Long-term success: Data from the National Weight Control Registry
Caitwn
Posts: 1,215 Member
I'm tossing this video up in case anyone wants to watch it while on the treadmill or whatever. It's a 2014 presentation that uses data collected from the National Weight Control Registry, which maintains records on people who have maintained at least a 30 pound weight loss for one year or longer. I believe there are currently about 10,000 folks included in the registry.
The speaker, Dr. Hill, took a look at the data and summarized some of the factors that seem to be helping participants maintain weight loss over time.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8kNcaESoDng
There are a lot of interesting details in the video, but here are the three main characteristics of registry participants with long-term weight loss success:
1. High levels of physical activity.
"The amount of physical activity that facilitates successful weight loss maintenance may be closer to 1 h/day rather than the 30 min three times per week suggested in recommendations to the general public. Consequently, we may need to increase our physical activity goals in obesity treatment programs."
2. Eating a diet low in fat and high in carbohydrate.
"We believe this is important information given the oscillating nature of popular diet books regarding optimum macronutrient composition for weight loss."
3. Regular self-monitoring of weight.
In general: "Currently, the data seem to suggest that differences in behavior are stronger predictors of weight regain than the differences in physiology or metabolism."
I realize lots of MFP users have their own 'favorite' diets or strategies, but I just wanted to share this as interesting information to think about, and am hoping folks won't bark at each other over high-fat/low-fat/high-carb/low-carb, etc.
The speaker, Dr. Hill, took a look at the data and summarized some of the factors that seem to be helping participants maintain weight loss over time.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8kNcaESoDngThere are a lot of interesting details in the video, but here are the three main characteristics of registry participants with long-term weight loss success:
1. High levels of physical activity.
"The amount of physical activity that facilitates successful weight loss maintenance may be closer to 1 h/day rather than the 30 min three times per week suggested in recommendations to the general public. Consequently, we may need to increase our physical activity goals in obesity treatment programs."
2. Eating a diet low in fat and high in carbohydrate.
"We believe this is important information given the oscillating nature of popular diet books regarding optimum macronutrient composition for weight loss."
3. Regular self-monitoring of weight.
In general: "Currently, the data seem to suggest that differences in behavior are stronger predictors of weight regain than the differences in physiology or metabolism."
I realize lots of MFP users have their own 'favorite' diets or strategies, but I just wanted to share this as interesting information to think about, and am hoping folks won't bark at each other over high-fat/low-fat/high-carb/low-carb, etc.
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THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS! I'm bookmarking!
I grabbed some more. It's not complete, but it's more.
Most people who lose will regain. Have to make a lifetime commitment, make lifestyle changes.
+ composition of diet made no difference. Healthy, unhealthy, fad diet, low fat, low carb - didn't matter. Compliance was the big factor, not the diet. Any diet can help you lose.
+ Exercise didn't so much help with weight loss, but was crucial for maintaining after losing.
+ Maintaining may require a different strategy than losing did. Lifestyle changes most successful factor.
What they do:
+ Low fat, high carb (for many), WATCHING calories.
+ Average 1 hour/day of exercise. Most are WALKING (~11,000 steps) and doing some other thing, too. Many don't enjoy it. DAILY exercise.
+ Exercise isn't just helping with calorie burns, but with increasing metabolism.
+ Watch less TV
+ high level of dietary restraint
+ Frequent self-weighings (daily, weekends), have a plan for what they'll do if they gain 2-3 lbs
+ Eat breakfast 7 days/week
+ They do this every day, not taking off for weekends or holidays
+ Sleep well, lose more!
+ Manage your stress...not eliminate, but manage it.
+ Have a plan that they can live with forever.
Increases in fat and decreases in energy are common with those who don't keep it off.
Mindset:
1. Why is it really important to you?
2. Expect success - BE POSITIVE. If you expect success, you're more likely to achieve it.
3. Make healthy decisions automatic. Will power fails and you order pizza. Automatic habits eat a healthy dinner.
4. Know what is really motivating YOU. What do you really want? (be a better mom, worker, etc.)
5. Does your wellness fuel your purpose and your inner self? (Make changes in life that incorporate your new wellness lifestyle/goals.)
