How does one lose unwanted weight and most importantly keep it off?

How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off

Many people who have struggled with extra weight for years know that keeping it off is the most difficult and sometimes the most frustrating task.

There have been numerous popular diet programs in recent decades that promised to help individuals lose weight, and each of these diets failed in the long term, spawning their successors.

After all, people go on diets to get off of them. Most individuals regard a diet as a means to a goal, and few people who embark on a calorie-restricted diet to lose weight anticipate having to eat this way permanently. And thus lays the problem, with the present unregulated obesity pandemic being the unfortunate outcome.

We live in a nation awash with opulence. Whether we are wealthy or poor, we are surrounded by calorie-dense foods, many of which are delightful but lacking in nutrients that fuel healthy bodies. Suzanne Phelan, the principal author of optimistic new research published in the journal Obesity, said, "We can't spend two minutes without being attacked by a food cue."

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Even the most dedicated dieters might struggle to avoid temptation all of the time. Once individuals fall off the diet wagon, they tend to stay off it for a long time, causing their hard-won pounds to return far faster than it took to lose them in the first place.

These realities, however, should not deter anyone from attaining long-term weight loss. Researchers have discovered the methods and cognitive processes that have helped tens of thousands of individuals, including myself, drop large amounts of weight and keep it off for years.

Dr. Phelan, a professor of kinesiology and public health at California Polytechnic State University, led a recent study that revealed behaviors and techniques that might help millions of people succeed. Yes, they include healthy food and frequent physical activity, just like most conventional weight-loss regimens.

However, they also offer critical self-monitoring techniques and nonpunitive coping strategies that can be crucial to long-term weight loss.

The research, which was funded by a grant from WW, the current name for Weight Watchers, involved roughly 5,000 of the organization's members who reported losing an average of 50 pounds and keeping it off for more than three years. 

Their routines and mental processes were compared to those of a control group of over 500 obese persons who had neither gained nor lost more than five pounds in the previous five years.

Dr. Phelan understands the emotional difficulties that come with attaining long-term weight reduction. “Weight loss is a really satisfying process,” she added. People take notice and give them support. But with upkeep, all of it goes away.”

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“Maintaining weight reduction might get simpler over time,” she immediately added. To be effective over time, a less conscious effort, albeit not none, is required. Healthy eating habits become second nature after roughly two years. The longer people make healthy choices, the more routine they become. When they don't, they feel strange.”

Perfection, on the other hand, is unrealistic and might be self-defeating, according to Dr. Phelan. “Successful maintainers are aware that slips will occur. They also understand how to recover from lapses and get back on track. 

hey accept mistakes and don't think in black-and-white terms like "I was awful," which is a self-defeating mentality. Rather, they are aware that there will be ups and downs, and they have a proactive plan for dealing with lapses.”

I anticipate and plan for the moments when I expect to be presented with gastronomic largesse, as one who dropped a third of her body weight and kept it off for half a century can attest. I'm a little more abstinent the day before, enjoy the indulgence, and then return to normal the next day.

I practice moderation rather than continual deprivation and self-denial. Gary Foster, the study's co-author, and WW's chief scientific officer said that "everything is on the menu" under the WW program. 

Fad diets are too restrictive, setting them up for failure from the start. We believe in moderation and oppose dieting. People must develop habits and routines that allow them to maintain long-term weight loss.”

And, as many of the study's successful weight maintainers stated, time and experience have permanently changed what I find appealing, so I rarely feel deprived and don't feel the need to practice self-denial on a regular basis. 

I will admit, though, that I am less adept at suppressing urges than many of the participants in the current research. I'm more inclined to give in, but I'll limit how much I eat.

I think I'm best at keeping track of my weight. Every day, I weigh myself and try to stay within a two-to-three-pound range. Almost all of the study's successful maintainers weigh themselves weekly or more frequently, making it simpler to self-correct before the scale numbers climb considerably.

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“What's on your thoughts is as essential as what's on your plate,” Dr. Foster added. Weight loss is something you undertake for yourself because you are precious and deserve to be looked after.”

People need to let go of the idea that "they can't like themselves until they lose weight," he added. “Rather, they must begin with compassion and a feeling of self-worth. Weight loss should be viewed as a good rather than a negative experience. Beating oneself up is counterproductive and demotivating.”

Keeping lower-calorie meals like fruits and vegetables more available is one of the beneficial methods found in the current study. Dr. Phelan stated, "We eat what we see." The converse is also important: keep high-calorie, less nutritional meals out of sight, if not completely out of the house.

A dear buddy who is overweight becomes enraged when his wife brings cookies into the house. “She knows I can't stop myself from buying them, and I've told her several times not to.”

“Be very explicit about what you want the person to do and not do,” Dr. Foster advises. 'I'd really prefer it if you didn't bring cookies home,' you may say. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and this isn't helping,' and praise the individual for following through.”

Setting daily calorie targets and maintaining a food diary, in which you document everything you eat each day, are two other useful strategies employed by the study's successful maintainers. 

This has helped another of my friends maintain a 30-pound weight decrease for decades. She explained, "It keeps me honest."

Although physical activity may not help with weight loss in and of itself, starting an exercise regimen can offer weight maintainers more freedom and help keep the pounds off. “Calories in must balance calories out if you don't want to gain,” Dr. Foster explained.

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