One of the best ways to understand what it takes to lose weight (and keep it off) is to turn to people who’ve successfully done it.
So today I’m going to share some of those insights from two perspectives: the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) and stories I’ve gathered over the years from my practice.
Let’s start with stories from the NWCR. This nonprofit organization is led by doctors, researchers, and health professionals who specialize in weight control.
NWCR
Their site includes tips on persons who have lost weight greater than 30 pounds and maintained that weight loss for one year or longer. Here’s some of their findings:
The majority of these individuals:
- Eat breakfast every day
- Weigh themselves at least once per week, though not everyday
- Watch fewer than 10 hours of television per week
- Exercise on average one hour every single day
- Most common form of exercise is walking
In the clinic
I see a lot of similar themes with my own patients. From an exercise standpoint, many of them have found success by being prepared such as having the walking shoes or gym bag always in the car, or maybe a second set at work, so there are no excuses as to why they could not get some type of activity in that day.
One of them even told me something I’ll never forget. They said “Some people are a blessing on your weight loss journey, some are not. If you tell someone you are not having dessert after dinner and they offer it to you 3 times they may be attempting to sabotage your weight loss efforts. “
At the end of the day, it’s all about you. That’s worth repeating, it is all about you. Your life, your journey, your happiness, you get to decide whom you surround yourself with on your journey and if that seems out of reach, you deserve to find the help and support to make it possible.
Hope to see you on the trails,