Never Yo-Yo Again

[Guest guest]

Weight Watchers eTools article of the week: Never Yo-Yo Again

~~ Start Thinking About Maintenance

Yo-yo dieting has risks, and not just the kinds of health risks you may be

thinking of. It is certainly true that it is far healthier to lose and maintain

weight loss than to watch the numbers on the scale go way up and way down.

But an equally harmful risk of yo-yo dieting is the emotional response that

often comes with it - having experienced a yo-yo can make you feel out of

control, which can then lessen your ability to make smart food choices.

It's a vicious cycle, but we're here to help. Keep reading for tips on achieving

your weight goal and staying there.

~ The Keys to Weight Maintenance

You've probably heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talking about the

things that make the biggest difference when it comes to maintaining a healthy

lifestyle (and therefore a weight loss). These include:

Moderation.

Not only is it healthier to enjoy foods in moderation, but it's also a good

mental exercise, too. Overeating can make you feel like you can't control what

you put in your mouth, which may make you want to eat more.

Variety.

Switching up the foods you choose to eat will not only help combat boredom, it

will also help make sure you're getting all the nutrients your body needs.

Balance.

Make sure your body is getting a balance of nutrients without too many calories

or fat.

People who have been successful at weight maintenance have used these keys, and

have shared these other common behaviors as well:

Continue to eat a lower-calorie, lower-fat diet when compared to the general

population.

Remain physically active.

Maintain continued contact with the individuals or services that helped during

the weight-loss process.

~~ Keep It Off ... for Good?

Many weight-loss veterans know that once they reach that mystical goal weight,

some of the magic begins to wear off and old habits sneak back into the picture.

What was once a noble quest becomes a daily dedication to a healthy lifestyle,

and the applause and compliments that accompanied the journey are often replaced

with worries and fears about staying at the final destination.

" Maintaining weight loss can be as difficult as losing weight, if not more

difficult, " says Meyer, a nutrition consultant for WeightWatchers.com and

a Weight Watchers Meetings member for three years. " Members may feel that once

they've reached their goal weight, they've completed the weight-loss process and

can revert back to unhealthy eating habits. "

~ 5 Pound Alarm

Weight Watchers has a multitude of successful maintainers, and they have

fine-tuned their techniques for staying at goal. Some Lifetime Members attend

Meetings, many have incorporated regular exercise into their lives, and almost

all report that if their weight creeps up to a certain point, they quickly start

keeping track of what they eat again. A vital component of the plan is the

golden " five-pound rule " - regaining five pounds should be considered a warning

sign and a nudge to return to Meetings.

" The five pounds may only be a temporary gain, but it could signal a return to

unhealthy eating habits, " says Meyer. " Either way, reviewing the basics and

getting back on track is necessary. "

To make sure you stay on the healthy path, consider these tips from experts and

successful members:

Exercise, exercise, exercise, says member Bugler. " I have to make a

conscious effort as to when, where, and how I'll fit it into my day, " she says.

Attend Meetings. " I tell other lifers that attending Meetings is the key, " says

Jodi Brown. " I've been a Lifetime Member for a year now, and I weigh in every

week and attend my Meetings no matter how off I've been that week. It keeps me

in control. "

Track your POINTS® no matter what. " I've had more success in the past few months

because I've promised myself to write down everything I eat, " says Marcia J.

Dalton. " If I have a 53-POINT day, it gets written down. Surprisingly, though,

53-POINT days haven't happened much because when you've made this commitment, it

can stop you from going overboard. "

Shake it up. " I find I have to stay interested by mixing things up a lot, " says

Ann Lombardo. " Reading new books, articles, the Web, and working out with new

buddies or on a new schedule keeps me going. New recipes and shopping in new

places do, too. I believe we're entitled to infinite new beginnings. "

