Healthy Weight Loss Your Way

Circumventing roadblocks to healthy weight loss

Why do some weight loss programs fail?

Diets, especially fad diets or “quick-fix” pills and plans, often set you up for failure because:

• You feel deprived. Diets that don’t allow certain types of food (carbs, fat, sugar) in moderation are simply not practical, not to mention unhealthy – eliminating entire food groups doesn’t allow for a healthy, well-rounded diet.
• You “plateau” after losing a few pounds. There’s actually a second component to healthy weight loss: exercise. Often your body adjusts to your new way of eating, and it’s only with increased physical activity that the pounds will continue to melt away.
• You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term. However, once you meet your weight loss goal, you have no means of lifelong, healthy diet maintenance,  and the pounds come quickly come back
• You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. Just because you gave in to temptation and overindulged, doesn’t mean all your hard work goes down the drain. Healthy eating is about the big picture – an occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. And again, diets that are too restrictive are conducive to cheating – when you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon.
• You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and programs may be cost-prohibitive.
• You feel isolated and unable to enjoy social situations revolving around food. Without some practical, healthy diet strategies, you may feel lost when dining out or attending events like cocktail parties or weddings. If the food served isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do?
• After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. Restricting your caloric intake slows down your metabolism – another reason why starvation or “fasting” diets are counterproductive.
• The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs in 2 months – and you haven’t. Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises, and most are simply not realistic. Unfortunately, losing weight is not easy, and anyone who makes it seem that way is doing you a disservice. Don’t get discouraged by setting unrealistic goals!

Why do some weight loss programs succeed?

While there’s no “one size fits all” solution to lifelong, healthy weight loss, try these tips:

• Stay motivated–Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as goals like wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. Keep your focus: when frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you’ll reap from being healthier and leaner.
• Find a cheering section Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support, whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group, so that you can get the encouragement you need.
• Commit to a plan and stick to it. Experiment until you find a good, long-term plan that helps you lose the weight and maintain that loss in a way that works for you. If you cut out just 100 calories a day you would lose 10 pounds in a year. Remember one 12 oz can of a popular soda contains 150 calories.       

Emotional and social components of healthy weight loss

Food isn’t just used to satisfy hunger – it is also a common part of social interactions and a means of comfort and stress relief. How we eat is also partially dictated by how we were raised – “clean your plate – there’s children starving in Africa” – and how the people around us eat. If your friends and relatives start packing on the pounds, you are more likely to do so as well.

What’s a healthy dieter to do? First, consider how and when you eat. Do you only eat when you are hungry, or do you reach for a snack while watching TV? Do you eat when you’re stressed or bored? To reward yourself? Also pay attention to how much sleep you are getting – lack of sleep has been shown to have a direct link to hunger and overeating.

Recognizing your emotional triggers can help make it easier for you to make changes. Once you realize your own personal challenges to weight loss, you can work towards gradually changing the habits and mental attitudes that have sabotaged your efforts in the past.

Mindful eating helps healthy weight loss

Paying attention to what you eat, savoring each bite, and choosing foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable helps healthy weight loss and maintenance. Plus, when our minds are tuned out during mealtime, the digestive process may be 30% to 40% less effective. This can contribute to digestive distress, such as gas, bloating and bowel irregularities.

Weight Loss Myths: Fact or Fiction?

MYTH: If you raise your metabolism, you can eat more and still lose weight!

FACT: Your metabolism controls how fast and in what way you burn the calories you consume. We burn calories throughout the day in many ways – from breathing to walking the dog. Despite the claims of the diet pill manufacturers, you have very little ability to change your metabolism. But you can help your body burn more calories by incorporating lifestyle changes, like more exercise.

MYTH: “Carbs” are evil!

FACT: The popularity of low-carb diets has made people crazy about counting carbs, but this is far less important than counting calories. The long-term effects of high-fat, high-protein diets are still unknown, but we do know that a diet high in good carbohydrates (which are lower in calories than fat) coming from whole grains, fruits, and veggies, provides adequate nutrition and can be ideal for weight loss.

MYTH: Fasting is a great way to lose weight.

FACT: Hollywood starlets swear by “fasts” or “cleanses” where they eat practically nothing for days. Starving yourself can help you drop a few pounds fast, but chances are you will regain that weight as soon as you start eating again, not to mention the numerous negative health effects a starvation diet can cause (gallstones, fainting, malnutrition...just to name a few.) Also, losing a lot of weight rapidly usually means you’re losing muscle and water rather than fat.

MYTH: To lose weight, eat fat-free foods.

FACT: Fat-free does not mean calorie-free. Many fat-free versions of your favorite products have the same or more calories as the originals, because sugar has to be added to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is taken out. Remember that you need to watch your caloric intake in order to lose weight, so keep track of the foods you are eating, fat-free or otherwise.

MYTH: Sugar-free foods and artificial sweeteners are great for avoiding weight gain.

