If you’re constantly reading up on the latest diet, sticking to calorie counting or trying to master a weight loss plan with long gaps of snacking hunger, then you’ll be happy to read the latest bit of research. According to a new study from Tufts University, Massachusetts, regularly making small changes to your diet may have a significant impact on long-term weight gain or loss. Researchers of the study found that changing up the types of proteins and carbohydrates you consume, can help control the way your body breaks down and stores fat. Based on a results including more than 120,000 men and women over a 16-year period, the study found that eating red meat and processed meats were highly linked to weight gain. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the research team found that it was actually eating a varied diet including yogurt, fish, skinless chicken and nuts were the foods most likely to help people achieve and maintain a weight loss. Speaking about the combined results of the study, and making smaller changes to your diet, author Dariush Mozaffarian said: "Our study adds to growing new research that counting calories is not the most effective strategy for long-term weight management and prevention. Some foods help prevent weight gain, others make it worse. Most interestingly, the combination of foods seems to make a big difference. "Our findings suggest we should not only emphasise specific protein-rich foods like fish, nuts, and yogurt to prevent weight gain, but also focus on avoiding refined grains, starches, and sugars in order to maximize the benefits of these healthful protein-rich foods, create new benefits for other foods like eggs and cheese, and reduce the weight gain associated with meats." Interestingly enough, the study found there was little benefit or significant changes between full-fat and low-fat dairy products, and instead people should focus on rotating their proteins for the most effective form of calorie counting.