Dieting requires tools to expend more calories than you take in. This happens in a variety of ways, but the techniques used to be successful in that phase of weight loss may differ drastically from that in keeping it off. A new study shows that the skill set required for weight loss maintenance is very different from that of the initial weight loss.
The study, published in the recent issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine, reinforces what many diet programs have advocated for years: You cannot just diet, lose weight, and go back to old behavior and habits. That’s a sure way to put the pounds back on. There needs to be a shift in thinking and activities to maintain and preserve that hard-won weight loss.
Lead author Christopher Sciamanna, and colleagues of the study out of Penn State, conducted a telephone survey of 1,165 overweight adults, which consisted of queries on 36 practices when on a weight loss journey and subsequent to their weight loss. The questions included topics such as types of food, motivational factors, following a specific weight loss program, and exercise regimen, among others.
Success was measured in their ability to lose weight—at least 10 percent of their body weight—and the ability to keep that weight off for a year or more post-diet. Those who maintained a diet and exercise program and used motivational practices had the best success in the diet phase; while keeping the weight off required a slightly different skill set.
Keeping the weight off, or losing additional weight, necessitated motivational reminders of why the weight was lost, what it took to get there, and why it is necessary to keep it off, as well as a reward system. While diet and exercise were also important—two factors that both weight loss and weight management had in common—they were less important in the maintenance stage.
Sciamanna said that one of the aims of the research was to show that changes are necessary to diet and behavior to keep weight off. Practices significantly associated with successful maintenance only were:
• Eat plenty of low-fat sources of protein
• Follow a consistent exercise routine
• Reward yourself for sticking to your diet or exercise plan
• Remind yourself why you need to control your weight
• Eat plenty of low-fat sources of protein
• Follow a consistent exercise routine
• Reward yourself for sticking to your diet or exercise plan
• Remind yourself why you need to control your weight
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