Successful Losers

[Guest guest]

I wanted to share this with our list.

Teresa M.

 

 

Successful Losers

 

Despite the Difficulties, It is Possible to Achieve a Healthier Weight. New

Research Shows That Maintaining the Loss Gets Easier Over Time.

 

By Sally Squires

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

 

Often lost amid the reports about the obesity epidemic are studies showing

that 20 percent of overweight people not only manage to lose pounds but

maintain a healthier weight long-term.

 

These so-called " successful losers " intrigue scientists, who see promise in

their experience and lessons for others. In a new update from the National

Weight Control Registry -- a database of 4,000 people who have shed an

average of 73 pounds and kept it off for more than five years -- scientists

reveal some of the habits that foster long-term success.

 

The biggest surprise from the study is that weight maintenance gets easier

with time.

 

" It's a very positive message, " said Suzanne Phelan, assistant professor of

psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University's Weight Control and

Diabetes Research Center in Providence, R.I., and a co-author of the study.

People who maintain their new weight for two years " have a greater

likelihood of keeping it off for two more years. Those who maintain it for

five years have even greater odds of maintaining their weight loss. With

time, the odds of regaining weight go down and down and down, " she said.

 

Not that maintaining weight loss is easy. As many of the Lean Plate Club's

successful losers note below, achieving a healthier weight takes focus and

commitment. The registry members report that, too.

 

" We know that they are working very hard to keep off the weight, " Phelan

said. " They're exercising very hard. They eat fewer calories. They're

monitoring their weight. I think it may be kind of akin to brushing your

teeth. Once you have the habit, you wouldn't think of not doing it. "

Successful losers, she said, " just do these things and have adopted them as

part of their lifestyle. Maybe it doesn't take as much conscious effort over

time. "

 

We've asked some of the Lean Plate Club's successful losers to share their

stories and compared them with the registry's findings.

 

No Quick Fixes . Nutrition fads come and go. Successful losers report

reaching a healthier weight the old-fashioned way: They count calories,

reduce calorie-dense food and move a lot more.

 

Nearly half of those in the national registry reported losing weight

entirely on their own. The rest got assistance from commercial weight-loss

programs, a physician or a nutritionist. " Over the years, I tried a lot of

different things -- Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers a couple of times,

different combinations of diets in magazines, " said Melissa Glasssman, a

lawyer who practices in Tysons Corner. " I could always lose 10 to 20 pounds,

but would always gain back more than that. "

 

It was only by changing her habits that Glassman shed 125 pounds -- half her

body weight -- in the past couple of years. " It's the little things that you

incorporate into your daily life that help keep you on track, " she said. " It

doesn't have to be entirely about deprivation or exercising two hours a

day. "

 

Be Active . While it's possible to lose weight by cutting back on calories

alone, only 10 percent of registry participants used that approach. Most --

87 percent -- ate fewer calories and boosted their physical activity.

 

Successful losers also remained active even after losing weight. They spent

an average of at least an hour a day engaged in moderate physical activity

-- equal to walking 3 to 4 miles per hour.

 

How successful losers stay active varies. The study found that about 20

percent of registry participants lift weights or ride a bike. Aerobic

exercise, such as step aerobics classes or exercise tapes, is the choice of

18 percent of those in the registry. But brisk walking is the way that most

stay active.

 

Walking helped Tarasia Remhof, 45, lose 156 pounds since 2001. " The only

thing I do [for physical activity] is walk, " said Remhof, a Coast Guard

officer based in the District. " I adopted a 50-pound mutt from the shelter

that is very active and high-energy. If we don't go for two walks a day,

she's not destructive, but annoying. So we go for about two miles in the

morning and about a mile at night. "

 

Regular constitutionals have also helped Richard Morris, 45, of Woodbridge,

lose more than 100 pounds during the past two years. Each morning, Morris

and his wife leave their home by 4:30 a.m. and spend the next two hours

walking before getting their children off to school.

 

" I realized that exercise had to be a huge part of this equation, " said the

6-foot-tall Morris, who once weighed 400 pounds and now hovers at a far

healthier 260 to 265. " I have to make a serious commitment to exercise, "

said Morris. " I have the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else. This is

not a matter of time, but of priorities. "

 

Track Your Weight . Nearly half of successful losers weigh themselves daily,

according to the study, which appears in the July issue of the American

Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Thirty percent report climbing on the scale

once a week.

 

" The scale is just a number to me now, " said Arlene Rimer, 53, a Toronto

lawyer and filmmaker who, since 2002, has lost 140 pounds from her peak

weight of 315 pounds. Regular weigh-ins have taught Rimer that her weight

naturally fluctuates by a couple of pounds either way. Getting on the scale

" doesn't make or break my day, " she said.

 

Enlist Support . Tarasia Remhof teamed with her twin sister who lives in

Texas to lose weight. Both joined Weight Watchers groups, then used phone

calls and e-mails to encourage each other's efforts. Deborah Kosnett of

Gaithersburg found support from her husband, who bought her a " comfort " bike

with a wider seat and extra shock absorption. Both Rimer and Morris lost

weight with their spouses.

 

Glassman, who like many people spends most of her workday sitting, spent a

year with an exercise group that focused on strengthening core muscles,

weight training and provided plenty of support. " Part of my success is that

I built a lot more muscle mass than I had before, and that made a big

difference " in burning calories, she said.

 

Start Your Day With Breakfast . Almost 80 percent of diet registry

participants ate breakfast every day. The typical breakfast was cereal with

skim milk and fruit. Make it whole-grain, unsweetened cereal. That

combination is more likely to provide staying power until lunch.

