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Jun 9

9 Science-Based Strategies for Long-Term Weight Loss …

Long Term Weight Loss Comments Off on 9 Science-Based Strategies for Long-Term Weight Loss …

"I remember the exact moment I fell off plan," a friend recently confessed. "The compliments had faded away, I felt super stressed after a brutal workday, and so I assuaged my grief with a gargantuan slice of turtle cheesecake that triggered a downward spiral into eventually regaining everything I worked so hard for."

If you've lost weight, you likely know the blissful exhilaration of sliding into your skinny jeans, having a "you look slimmer" compliment boost your day, and discovering a newfound confidence -- dare I say, sexiness.

Don't shoot the messenger: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers analyzed 31 long-term studies and found people who lose weight often rebound.

The report, published in American Psychologist (the journal of the American Psychological Association), concluded many losers regain their original weight plus more, whereas sustained weight loss only occurred with a few participants. (1)

Losing weight can be fun; maintaining that loss often becomes a tedious, never-ending obstacle. Sustaining fat loss demands determination, big-picture focus, and uncomfortably saying "no" to your carb-pushing aunt's chunky cheesecake brownies.

Over time, as compliments fade, your skinny jeans become the new normal (you can always blame the dryer if they feel a little tight, right?), and you struggle saying no to that second piece of cheesecake, you perhaps resign that regain becomes inevitable.

You needn't succumb. Fat loss can become lasting, and the right long-term strategies can bolster that success. Science confirms what I've learned over nearly three decades in my own practice: People who maintain their fat loss frequently employ these nine strategies.

1. They measure to improve. Simply put, tracking keeps you on track. One study found a calorie-counting mobile app combined with health education classes help improve fat loss in 70 overweight men. (2) Another found 84 obese women who used a pedometer for three months lost more body fat and improved body composition compared to the control group. (3) The scales can also keep you honest. One study with 47 overweight people found those who weighed themselves daily lost significantly more weight and adopted significantly more weight control behaviors compared with those who weighed themselves less than daily. (4)

2. They journal. Successful losers write everything down, from food intake to body measurements. A study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, one of the largest and longest weight-loss maintenance trials ever conducted, found those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. (5) Their journal also includes lofty goals. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, conducted a study about goal setting with 267 participants and found they were 42 percent more likely to achieve their goals by writing them down. (6)

3. They eat mindfully. Successful losers remain present while they're eating, savor every bite, put their forks down to chew, (7) and avoid the urge to Instagram their meal while they eat. They know even a few moments of mindless eating -- such as a perilous 11 p.m. cookie dough fridge raid -- will derail their best efforts. They wouldn't be surprised one study found people who ate slowly consumed fewer calories but sustained better satiety. (8)

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9 Science-Based Strategies for Long-Term Weight Loss ...

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