Lose Weight and Keep It Off

Proven Strategies to Keep Weight Off for Good

If 2011 was a successful year for slimming down, now comes the tricky part: maintaining your weight loss. Here, we reveal the secrets of those who have shed 30 pounds or more and kept if off
By Hollis Templeton fitbie
 

Make Overall Well-Being Your Main Objective

Swimsuit season is a great excuse to slim down, but a real commitment to making lasting lifestyle changes is likely to result from something a little more serious, like your doctor’s advice or a medical emergency. “When you have a significant reason to lose weight, like your health, that seems to be more motivating than changing the way you look,” says Thomas.

The relationship between weight maintenance and medical triggers, like being instructed by a doctor to lose weight or witnessing a family member suffer a heart attack, was the subject of a study published in Preventive Medicine involving 917 members of the NWCR. While 83% of study participants reported that something had triggered their weight loss—responses ranged from approaching a 40th birthday to stumbling upon a new weight loss clinic—medical triggers were the most common motivators, with 23% reporting that a doctor’s instructions or an existing obesity-related condition such as type 2 diabetes had sparked their weight loss.

Participants with medical triggers also reported greater initial weight loss and less weight regain after 2 years, compared with those whose weight loss was motivated by nonmedical triggers.

More: 7 Simple Strategies for Transforming Your Health

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