Forever, amen. " Perceive lapses as isolated events and view healthy eating as a

permanent lifestyle versus a temporary measure, " says Meyer. " Once the weight

has been lost and you get to goal, it's a matter of taking a step back and

understanding that healthy eating needs to be a part of your lifestyle forever. "

~~~ 5 Ways to Stop Yo-Yo Dieting

Straight after the ho-ho-ho of Christmas, there comes the go-go-go of the New

Year with all its plans and resolutions - and then, before you know it, it's

yo-yo time again.

You lose the pounds, then gain them right back, over and over again. The term

yo-yo makes it seem more of a game than what it really is - anything but fun.

But this is the year things will be different. After all, there's no better time

to decide to lose weight for keeps than at the beginning of a bright new year.

~ The Truth about Yo-Yo Dieting

Weight Watchers chief scientist -Kovach defines yo-yo dieting (also

known as weight cycling) as " the repeated loss and regain of weight. " But she

adds this good news: " While much has been made of ill health effects of the

phenomena, there is little science to back it up. "

Indeed, the National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity from

the National Institutes of Health convened an expert panel on the topic - and

concluded that there is no convincing evidence that weight cycling in humans has

adverse effects on body composition, energy expenditure, risk factors for

cardiovascular disease, or the effectiveness of future efforts at weight loss.

" Yo-yo dieting is not dangerous in terms of hypertension, " researcher Dr. Alison

E. Field of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital concluded recently in the

American Journal of Epidemiology. Calling it " good news, " Field asserted, " loss

of weight is not a risk problem. There is nothing wrong with going ahead and

trying to lose weight - what's important is the net weight change. "

~ Yo-Yo No More

So how do you do that? Slow and steady. Check out these five great keys for

making your dieting success stay:

1. Don't let the risk of yo-yo dieting stop you from attempting to

lose weight if you need to.

2. Plot progress charts and learn from your own feedback. See if

you can see what you were doing differently in the weeks when

you started adding pounds back on.

3. Make your timeline. Write down from memory what your weight was

each year for the past ten or more. Try to see why it varied.

Was it stress, a new job, a new baby? Or did you work out more

(or less)?

4. Get in fast with a solution. Weigh yourself regularly and take

immediate action if and when the scale is five pounds above

your weight goal.

5. Don't think " diet " - think " sensible eating plan. " Make it a

way of life, rather than stopping and starting (or changing)

your way of eating every couple of weeks or months.

~~~ Maintaining Long-Term Weight Loss is Possible

An important new study shows that once weight is lost, it can be kept off for

the long term. These results are significantly different when contrasted with a

previous National Institutes of Health report1 on a variety of weight loss

methods suggesting that weight loss is unlikely to be significantly maintained

for one year, and is virtually impossible to maintain for five years.

The new study examined people who had completed the weight loss and maintenance

phases of the Weight Watchers program by hitting their weight goal and

maintaining it for six weeks. This new study was carried out by WAC Survey &

Strategic Consulting Company, a leading market research firm. Lowe,

Ph.D., of Drexel University, was the lead researcher on the project.

This new study found that after two years, an average of 87% (self reported) and

72% (adjusted) of the participants' weight loss was maintained.* These findings

directly counter a commonly held belief that weight lost is quickly regained.

This belief is in part due to the NIH report indicating that average expected

weight maintenance after just one year is as little as one-third of weight lost.

The new study used a random national telephone survey of people who had achieved

a healthy body weight (defined as a BMI of 25 or less) by participating in the

Weight Watchers program. 2 Survey participants must have completed the weight

loss and 6-week maintenance phases of the program to be contacted for the

survey. The participants' initial weight, weight goal achieved and completion of

the maintenance plan were all recorded at Weight Watchers meetings. Two hundred

and forty six people were included in the two-year data and 135 people were

included in the five-year group.

Participants were contacted and asked their weight over the telephone. An

adjustment factor was later calculated based on a comparable group of

participants, who were asked their weight on the telephone and then invited to a

facility where they were weighed.

Also released were five-year results. While the NIH review indicated that

" almost all " weight loss is regained by the five-year mark, in contrast, this

new study showed that at the end of five years, an average of 69%

(self-reported) and 50% (adjusted) of the participants' weight loss was

maintained.*

" These very important findings offer hope to a lot of people who had been

discouraged about the sustainability of long-term weight loss, " said M.

Rippe, M.D., director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute and a leading authority

regarding preventive cardiology, health and fitness and healthy weight loss in

the United States. " Particularly during a time when obesity in the U.S. has hit

such a dangerous mark, we must focus on long-term weight loss as a critical

component to address this important national health issue and reverse this

trend. "

Weight Watchers comprehensive weight-loss method, which combines a science-based

eating, activity and behavior modification plan with weekly meetings and group

support, is the weight-loss method used by all of the survey respondents.

" As an obesity expert who has been treating patients for more than 20 years, I'm

encouraged by the data, which support the notion that long-term weight loss is

achievable, " said R. Lowe, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and professor

at Drexel University, who helped design the study and analyze the results.

" How one loses weight directly affects an individual's long-term weight-loss

success, and at Weight Watchers, members learn how to eat more healthfully,

increase physical activity and handle all the challenges encountered to achieve

and maintain weight loss, " said -Kovach, VP, Program Development and

Chief Scientific Officer at Weight Watchers International, Inc. " It's about

losing weight and keeping the weight off for the long-term. "

According to Dr. Rippe, " The research results are compelling and exciting. " In

fact, Dr. Rippe has just agreed to a collaboration to work with Weight Watchers

on future research to advance understandings about healthy weight management.

