The Detroit News Weight-Loss Challenge
Dieters savor success, learn to maintain itSource:
http://www.detnews.com/2003/health/0312/30/f01-21869.htmSalad Club team adopts healthier lifestyle to keep the pounds off
By Kara G. Morrison / The Detroit News
Nearly every morning, Sharon Michal arrives at her local gym at 6:30 and tackles a resistance-and-cardio training circuit for 45 minutes.
This habit — along with drinking lots of water and not eating after 6 p.m. — has helped the 47-year-old library media specialist from Goodrich shed 31 pounds during the yearlong Detroit News Weight-Loss Challenge.
Now, Michal is determined to not only keep off the weight, but to lose a few more pounds in 2004. She and her colleagues at Harvey-Swanson Elementary School in Ortonville are already taking steps to maintain or continue their weight-loss efforts well after the Challenge ends in January.
To do this, they’re embracing their Salad Club — a 10-member lunch group that meets each weekday to share low-cal salads. They’re also sticking to their new exercise commitments.
“Exercise is a big part of my life now,” Michal says. “If I miss, my day just doesn’t feel right.”
A study of thousands of successful weight-loss patients suggests Michal is on the right path.
The National Weight Control Registry — one of the biggest research projects ever to record traits of those who have lost weight and kept it off — includes more than 4,000 people who have lost at least 30 pounds and maintained it for at least a year. The average registry member has lost about 66 pounds and has kept the weight off for more than five years.
“There seem to be four characteristics of those in the weight control registry,” says Rena Wing, a developer of the National Weight Control Registry. “They are still eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet, with only 24 percent from of their calories coming from fat. They do a high level of physical activity. They consistently eat breakfast, and they continue to monitor their weight.”
Registry members report a much higher level of physical activity than the vast majority of Americans. Members burn an average of 2,700-2,800 calories per week with exercise, says Wing, a psychiatry professor at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I. That translates to about five-seven hours of exercise per week, or almost an hour a day.
Weight-loss patients often struggle with this commitment to exercise, even though maintaining an exercise regiment is one of the most important things dieters can do to shed the pounds permanently, says Marty Lillystone, exercise physiologist at Beaumont Weight Control Center.
“What happens with a lot of people in weight loss is, if they make a change in their diet they’re going to lose weight, so at the beginning there isn’t a big incentive for exercise. Exercise by itself is not a good tool for weight loss,” Lillystone explains.
That’s because it takes about an hour of exercise per day to lose 1 pound per week without changes to your diet. Or, you can cut 500 calories (the equivalent of about two 20-ounce Cokes) a day for the same weight loss.
Unfortunately, people with a history of being overweight have to do more exercise than the recommended minimums for better health, Lillystone says. “It’s a treatment for this health condition, and if they discontinue the treatment, this health condition will return,” he explains
People who are most successful at weight-loss maintenance make exercise as normal a part of their day as brushing their teeth.
“You have to make it a lifestyle,” says Cyndy DuVal, a personal trainer with Physiotherapy Associates/Prescription Fitness in Waterford Township and trainer for Michal’s Salad Club Teachers team.
DuVal spent months introducing the six women in her group to different types of exercise — from Pilates to body rolling. She recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of resistance training and 30 minutes of cardiovascular conditioning, such as biking, walking or jogging, three to four days a week to stay in shape.
“You have to choose something you like. If you hate getting on a treadmill, you won’t do it,” she says. DuVal also stresses switching up your exercise routine, not only to avoid boredom, but to work different muscle groups and boost your metabolism. And, she says, an exercise buddy can make working out more fun and tougher to skip.
“Try different things, whether it’s walking your dog or going to the gym and going swimming,” DuVal says. “You have to change it up and make it interesting.”
Lillystone is a big fan of pedometers — devices that count the number of steps the wearer takes in a day. The current recommendation is working up to 10,000 steps, which is about 5 miles. Walking is the primary exercise of Lillystone’s patients and the main activity reported by Weight Control Registry Members; it’s also something that almost everyone can fit into their lives quite unobtrusively. Lillystone suggests taking a brisk walk in the morning, during lunch hour and after work is enough to get in the needed number of steps.
