The person is your role model, a mentor, and teacher. Often they will be able to provide a step-by-step plan of action that will help you achieve success and maintain it, far faster and for far longer than if you had made the attempt on your own.
Sometimes in the area of successful fat loss, however, such a mentor is hard to find. Sadly, most of us do not know many people who have achieved the apparently miraculous combination of both losing weight and keeping it off. It is not often that we are able to surround ourselves with such a group, let alone find a single person that falls into this elusive category.
Thankfully, such a group exists, and we are going to show you exactly where to find them.
The National Weight Control Registry is a research project that tracks the progress, habits, and characteristics of people who have lost over 30 pounds and kept it off for longer than a year. The study follows the lives and habits of 5000 people, year after year, seeking to find the success clues that create and maintain consistent fat loss.
To keep current with the National Weight Control Registry's (NWCR) findings, be sure to frequent their website at www.NWCR.ws. In the meantime, here are five of the key factors associated with people that have achieved results.
1) One of the best findings of the NWCR is a subject that appears to be very well known, yet somehow people ignore it day after day and year after year, as they add pound after pound. Here it is: diet AND exercise were "the secret" to consistent, persistent weight loss. Just dieting does NOT work! Exercising 2-3 times a week while eating junk food does NOT work! We all know this, yet why do so many continue to struggle every single day, ignoring the facts?
2) In one study, the average participant had lost at least 66 pounds and kept the weight off for over 5 years. Pretty impressive, right? The common characteristic of this group was that they followed a lower calorie, low-fat diet. Before you completely kick fat out of your diet and off of your plate, however, it is important to know that this group's average daily caloric intake from fat was 24% of total calories. Fat is an extremely important part of our diet, so shoot for this percentage as you eat throughout the day.
3) Almost 80% of the most successful "losers" ate a healthy breakfast...everyday. Breakfast helps jump start your metabolism each day, so make it a top priority in your weight loss program.
4) Participants in the study who were consistent with their diet throughout the entire week, as opposed to just Monday through Friday, were 150% more likely to keep their weight at bay over the course of a year. Take note: a cheat DAY will probably prevent successful fat loss, but a cheat MEAL or two each week will not only keep you psychologically sane, but actually help with your overall fat loss achievement.
5) We know that the NWCR group lost weight through both diet and exercise, but how have they successfully kept it off for over a year? Drum roll, please, as the results are announced...
They continued to do both diet AND exercise. It's just that simple.
There you have it. The combination of diet and exercise is, by far, the most important factor in the achievement of fat loss. The group from the National Weight Control Registry can be fantastic allies in your weight loss endeavor. Use them as mentors and role models, and allow the lessons they have learned to more quickly help you develop new lifelong habits that virtually guarantee weight loss success!
Have you kept a food journal? Journaling is a very important aspect in successful weight loss and is claimed, by many, to be the pivotal point in their success. The benefits are most pronounced when beginning a nutritional eating plan. However, at various times throughout your weight loss journey, one can refocus their efforts by once again implementing the journaling process.
When I started my weight loss journey, I made a simple food journal where I wrote down everything that went into my mouth. And, I do mean everything! I also made note of my general mood, i.e. happy, sad, lonely, etc. and recorded any major events.
Now, the process of journaling doesn't have to be all consuming or take a lot of time; it just needs to be a conscious effort to accurately record your food intake and emotions. The initial commitment to record your journal should be for a minimum of 2-3 weeks as it takes that long to see the patterns emerge and gain a true picture of your relationship with food. Personally, I kept a journal for several months when I began as it afforded me the most control over my behavior.
Here are the benefits of journaling.
1. Journaling promotes conscious eating. This was a big thing for me. I can't tell you how many times I would walk by a candy jar and indulge in a few pieces or grab some food from the kitchen table at work where it had been placed for all to share. No thought process even entered my mind. I didn't stop to assess whether I was hungry or think about whether I was "dieting"; it was in my mouth and gone before any conscious thought entered my mind. Writing everything down, and being consistent about it, allowed me to STOP making poor choices and allowed me to truly engage my thought process, my choices, the consequences of those choices and then proceed.
S = Stop T = Think O = ChOose P = Proceed
2. One of the best benefits of a food journal is the ability to monitor what you are eating, how much you are eating and when you are eating. It provides a clear picture of our interaction with food, which allows us to modify certain behaviors. You may uncover things like eating too little during the day, finding a food that triggers a binge episode or eating too many carbohydrates and not enough protein.
3. Documenting your moods and/or significant events will allow you to see a correlation between your emotions and food. The knowledge of this allows us to implement a plan of action to better prepare for future events.
In my journal, I realized that when I was sad and lonely, I not only ate in excess but my food choices were not nutritional. First, that information supplied me with the knowledge of my behavior. Second, it allowed me to devise a plan to alter the outcome. For instance, when I was sad and lonely, I would leave my home to go participate in a happy social activity with friends or visit family.
4. When you are cognizant of the food you are consuming, you are then more aware and watchful of the choices being made. Mindful eating decisions are then more likely to be based on the quality and nutritional value of the item in correlation with the total daily calorie, point or carb allowance.
5. As you become more conscious of the foods you are eating, better choices can be made. For instance, you may observe that too many carbohydrates are being eaten and not enough protein. You may become keenly aware that vegetables are lacking. In my case, I learned to eat more protein when I was truly hungry and to reserve the carbohydrate-laden snacks for times when I felt relatively full.
6. By journaling your food, you remain in total control. There are no foods off limits, only that you plan accordingly to stay within your allowed calories OR occasionally decide to exceed your calorie limits and accept the consequences of your choice. You remain accountable to you and there is just no benefit in not being truthful.
7. When reaching a plateau or occasionally sliding up the scale, a food journal provides the material needed for review by a friend, mentor or physician. A problem area can usually be identified quite quickly with a journal at hand.
Journaling does not require an arsenal of tools, but there are a few that are essential and those that are helpful.
A notebook or journal (even plain paper can be used) along with a or pencil. This does not have to be anything formal, but represents the basic tools for journaling and is most essential.
Measuring cups are essential in portioning your food as we guesstimate on the high side.
Measuring spoons allow smaller quantities of items to be measured accurately and can drastically affect your daily caloric intake. An example would be salad dressing; at 80 calories for 2 TBSP of low-calorie dressing, pouring 2 or 3 times that amount can make the difference of whether you lose weight, remain the same or gain.
Calorie resources are essential to your weight loss success. Calories can be found on the product packaging or by using an Internet resource such as www.calorieking.com. Points, carbohydrates or diabetic exchanges are other acceptable ways to measure your food when journaling.
Plastic baggies are helpful in portion control. Some food items, especially snack items, state the number of portions in the box or package. It is easier to divide the package into equal portions upon opening the package. The calorie count can be written in permanent marker on the baggies for easy reference.
A calculator is helpful to divide package calories into smaller portions than those listed on the box.
A scale is helpful to weigh ounces.
Journaling provides us with the key to unlock the treasure chest of knowledge that explains our behavior and relationship with food. This, in turn, allows us to devise a map to modify our behavior and chart our path to success!
Both Jeremy Nelms & Ranae Whitmore are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jeremy Nelms has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Fitness and Lose Weight. The author, Jeremy Nelms, and his wife, Alissa Nelms, are known as "The World's Happiest Fitness Couple!" You can visit their website and read more articles, as well as follow their personal training journals and fitness adventures at. Jeremy Nelms's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
Ranae Whitmore has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fishing, Finances and Lose Weight. Find More And Related Articles At Ranaesheart!. Ranae Whitmore's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.