Science Friday – A Blueprint for Successful Weight Loss & Maintenance

There’s a perception, mirroring many peoples’ experience, that significant weight loss cannot be maintained and inevitably the weight will be gained back. While this is common, it certainly doesn’t have to be. Several years ago I lost ~50lbs and have maintained that weight loss to this day while becoming stronger and more fit than at any time in my life. And I’m certainly no outlier as there are countless others with the same story. In fact the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) is a database of thousands of such individuals that are part of an ongoing study to determine what the successful characteristics of long-term weight loss and maintenance are.

The NWCR defines successful long-term weight loss as someone that has lost at least 10% of their body weight and maintained that weight loss for at least one year. Statistically only about 20% of those who attempt a weight loss program meet this criteria, so those aren’t great odds but it does allow the NWCR to act as a series of bright spots we can learn from. After all, the individuals monitored by the NWCR have been very successful given their average BMI has fallen from 37 down to 25 and they have maintained an average 28 lb weight loss for almost 6 years!

So the obvious question should be – how did they do it?

• 55% received some help with weight loss while 45% went at it alone
• 89% used both diet and physical activity to lose weight
• 89% restricted specific foods, 44% limited quantities and 43% counted calories

Successful weight loss is almost always through diet and physical activity. If you do one but not the other then you are really hampering your potential. Also, calorie counting works but is not necessary. Replacing garbage with quality foods will almost always lead to less calorically dense foods that subsequently reduce the quantity of food eaten. The most common reported strategies by NWCR participants were:

• Eating breakfast every day – Eating breakfast tends to limit snacking and overeating later in the day
• Low calorie, low fat meals   –  I’m not necessarily a proponent of low-fat diets they do work when implemented correctly. Unfortunately many people will just eat frozen yogurt or other sugar-laden junk while convincing themselves that it’s ok since it’s low fat. Wrong. Sugar makes you fat – period.
• High levels of physical activity – Obviously increasing your activity level will help. You’re health measurements will improve, you’ll burn more calories and you’ll just feel better than if you sit around facebooking on the coach all day long. NWCR members report burning an average of 2500 cal/week for women and 3200/week for men – the equivalent of 1 hour/day of moderate activity.
• Frequent weigh-ins – I’m a huge believer in frequent weigh-ins. You can’t change what you don’t measure and burying your head in the sand is not going to get you back on the right path. 44% of those in the NWCR weight themselves everyday and this allows them to catch small weight gains and correct their behavior before it spirals out of control.

Not surprisingly the #1 predictor of weight regain was how long participants had maintained their weight loss. Individuals that maintained their weight for 2 years were 50% less likely to regain the weight. They also report similar results for those that only watch their diet during the weekdays and not on the weekends. Eating clean Mon-Thurs only to gorge yourself Fri-Sun is not a recipe for success.

There’s nothing groundbreaking in this study but it can serve as a wake-up call. If you’re trying to do something different than the thousands of successful individuals that are part of the NWCR database then you might want to rethink your strategy. Eating breakfast and high quality foods coupled with exercise and frequent weigh-ins are the lynchpins of a successful weight loss and maintenance program.