6. Positivity combined with
7. Habits, rituals and routines - hook your behaviors to your life, make your healthy habits automatic. Practice breaking bad habits. It takes time. Good diet and exercise habits, critical. It's a back-up when willpower fails.
8. Plan ahead (e.g. If you snack at night, don't keep chips in the house.)
9. Make new social connections who are part of your new lifestyle (e.g. Join a volleyball league)
10. Going in, people want weight loss, but at the end, the thing they like more is that their life is improved.
11. They think it takes 2-3 years to cement good habits, new routines, change metabolism.
12. Most self-reported intake is often wrong. Focus on whether or not you're losing and adjust calorie goals as necessary.
They wrote a book: State Of Slim0 -
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That's the first time I've heard anyone say, "Low fat, high carb." I always feel like I'm the only person who is losing that way.
That's more or less how I'm losing. I'm not really strict about it ... a bigger concern for me is that what I eat is low cal, but it just happens to work out that generally speaking my diet is fairly low fat, high carb.
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I edited my post. I watched it.Check, check and check!
That's the first time I've heard anyone say, "Low fat, high carb." I always feel like I'm the only person who is losing that way.
Guess not!
I don't think they should encourage obese people to do more than 30 minutes, three times a week, though. Let them start slow! Tell them they must do closer to 60 minutes a day and most will give up on day one or two.
The data's an aggregate, and the presenter emphasizes that among those enrolled in the Registry, they saw a HUGE range of strategies used for initial weight loss - including diets that would probably put some of us into hair-on-fire 'OMG WHAT ARE YOU DOING' mode, lol. But the focus of the data is what happens after the initial weight loss and maintenance begins. I'd love to see more of that particular data - though it may be available; I'll poke around and see what's been published.
In terms of exercise, this data applies to folks who have already lost weight and have succeeded in maintaining a loss of at least 30 pounds. So it's not unreasonable to think that they can handle greater demands in terms of exercise than someone who hasn't yet lost any weight.
It's fantastic. So glad I watched it.
Exercise - I'd have to rewatch, but it think he said they're rethinking what they're going to tell people in the obesity clinic or whatever it was called.
It had a lot of focus on maintaining, but talked a lot about losing. You don't hear much about maintaining and the closer I get to being done, the more interested I am in planning what I'll do then, so I just eat stuff like this up.
Thanks again for sharing it.
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Yes this has been discussed previous.
There are a lot of people who do all those things and maintain weight...but there are those who do half those things and maintain weight.
IE eat breakfast...you could say this is required for maintenance..
I think this statement more or less covers my thoughts...
"In general: "Currently, the data seem to suggest that differences in behavior are stronger predictors of weight regain than the differences in physiology or metabolism."
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It all matters
Eat the right foods for your particular health needs.
Eat the correct caloric intake for your daily activity requirements
And find that good exercise you enjoy doing and do it regularly!
Aside of him pushing one diet type over another, there was nothing really new.
The fit people I know that have made it into their 70's do some form of exercise daily if health permits.
The old couple down the street walk the subdivision daily.
They often hold hands, which probably also has something to do with it as well.
Happiness factor.0 -
Can you link to where it shows any statistics on length of maintenance of weight loss?
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I've read every study the NWCR has on their website to learn about the habits that have made for success for the members. It's given me confidence that I'm on the right track. I don't have time to watch the video this morning, but I'll get to it in a bit.0
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27mins into the video - most important part. Why you want to lose weight.
It cannot be simply to lose weight, but if you apply the 'Five Why' concept and get to the real root cause of what motivates you to lose weight, you will be more successful.
Great find - thanks for posting this!0 -
Yes this has been discussed previous.
There are a lot of people who do all those things and maintain weight...but there are those who do half those things and maintain weight.
IE eat breakfast...you could say this is required for maintenance..
I think this statement more or less covers my thoughts...
"In general: "Currently, the data seem to suggest that differences in behavior are stronger predictors of weight regain than the differences in physiology or metabolism."
and again!0 -
I recently read the book "Diet Cults" which quotes studies from the Registry throughout. Very interesting read, The general consensus of the author is that there are as many ways to achieve weight loss as their are losers and no one way is "THE Way".
