If you pay attention to the national media, you’d think weight loss is almost impossible to achieve. And finding someone that has lost a lot of weight and kept it off…good luck, right? Luckily, these are basic misconceptions. In fact, weight loss is achievable and there are plenty of people who have conquered their weight loss demons. So if this is true, why do we always hear about people struggling with weight? The answer is pretty simple. We all know someone, and probably several people, who have tried to lose weight and failed. Let’s explore this phenomenon a little further…
Too Many Reasons, Too Little Time
There are a number of reasons that diet plans fail. Maybe there was an important life event that derailed your efforts or maybe you simply decided it would be too challenging and not worth the effort in the first place. Whatever the situation, we know that weight loss failures are common. Despite the myriad of potential reasons, I think we can safely sum up diet failures into three problematic scenarios.
The first is the fact that almost all diet plans are too restrictive in one way or another. Either there are not enough calories, too few carbohydrates or very little solid food, which ends up leaving people feeling unsatisfied and yearning for more of what their plans are missing. Plus, if you’re getting too little of one thing, you’re probably getting too much of another. Clearly, this is not the way to achieve variety, balance and moderation in your eating plan.
Another potential problem is a general lack of monitoring. If you’re not paying attention to how much you’re eating, exercising, sleeping and working, it’s going to become increasingly difficult to be successful. Research has proven this time and time again, but monitoring your progress takes extra work, and many never commit the time and energy needed to keep track of their habits.
The last issue, and probably one of the most obvious, is the fact that people always seem to be looking for a quick fix. They simply aren’t interested or haven’t fully committed to changing their behaviors permanently. Any changes made are generally short-lived, which means you’ll probably be back in the same boat in the very near future. Most diets are simply short-term solutions to a long-term problem. Weight problems don’t happen overnight, and because of this, they take some serious planning and hard work to overcome.
So Now What Do We Do?
If you want to model yourself after some really successful weight losers, look no further than the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). The NWCR is a collaborative study between Brown Medical School and the University of Colorado and is designed to identify the behaviors and habits of people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off (1). The researchers are tracking over 5,000 individuals who, on average, have lost 66 pounds and kept it off for 5 ½ years. These folks have clearly mastered weight loss, but what are some common threads that have contributed to their success? Below you’ll find a few interesting facts about the majority of the NWCR participants:
These are just some basic, common sense guidelines that almost everyone can follow. They’re a great starting point, so if you’ve been struggling with your weight, try incorporating these recommendations gradually over time. If you need further assistance, look for a registered dietitian in your area.
Sources
www.nwcr.ws Accessed March 9, 2009
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