levels in most patients as well."A low carb diet -- one that forgoes rice and pasta, and bread, and potatoes -- works by lowering insulin levels in the body. And then with this lower insulin level, the body makes less of harmful cholesterol," said Westman.