“If something’s important to you, you’re going to fit it in,” he says.
Dietitians are not surprised by the finding that Weight Control Registry members eat breakfast almost religiously. (Wing says the typical breakfast of registry members is fruit and cereal).
Dieters often make the mistake of skipping breakfast because they think it better to forego the morning calories, says Nanette Cameron, a dietitian at Northpointe Health Center in Berkley. Cameron and others say breakfast is essential to jump-starting the body’s metabolism, increasing the rate at which the body burns calories.
Cameron also recommends everyone — especially people trying to maintain weight loss — eat 25-30 grams of fiber for better health and to help create the sense of being full.
“Most associations recommend 25-30 grams of fiber a day,” Cameron says. “The average American gets only 10-12 grams of fiber, because we eat so many white-flour, refined products and not enough fruits and vegetables.”
Another dietary tip for maintaining the hard work of shedding pounds is to keep healthy snacks in reach. Cameron says having a piece of fruit or cheese on hand when you need it can stop one from binging or making unhealthy food choices. And drinking at least eight glasses of water a day not only cuts down on drinking high-calorie beverages like soda, but also can ease hunger.
Finally, Wing says to maintain weight-loss, it’s important dieters regularly check their progress on the scale. Most registry members weigh themselves at least once a week and some weigh themselves daily to stay on track.
Though such steps can be intimidating initially, the good news is it gets easier over time to maintain hard-fought weight-loss.
“The first year or two are the most vulnerable,” says Wing, adding people who maintain weight loss for three-five years are likely to keep it off for good.
Michal says she isn’t worried. She has lost more than 40 pounds since 2002, and is committed to her healthier lifestyle. “I tell people I got rid of four bowling balls. I step livelier. I just feel better. I sleep better,” Michal says.
Her colleague, Christine Welling, 29, of Holly feels the same. Welling has lost 20 pounds in part because of her new exercise routine. The third-grade teacher and her husband start their day by walking their dog at 5:30 a.m.
“We made a pact that if one of us says no (to the walk), the other one has to pull the covers down and turn on the lights,” says Welling, adding she has felt healthier and managed stress better this year.
“It’s not just physically, but emotionally, that I feel better,” she says.
Keeping track of successThe National Weight Control Registry is a database of people who have self-reported a weight loss of 30 pounds or more and kept it off for at least a year. The registry found the following traits for successful dieters:
* 89 percent changed their diets and increased physical activity (10 percent used diet modification only and 1 percent used activity only).
* 55 percent used a formal program (such as Weight Watchers) or professional assistance such as a dietitian or psychologist.
* 87.6 percent limited some type or class of food, especially high-fat and high-calorie foods.
* 44.2 percent limited the quantities of food they ate.
* 43.7 percent counted calories.
* 92 percent exercised at home, 40.3 percent exercised regularly with a friend, and 31.3 percent exercised regularly with a group. Walking was the most common activity reported.
* 77 percent said a medical or emotional event triggered weight loss.
* 42.7 percent described losing weight as hard, 31.4 percent as moderately hard, and 25.7 percent as easy.
* Two-thirds were overweight as children. About 46 percent indicated they were overweight by age 11 and 25.3 percent at 12 to 18 years.
* 46 percent had one overweight biological parent and 26.8 percent said both biological parents were overweight.
* 91 percent tried to lose weight before.
Comparing successful weight loss attempts to previous ones, registry researchers found:
* 81.3 percent used more exercise.
* 63 percent used a stricter dietary approach.
* As a result of weight loss, 85 percent reported improvements in physical health, quality of life, energy level, physical mobility, general mood and self-confidence.
If you are at least 18 and have lost 30 pounds and maintained the weight loss for one year, you can register with the National Weight Control Registry by calling (800) 606-NWCR.
Source: American Obesity Association, www.obesity.org.