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Ninety-five percent of all dieters gain the all weight back. And more. For all the multitude of weight loss diets, pills, plans and gadgets there are even more depressing reports reminding us that absolutely nothing seems to work over the long term for about 19 out of 20 people who try them.
Yet we persist. We are dogged in our determination to find the magic bullet out there which will finally allow us to live in peace with our alarmingly yo-yoing body weight. "Several studies indicate that regular dieting is actually a consistent predictor of future weight gain," said Janet Tomiyama, a UCLA graduate student of psychology. One study found that both men and women who participated in formal weight-loss programmes gained significantly more weight over a two-year period than those who had not participated in a weight-loss programme at all, she said.
There are some common factors shared by folks who are most likely to regain their weight. Not surprisingly lots of time spent in front of the television and computer is one of them. Losing too much weight too fast, either by fad or extreme dieting will dramatically increase the likelihood of rebellion and feelings of deprivation and triggers binges. And I would also add not having a compelling enough reason for wanting to stay slim. The unfortunate illusion for many is that a person can temporarily deprive him or herself and then, once having achieved the "right" weight, can go back to all the old habits that caused the person to gain the weight in the first place.But what do successful weight maintainers have in common? Most dieters are very successful in actually sticking to their newly adopted plan and losing the weight. Any diet plan in the universe that results in you taking in less calories than your body requires to function will result in weight loss. It's what you do post-target weight that makes all the difference. If your 'diet' was too faddy or wacky then returning to eating 'normal' food is a challenge in itself. That's why the best eating plans are composed of the foods you will continue to eat for the rest of your life. Here are 5 behaviours commonly shared by successful maintainers: 1. Most are physically active and have made a decision to incorporate exercise permanently into their lives. We're not talking triathletes here – in fact one of the most common activities is walking. 2. They have a very positive approach to their revised lifestyle and feel liberated from the terrible ongoing anguish of constant dieting rather than feeling resentful.
They persist with any new healthy habit for long enough to see the benefits and over time it becomes easier to do than to avoid 4. They surround themselves with constant reminders of why they want to stay slim – often in the form of vision boards – and realise that constant vigilance (not dieting and not obsession) is the key to weight mastery. 5. They strive to create a life they love…which sees food slowly tumbling down their list of priorities. Putting the massive dieting industry aside, we are starting to move in the right direction by advocating physical exercise and healthy eating whilst discouraging dieting. Lynn McAfee went on her first diet while still a baby. She says there is study after study showing that dieting doesn't work. "You can't just yell at us louder. That's not working," she says. |
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