Secrets of Long-Term Weight Loss

If losing weight seems like an uphill battle, keeping it off may seem as difficult as climbing Mount Everest. Fortunately, the proven techniques of men and women who are successful weight losers can help you.

By Suzanne Hall

Long-Term Loss

The weight loss many people diagnosed with diabetes are encouraged to make can provide a wide range of benefits -- improved heart and blood-circulation health, perhaps fewer medications, and simply feeling better. For those at risk for type 2 diabetes, weight loss of 5 percent to 7 percent of body weight (depending on your starting weight, that could be just 10-20 pounds) reduces the risk of being diagnosed with diabetes.

To keep the weight off, tilt the odds in your favor by using the proven techniques of men and women who are successful losers, including those involved with the National Weight Control Registry.

Imagine losing 30 pounds and keeping it off. Impossible, you say? More than 5,000 members of the National Weight Control Registry have done just that, and they've shared their long-term weight-loss tips with Diabetic Living.

Established in 1994 by researchers Rena Wing, Ph.D., (Brown Medical School) and James O. Hill, Ph.D., (the University of Colorado), the National Weight Control Registry monitors the eating and lifestyle habits of people who have lost 30 pounds or more and have kept it off for at least one year.

Every year, the researchers at the National Weight Control Registry survey the registrants about their weight, eating, and exercise habits, and then compile the data. "We've found that the way people lose weight has nothing to do with how they maintain that loss," says James Hill, Ph.D., one of the registry's founders.

What works for them

For registry member Deborah Sanders, exercise has been essential to maintaining her weight loss. She had never had a weight problem until she started taking a new medication. "I went from 128 to 184 pounds and developed symptoms of [type 2] diabetes," she says. Concerned, Deborah changed her eating habits and lost 30 pounds within a year. She maintains her health and weight by doing a daily 45-minute aerobic workout and walking an additional 45 minutes most days.

This and other successful techniques practiced by National Weight Control Registry members can help you lose weight, too. Read on to find out what may make people successful at maintaining a more healthful weight.

12 Proven Weight-Loss Tips

Tips such as these have proven useful to the successful weight losers who are members of the National Weight Control Registry. These action steps can help you get started.

1. Make a plan: Talk to a dietitian about the number of calories and the kinds of food you should eat. Focus your meals and grocery shopping with your plan in mind. Most registry participants eat a balanced diet, getting about 24 percent of their calories from fat.

2. Count something: Participants counted calories, carbohydrates, or fat grams. Some eating plans simplify keeping track by specifying food categories from which you select. Two well-known plans are the American Diabetes Association Diabetic Exchanges and the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), shown to lower blood pressure in studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. You concentrate on proper serving sizes and the number of servings of each food category. If you eat the proper serving sizes and number of servings without adding extra food, you can easily target the recommended number of calories to promote your weight loss. The number of calories you need is specific to you and how much activity you get each day.

3. Record everything you eat: Keep a diary of your meals, snacks, and nibbles to help you understand your eating habits, identify danger times, and stick to your meal plan. "People who are successful in maintaining their weight loss know how many calories they consume each day," Hill says. Plus, a food diary can help you pinpoint any trouble spots.

4. Set short-term goals: Saying you're going to lose 20, 30, or more pounds can be intimidating and can sabotage a weight-loss plan right from the start. Instead, set a five-pound goal. Once you reach it, set another goal.

5. Eat smaller portions: Use smaller plates and bowls to fool yourself into thinking your portions are bigger than they actually are. Put more nonstarchy vegetables than other foods onto your plate. Eat slowly and savor each bite.

6. Drink plenty of water: Water helps to prevent fluid retention. Try to drink eight 8-ounce glasses a day.

7. Start with lettuce salads, low-calorie soups, and nonstarchy vegetables: Enjoy a low-calorie salad (choose low-calorie dressing or splash on a delicious vinegar) or soup at the beginning of your meal and you'll eat less overall.

8. Get enough sleep: Being tired not only makes you hungry, it can lower your resistance to temptation.

9. Exercise: Walk, run, swim, dance -- do whatever suits you, but do it. Moderate exercise, even 30 minutes a day, will help you lose weight, get fit, and stay healthier. Most registry participants report exercising for 60 to 90 minutes a day. But, Hill says, "every bit of exercise helps." If you're just embarking on an exercise program, start slowly, only after talking to your health-care provider.

10. Look ahead, not back: If you blow it one day, don't beat yourself up. Just get right back on your weight-loss plan the next day.

11. Eat breakfast: Starting with a healthful breakfast also may help you to lose weight. "Participants in the registry report they generally eat breakfast seven days a week," Hill says. Breakfast skippers tend to get hungrier during the day, so wind up overeating at lunch or dinner.

12. Weigh yourself: Registry participants also keep track of their weight. Many report weighing in at least once a week and often every day. "Most have a weight range in mind. Usually it's plus or minus two or three pounds," Hill says. "If their weight varies beyond that, they take action."

What's one of the best pieces of news to come out of the National Weight Control Registry? Members find that maintaining their weight loss gets easier with time. According to registry data, once weight loss is maintained for two to five years, your chances of keeping it off for the long term greatly increase.

How to Join the Registry
You can join the National Weight Control Registry if you've lost at least 30 pounds and have kept it off for at least one year. The information you provide will help others lose weight healthfully. Just follow the directions at the National Weight Control Registry site: nwcr.ws.