By These tips are from people who have lived to tell weight loss stories
Everyone that has lost weight and managed to maintain it has a few secret tools under their belt — which could help others along the same journey.
Despite the many adversities or weight loss plateaus, these people still kept pushing on whilst keeping their head high.
When looking back on their weight loss as overweight individuals— the aim was, in fact, not only about losing weight but focusing on their health.
As I have said before, many people aim at one goal and stop because of the trials and tribulations that follow — whereas those who have a predominant health focus tend to succeed more and attain those results for life.
About one in five Americans have lost weight and kept it off.
These particular findings were published on February 9th in Obesity: The Journal of The Obesity Society, which was a large scale study allowing those who maintained their weight loss to identify, using
their own words, what helped them to succeed.
The number of people who participated was well over 6,000, and all Weight Watchers members lost more than 50 pounds, keeping the weight off for over three years.
The questions were open-ended, focusing on weight maintenance strategies and the resulting lifestyle changes.
Responses by the group were organised by topic via Machine Learning.
The most prevalent finding was that the weight loss maintainers persevered in the face of setbacks.
They saw setbacks as part of the success along the journey.
Setbacks were never described as failures — just temporary interruptions along their path.
These maintainers managed to get back on track on the next meal, or the day after, measuring success based on long term goals.
When asked what the critical motivator had been to lose the weight and keep it off, they often mentioned health issues such as diabetes and heart conditions.
Others said mobility, physical appearance, and suggestions from family or friends that they needed to change because they always felt tired.
When asked to offer anyone else along the weight loss journey the best piece of advice that helped them, many said perseverance is imperative to overcome so-called obstacles that might come your way.
Taking the journey day by day instead of racing towards the plan was very important.
Weight Watchers workshop support networks helped them re-evaluate and reboot mentally after difficult weeks.
These workshops encouraged them to embrace a long term view when it comes to achieving this goal.
Tracking food constantly was another big one
They all ensured that documented food intake played an essential skill in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Some negative aspects were as follows:
- Cost of buying new clothes was a significant expense
- Unexpected criticism from others (which is very disappointing for me to read and write about)
- Sagging skin as a result of the weight loss
- Effort and dedication is required to maintain and keep up with the demands that a healthy lifestyle requires
Another exciting study regarding food choices published on December 30th in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics found that weight stable people in maintenance mode made food decisions based on health and weight control — rather than just price alone.
They also took into consideration the future consequences of any current behaviours.
These are essential master points for anyone looking towards a healthy and stable weight lifestyle.
I hope that these findings help others gather some necessary tools to encourage successful attainment and maintenance of weight loss.
It’s not only a matter of your food choices and habits, but your mindset plays a HUGE role in your success or failure.
Here is a summary of the points to keep in mind when you decide on embarking along the weight loss journey too:
- Have a support team you can turn to (or a trusted friend) that can help keep your head up when you get caught up in a negative mindset
- To embark on a healthy lifestyle, which eliminates your chances of developing the disease — rather than just a simple weight loss goal
- When you have a bad day — don’t use it as an excuse to quit. Instead, give yourself a break, and pick up where you left off the following day.
- It’s imperative to change your food and $ mindset. Think more along the lines of food being an investment towards your health rather than an expense.
If you would like to read more about this, visit Obesity: the Journal of the Obesity Society.
Please let me know if you have any other tips to add for those along the weight loss journey right now.
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