One of the more interesting stats from the registry (and I hope my memory is correct on the exact percentages) is that something like 55% lost using a program (WW, Jenny Craig, etc) and 45% did it on their own. Reinforces the idea that it is the mindset that makes you successful, not the program or lack thereof.
Also, the largest group said they were motivated by health issues, next largest group by seeing a photo of themselves and getting a realistic look at their size, others by things like an event.0 -
"Low fat, high carb" sounds like it's maybe "eating a lot of veg and fruit"0
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"Low fat, high carb" sounds like it's maybe "eating a lot of veg and fruit"
Veggies, fruit, and legumes made up the majority of the diet for the vegans and vegetarians at the yoga communities in which I used to live. Coupled with an active lifestyle, and weight was not an issue for them.
(I'm an omnivore and this is an observation, not a recommendation.)
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Agreed. I'm not a vegetarian. I eat meat. I just don't eat a lot of it - because I don't love it and not because I'm philosophically opposed to it. I didn't set out to eat a high-carb diet, but lots of fruits and veggies make a high-carb diet, so it's what I ended up with.kshama2001 wrote: »"Low fat, high carb" sounds like it's maybe "eating a lot of veg and fruit"
Veggies, fruit, and legumes made up the majority of the diet for the vegans and vegetarians at the yoga communities in which I used to live. Coupled with an active lifestyle, and weight was not an issue for them.
(I'm an omnivore and this is an observation, not a recommendation.)
So many things I do are on that list. I'm happy to learn that people who do what I do are being successful. I'd rather hear about five and ten years down the road than one or three, but it's promising.
I'd figured the sleep thing out on my own. If you spend a very long time losing weight and pay a little attention, you figure stuff out. Sleep ends cravings. Sleep somehow helps more weight fall off. For me, anyway. I always drink a glass of water just before I sleep to help whatever it is in there keep doing it's thing. I so often wake up a little dehydrated and didn't want that hampering whatever is going on that helps me lose. Water for productive sleep, lol.
I don't do a full hour of exercise every day. I'm going to have to give that some thought, whether or not I want to do more now or when I'm done or at all.
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27mins into the video - most important part. Why you want to lose weight.
It cannot be simply to lose weight, but if you apply the 'Five Why' concept and get to the real root cause of what motivates you to lose weight, you will be more successful.
Great find - thanks for posting this!
Yes--this is what strikes me too.
Most of the strategies listed are what people who are motivated to maintain will do, assuming they pay some attention to mainstream advice. (I suspect that having the motivation to follow the advice, whatever it might be, is likely more significant than what the advice is.)
Therefore, and this is consistent with my own past experience where I maintained for 5 years and then didn't, the key issue is what strategies help maintain that motivation (as well as make it easier--habits and such). This is one that gets right to the motivation issue.0 -
I am part of that registry...and yes, exercise is a HUGE factor for me. It did help me lose weight (by allowing me to eat a bit more and not go crazy) but if I didn't work out a lot, I would've gained a lot back by now. I'm still trying to lose weight, but the exercise is key for me.0
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Thanks so much for posting this. I have it booked marked to watch again.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »27mins into the video - most important part. Why you want to lose weight.
It cannot be simply to lose weight, but if you apply the 'Five Why' concept and get to the real root cause of what motivates you to lose weight, you will be more successful.
Great find - thanks for posting this!
Yes--this is what strikes me too.
Most of the strategies listed are what people who are motivated to maintain will do, assuming they pay some attention to mainstream advice. (I suspect that having the motivation to follow the advice, whatever it might be, is likely more significant than what the advice is.)
Therefore, and this is consistent with my own past experience where I maintained for 5 years and then didn't, the key issue is what strategies help maintain that motivation (as well as make it easier--habits and such). This is one that gets right to the motivation issue.
I continually recommend this, especially to new users that weight loss is an after effect of good habits. The motivation needs to be more than 'to lose weight' to be successful and that's what I found most fascinating from his presentation - the before and after from individuals on "The Biggest Loser" and similar shows. Where the before is "to lose weight" and the after is "to be a better mother/father".0 -
I do a lot of the things on that list, but the mindset things seem pretty alien.