The Rippe Lifestyle Institute is one of the leading research, communication and

health promotion organizations in the world.

This new study's findings will be presented at the upcoming meeting of the

European Association for the Study of Obesity in Prague at the end of May.

* Weight Watchers makes no claim that these results are

representative of all participants in the Weight Watchers

program. For many dieters, weight loss is temporary.

1 Methods for voluntary weight loss and control. Technol Assess

Conf Statement; 1992 Mar 30-Apr 1. Bethesda (MD): National

Institutes of Health, Office of Medical Applications of

Research; [1992].

2 It is possible, under Weight Watchers programs, that

participants, based upon a physician's request, might have a

target BMI of slightly above 25.

~~~ Are You Looking for a Quick Fix?

Do you want to lose your weight right away, or take it day by day? Find out with

our self-assessment quiz.

We've all had our share of bad habits. What's been your approach to

kicking yours?

__ One day at a time.

__ Cold turkey.

__ I let it happen naturally.

Do you have a weight loss deadline?

__ Definitely. And it is only a few weeks away...

__ Yes, but it is vague (i.e., " next summer " ).

__ No. I want to give this process plenty of time.

Which selling pitch would most likely steer you toward a particular

weight loss plan?

__ " Lose weight for summer, without hurting your health. "

__ " Lose weight for good. "

__ " Lose weight fast. "

You know exercise is an important part of weight loss. So you:

__ Hit the gym hard, alternating aerobics and strength training

every day.

__ Throw yourself into a new exercise (belly dancing!), but try to

take it somewhat slow.

__ Take it inch by inch, perhaps walking a few times a week. You

want this to last.

What are you looking forward to most about being at your goal weight?

__ Looking great.

__ Feeling healthy.

__ The hot fudge sundae I will have to celebrate.

Why are you losing weight?

__ For me!

__ For my family.

__ For a wedding (or reunion, or party) I have to go to in a few

months.

Imagine you've lost no weight this week, when you were hoping to

lose one or two pounds. How do you react?

__ I decide to cut back several POINTS next week, so I am below my

POINTS Target. This is not happening fast enough.

__ I do not sweat it too much. At least I did not gain.

__ I vow to keep better track of my POINTS and exercise more. I

have a goal, and I want to get there as soon as possible.

A co-worker is losing weight faster than you are on a diet that

completely cuts out one macronutrient (carbs, for example). What

is your response?

__ I ask where she learned about that diet. I am switching over!

__ I tell her I am concerned about her health - she is losing

weight too fast, and plus, our bodies need carbs!

__ I wonder if I should cut back on carbs a bit ...

~ You're looking for a quick fix.

Diets that promote quick weight loss promise that you'll lose a lot of weight

fast, and in some cases, it's true. But remember, says Melinda Hemmelgarn, MS,

RD, from the University of Missouri Nutrition Communications Center in Columbia,

Missouri, " fast weight loss is generally a sign that you're losing water weight,

not fat. And it's usually characterized by quick weight regain. "

So ask yourself, do you want to lose weight fast? Or do you want to lose weight

for good? Weight Watchers is a plan for healthy living, not a diet, and it helps

you develop the habits that will put you at a healthy weight for life. Losing

weight slowly and steadily gives you time to form new habits, says Jackie Raha,

manager of group service development for Weight Watchers International. Plus,

slow and steady gives you a better chance of not gaining the weight back because

you've formed those good habits. Finally, slow and steady is healthier. For good

health, you need to take weight loss slowly, so you're eating the nutrients your

body needs.

~ You're taking it easy, but pushing yourself, too.

You know that slow and steady wins the race, and that's why you're taking that

approach. But you're eager to get to that weight goal, too, and that's why

you're pushing yourself to change those habits as fast as possible. That's

great! But remember to pace yourself. Says Melinda Hemmelgarn, MS, RD, from the

University of Missouri Nutrition Communications Center in Columbia, Missouri:

" We have to give lifestyle changes a chance to sink in and become part of our

daily habits. " You're eager to get to your weight goal, sure, but won't it be

great to stay there for good?

~ You're taking it day by day. But don't be afraid to push yourself...

You have a practical approach: You know that in order to maintain a weight loss,

you have to get to your goal weight slowly and steadily, giving yourself plenty

of time to let new habits sink in. And you're absolutely right: " Diet and

activity changes that we make slowly, over time, are the ones we're more likely

to stick with, " says Melinda Hemmelgarn, MS, RD, from the University of Missouri

Nutrition Communications Center in Columbia, Missouri. That said, don't be

afraid to keep your goal at the forefront of your mind. Take it slow, sure, but

do everything you can to make sure your weight is steadily inching toward the

you that you want to be.