If you're spending much of your day trying to figure out the glycemic load of each food you eat in an effort to lose weight, you may just be wasting your time. That's according to new research that put two groups of people on a diet. One group followed a plan full of low-glycemic foods, while the others simply cut calories. In the end, both groups lost similar amounts of weight.

For the average person, cutting calories and eating a healthy diet -- the advice we've been hearing for ages -- seems to still be the best way to go to shed those pounds. That's not to say a low -glycemic diet isn't still a useful tool. People with type 2 diabetes or people who secrete large amounts of insulin may still have more success on a diet with a low-glycemic load. And if a low-GI diet is working for you, there's no reason to stop doing what you're doing.

Experts remind us that even if you choose an "anything goes" kind of diet that simply restricts calories, it's still important to focus on nutrient-rich foods and leave the junk food out.