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27mins into the video - most important part. Why you want to lose weight.
It cannot be simply to lose weight, but if you apply the 'Five Why' concept and get to the real root cause of what motivates you to lose weight, you will be more successful.
Great find - thanks for posting this!
Agreed wholeheartedly. I've found the whole process to be much less... hmmm... struggling for a word here... fraught? (that's not quite right) than it has before.
In the past, I never really had a focus on why I was doing it other than some knowledge that I was overweight and needed to lose weight. I was desperately out of touch with my own motivation.
This time, it's all about inner motivation, and the process is much more zen, because I view loss and maintenance as a continuum. It's not something that's going to end. My health is ongoing, my fitness is ongoing. There will always be new challenges, new things to try, new goals to set (weight isn't the only goal to shoot for).
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I don't want to be fat again. Is that enough motivation? So far, yeah.0
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I think I did a lot of the mindset things without exactly realizing I was doing it.
A lot of my purpose for being in shape before was related to all the activity I did--to be able to run and bike well, to complete various races, that kind of thing. When I stopped being active (which was related to depression, among other things), I kind of lost my reason for caring, and then when I was in a better mental state I had trouble caring again.
I stopped and started over and over, only once sticking with anything for more than a week or so, and I think part of the problem was that it didn't seem concrete enough -- I wanted to lose weight, but nothing more specific than that.
When I got successful again, it was related to having a really concrete plan -- I wrote down a bunch of specific goals for one month, 3 months, 6 months, etc. I saw myself in X months running a particular race and being X lbs again, I remembered and wrote down the things I'd liked about my old lifestyle that I missed.
Sounds kind of woo, I guess, but it was a way of making it real, of having specific things to work for and not just "being smaller." (It's also why I never seem to be able to motivate myself unless I see that number on the scale.)
Of course, who really knows since doing all this may simply mean that motivation had already come back, who knows why, but I want to think we can do things to encourage it.
(Obviously a health issue would give someone that motivation, one hopes--I'm not surprised that's a common motivation--but I'm fortunate enough not to have ever had a health issue related to my weight.)0 -
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lemurcat12 wrote: »I think I did a lot of the mindset things without exactly realizing I was doing it.
A lot of my purpose for being in shape before was related to all the activity I did--to be able to run and bike well, to complete various races, that kind of thing. When I stopped being active (which was related to depression, among other things), I kind of lost my reason for caring, and then when I was in a better mental state I had trouble caring again.
I stopped and started over and over, only once sticking with anything for more than a week or so, and I think part of the problem was that it didn't seem concrete enough -- I wanted to lose weight, but nothing more specific than that.
When I got successful again, it was related to having a really concrete plan -- I wrote down a bunch of specific goals for one month, 3 months, 6 months, etc. I saw myself in X months running a particular race and being X lbs again, I remembered and wrote down the things I'd liked about my old lifestyle that I missed.
Sounds kind of woo, I guess, but it was a way of making it real, of having specific things to work for and not just "being smaller." (It's also why I never seem to be able to motivate myself unless I see that number on the scale.)
Of course, who really knows since doing all this may simply mean that motivation had already come back, who knows why, but I want to think we can do things to encourage it.
(Obviously a health issue would give someone that motivation, one hopes--I'm not surprised that's a common motivation--but I'm fortunate enough not to have ever had a health issue related to my weight.)
I had a health issue start me out on this whole thing. I've had the past experience of letting a health issue totally derail me and when I got a new diagnosis, I wasn't going to let that happen again.
Well, I'm at a point now where I could stop and keep the status quo. I've dropped 50 pounds and greatly eased the pressure on my joints. I'm exercising regularly in a manner which keeps my bad joints happy. Health issue addressed and all is well to maintain it.
But somewhere along the line, my whole philosophy about my health -- living in the "can" instead of the "can't" -- took precedence, and it stopped being about managing my health and started being more about this person I'd always wished I could be but always thought I couldn't. For the first time, I started to believe she was within reach. The only thing that had been keeping me from being her all these years had been me.
I have setbacks because of my health (experiencing a bit of one right now) which hinder my progress, but they'll pass. I don't have a time limit on this whole thing or my goals with fitness.
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