 

Set Small Goals. Most people " want to lose 30 percent of their body weight, "

said Phelan, who co-authored the study with Rena Wing, director of Brown

University's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center. Yet from a medical

standpoint, losing just 10 percent of body weight -- 20 pounds for someone

who weighs 200 pounds -- " is very beneficial, " Phelan said. Rather than

setting yourself up for failure, establish a more reasonable goal. Achieve

that, then try for more.

 

Find Motivation to Get Started. Reaching their all-time highest weight

prompted 21 percent of registry participants to become successful losers.

But the most common trigger was a medical event -- for example, a doctor's

advice to lose weight, diagnosis of a condition such as high blood pressure

or a family member's heart attack.

 

" My health was going bad, " noted Kosnett, 52, a certified public accountant

who has lost 80 pounds since 2002. " I had pre-diabetes. My total blood

cholesterol was not so great. It went as high as 260. My HDL (the 'good'

cholesterol) was really lousy. But the straw that broke the camel's back was

when I went out to sweep my front porch and I started panting. I thought,

'This is really stupid.' "

 

Set a Limit for Regaining Pounds. If you reach it, switch from weight

maintenance back to weight loss. Successful losers still experience slips

but appear to be better than others at identifying them and making quick

course corrections. " We found that once you start to regain weight, if you

put on more than 10 pounds, then your chances of recovery are slim, " Phelan

said. " Every day, I have to stay on top of this, " said Glassman.

 

Plan Ahead . Glassman eats only at restaurants where she knows the menu and

can find something healthy to order. Each Monday, Remhof stocks a week's

worth of food in a freezer at her office to microwave for lunch each day.

 

When Kosnett needed back surgery last year, she took precautions to maintain

her weight. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to work out and would require

prednisone, a powerful steroid that often adds weight, Kosnett reduced her

intake to 1,900 calories a day and carefully recorded what she ate. She also

added more high-volume food -- especially fruit -- to combat hunger. Bottom

line: She lost five pounds during her convalescence and achieved her Weight

Watchers' goal weight.

 

Figure on Plateaus . Even when you do all the right things, it's not unusual

for weight loss to stabilize for a while. Kosnett experienced a plateau that

lasted a year and a half. Rimer had already lost 70 pounds when she hit her

first plateau, which lasted four months. Although initially discouraged,

Rimer said she felt better when she realized that " it was awesome to

maintain this huge weight loss. " Her second plateau occurred after she had

lost 100 pounds. " I couldn't get upset by it, " she said. " My body had to get

used to . . . the new way of eating, the intensifying activity. . . . We are

not robots. "

 

Reward Yourself. Behavioral research shows that this is key for long-term

success. Glassman gave herself plenty of rewards unrelated to food for

sticking with her healthy habits. " I got a pedicure or a manicure, " she

said. She also treated herself to new clothes at a discount store while she

transformed her body so that she didn't wind up with an expensive wardrobe

that was unusable. " I didn't want to spend a lot of money, because I was

still in the process of losing weight, " Glassman said.

 

Stick With It for the Long Haul. The study found that successful losers

continue their efforts for many years after they have trimmed their

waistlines. That finding resonates with Glassman. " I know if I use the

habits and the information that I've learned . . . it will be okay, " she

said. " I truly feel for the first time that my weight is under control. " ?

Online Information

 

For more on what Lean Plate Club successful losers do to achieve a healthier

weight, log on to http://www.leanplateclub.com/ , where you can listen to

audio clips from some of the members featured in this column. ?

 

Share your tips or ask questions about nutrition and activity when Sally

Squires hosts the Lean Plate Club online chat, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. today,

on www.washingtonpost.com. Can't join live?

E-mailleanplateclub. To learn more, and to our

free e-newsletter, visithttp://www.leanplateclub.com.

 

 

 

 

Teresa M.

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how

to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.

 

Ray Bradbury

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi, Nice to know that there are really successful losers Out There - and, may I

say, probably even more of them Here on this list!

 

A word of warning to those who may want to click onto the links contained in

the article: the page that comes up has a strong lead article that promotes

high protein diets, and while it allows for beans and lentils as a way of

boosting protein, it also advocates the usual me*t (it is not a vegetarian site)

and the usual dairy propaganda, albeit the low-fat version, which won't sit

comfortably with the vegans among us. Those who don't want to be either

tempted or irritated in those ways might well be advised not to click in LOL

 

It's interesting that there are always new studies to promote the efficacy of

'dieting' on the very foods that made most people gain weight in the first

place.

 

Anyway, interesting article. Thanks a bunch!

 

Best, Pat

[Guest guest]

Pat,

 

Please accept my sincere apology for posting the article about successful

losers without a warning that it contained some references to me*t.

 

I am a committed vegetarian, though a newbie.

 

I will be more thoughtful in the future.

 

Teresa M.

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how

to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.

 

Ray Bradbury

 

_____

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hey, no prob! I was just delivering a warning that the leanplate club (or

whatever it is) page was advocating increased protein (yeah, incl. meat and

dairy, natch) - which bothers some members cuz they've had a rough time on

low-carb/high-protein diets before as well as not liking the idea of being told

to eat you-know-what LOL

 

For me, and I am probably in the minority here, I was more worried about the

idea that it advocated large amounts of protein - incl. dairy for vegetarians.

We

worry about the effects of protein on calcium levels, for one thing.

 

Funny, but this so-called 'new' research really does sound like Fatkins

revived. Again, just me.

 

So as you were, everyone! Keep that weight off cuz the longer you do so the

longer you do so - and we have research to prove that too!

 

luvya, Pat

 

> Please accept my sincere apology for posting the article about successful

> losers without a warning that it contained some references to me*t.

>

> I am a committed vegetarian, though a newbie.

>

> I will be more thoughtful in the future.