Weight Loss Success

NEWS FLASH: Losing as little as 10 pounds can reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes!

Recently, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) hosted a learning event featuring Dr. John Foreyt, Ph.D. of Baylor College. The following is a summary of tips for long-term weight loss success. These tips are based on data from weight loss studies done all over the world as well as research from the National Weight Control Registry (a database of over 5,000 people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for long periods of time).

Successful “losers” have the following behaviors in common:
1. Eat a low fat diet consisting of 24% fat, 56% carbohydrate and 20% protein
2. Are physically active 60-90 minutes per day at a moderate intensity, walking is the most common activity
3. Use frequent self-monitoring techniques like weigh-ins, food records, calorie or fat gram counting
4. Eat breakfast, 78% report eating breakfast daily and 95% eat breakfast 5 days a week

In addition to the 4 common behaviors mentioned above, here are the other secrets to success from the long-term “losers”:
• Sleep 8 hours each night
• Write down everything you eat
• Find support in a weight loss class, group or with family & friends
• Never give up!

If every American would eat 3 fewer bites of a fast food hamburger (eat 100 less calories) and walk for an additional 20 minutes (burn 100 more calories) each day, our current trend of weight gain would be halted - obesity rates, disease rates and health care costs would all begin to drop. Imagine that!