FACT: True, diet soft drinks and artificially-sweetened yogurts, ice cream and other snacks are often lower in calories. But sugar substitutes may interfere with your body's natural regulation system and result in your overindulging in other sweet foods and beverages.

Tips for Healthy Weight Loss your Way

Lifestyle and planning tips

• Get plenty of exercise. Exercise is a dieter’s best friend! It not only burns calories, but can actually improve your resting metabolism. No time for a long workout? Research shows that three 10-minute spurts of exercise per day are just as good as one 30-minute workout. See Exercise Guide for Exercise Haters.
• Get proper sleep. People with improper sleep have a much higher risk of obesity Exhaustion can make you feel hungrier, and impair your judgment.  Aim for around 8 hours of good sleep a night. See Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep
• Turn off the TV. You actually burn less calories watching television than you do sleeping! If you simply can’t miss your favorite shows, getting a little workout in while watching – do easy exercises like squats, sit-ups, jogging in place, or using resistance bands or hand weights.
• Make sure to shop when you are not hungry. Create a shopping list to stick to, and store tempting foods in cabinets or drawers out of your sight.
• Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. You will more inclined to eat in moderation if you have thought out healthy meals in advance, and eat when are truly hungry.
• Lose weight slowly. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your nervous system, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick.  When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle rather than fat. Aim to lose 1-2 lbs a week to ensure healthy weight loss.

Eating and drinking tips

1. Focus on fruits and veggies. The high water and fiber content in many fruits and vegetables make them great candidates for healthy snacking and incorporation into meals. Try adding veggies to your favorite main courses (made from lean meats and whole grains) to make your dish “go” further. In addition, the vitamins and nutrients in fruits and vegetables can help your overall health and vitality.
2. Eat more protein. Protein keeps you full longer than carbohydrates. It also takes more energy to metabolize protein than carbohydrates, so you burn more calories after eating it.
3. Fill up on fiber. Fiber makes you feel fuller faster, so it’s a great idea to choose foods that are packing a good fiber punch. Fiber will also help digestion, allowing you to process what you eat in a healthier way.
4. Choose “low density” foods. Foods that allow you to eat larger portion sizes with lower calories are considered low density. These foods (including many fruits and vegetables) tend to contain more water and fiber. Try starting your meal with a low-density salad or soup (just watch the dressings and sodium) to help fill you up, so you will eat less of your entrée.
5. Drink lots of water. Not drinking enough water makes your body hold on to the water it has – resulting in extra “water weight”. Thirst can also be confused with hunger, so by drinking water, you may avoid consuming extra calories.

6. Eat early, eat often. Remember this old saying: breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism. Likewise, “grazing” on healthful snacks like fruits, veggies and protein-packed almonds, and eating 6 small, healthful meals throughout the day, rather than the standard 3 large ones, can help keep your metabolism going and ward off snack attacks.
7. Be extra careful when eating out. No matter how healthy your diet, you need to eat less to lose weight. This means practicing portion control. At restaurants, eat only half your meal and take the rest home. Also watch out for condiments, dressings, and soft drinks, which are common culprits for hidden calories. For more on healthy choices while dining out, see Healthy Fast Food – yes, it’s possible.

Using a popular weight loss plan to meet your needs

While a personalized plan may work better for you in the long run, many people do find success with well-known diet programs such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. And even if the popular commercial weight loss plans aren’t quite your style, some of them may provide the backbone of a program that does work for you. Read Analysis of Popular Weight Loss Plans  for a comparison and analysis of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Volumetric Diet, Slim-Fast, The Zone, Dean Ornish, South Beach and Atkins.

Related Links for Healthy Weight Loss

Weight loss myths 

Weight loss and nutrition myths – Debunking myths about food, dieting, and exercise. (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease)

Emotional and social components of healthy weight loss

How to stop emotional eating – Ways to curb emotional eating from sabotaging your healthy weight loss efforts. (Mayo Clinic)

The Eight Traits of Emotional Hunger – Learn the difference between actual hunger and emotionally-driven hunger. (University of Texas)

Emotional Eating Test – Do you have issues with food? Take this online test and find out! (Psychology Today)

Mindful eating for healthy weight loss

Mastering the mindful meal – Explains the effects of mindless eating, and offers exercises to help you become a more mindful eater. (Brigham & Women’s Hospital)

Tips for healthy weight loss your way

How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Help Manage Your Weight – Illustrated guide to healthy ways to lose weight. (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)

Just Enough for You: About Portion Sizes – Offers tips for managing portion sizes at home, and when eating out. (Weight Control Information Network)

Tips for Setting and Meeting Your Weight Loss Goals – After you’ve made the commitment to start losing weight, set goals that are realistic, specific, and measurable. (Mayo Clinic)

Suzanne Barston, Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Robert Segal M.A contributed to this article. Last modified on May 18, 2008.