We all tried to lose weight from time to time and have learned that it can be quite a frustrating roller coaster. If it isn’t hard enough to lose weight it is even more difficult to keep it off.
The National Weight Control registry tracks more than 5,000 people who have lost at least 30 pounds and maintained the loss for over a year. Natalie Digate Muth, MD, MPH, RD CSCS of North Carolina School of Medicine shares their secrets.
Control portions- Portion sizes where smaller in the past, today food is super sized and portion distortion is a common error of the well intended dieter. Research suggests that portion control is the greatest predictor of successful weight loss (Logue et al.2004).
Be aware- Be mindful of everything you put in your mouth. Examine why you are eating, are you really hungry or are you emotionally eating. Emotional eating is a very dangerous spiral to get into when trying to lose weight. My favorite, keep a food diary, done honestly it can give you great feed back in how much you really eat, also you may want to add your emotional state . Try to make a connection as to why you are eating and avoid negative patterns.
Keep tabs on your weight.
Turn off the tube- Watching TV or reading can distract you from how much you are really eating. The National Weight Control Registry reports losers watch less than ten hours a week of TV (Raynor et al 2006).
Idea Fitness Journal 2009