What causes failure?

Sabine_Stroehm

The National Weight Control Registry tracks people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year. They have found some common behaviors in successful maintainers.


78% eat breakfast every day.
75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.


More data available at: http://www.nwcr.ws/default.htm

LOL!

The NWCR is NOT associated with the government. It is a VOLUNTARY online database where people can contribute data if they have lost more than x number of pounds and have kept it off.

Data is self-reported.

But let's look at the data.

78% ate breakfast, but that means that 22% SKIPPED breakfast, which to some is a sacrosanct ritual.

The kicker is that 90% exercised for an hour a day!

Easy to keep weight off exercising like that. The rest probably exercised for less than an hour.

Are you going to seriously exercise for an hour a day for the rest of your life?

If so, then you will not have a weight problem, almost guaranteed.

I generally exercise for about an hour a day (not all at once). Is it necessary? No. I'm fine on about 30 minutes a day. And no, not easy to keep off weight that day.
As for breakfast: yup, it's a good thing.

as for the rest, not sure why you're freaking out that it's not a government thing. most research isn't government run, it's university run. Like this one.

It's false advertising. They want you to THINK it is run by the government.

And it isn't even research- it's a collection of testimonials.

This site is even worse than forums like these. At least here, if someone makes an assertion they can be questioned.

Are you this much fun in real life? lol.

It's interview questions. MANY qualitative studies are based on interview questions. Many health studies are based on interview questions.

fwiw, I didn't see anything on the site that suggested it was government run. It does not have a .gov address and it states that it was started by two professors from two universities. In fact, the word government does not appear on the front page at all. Nor does United States. And the address at the bottom is for Brown University.
Sorry if it confused you.

fattymcrunnerpants

The National Weight Control Registry tracks people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year. They have found some common behaviors in successful maintainers.


78% eat breakfast every day.
75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.


More data available at: http://www.nwcr.ws/default.htm

LOL!

The NWCR is NOT associated with the government. It is a VOLUNTARY online database where people can contribute data if they have lost more than x number of pounds and have kept it off.

Data is self-reported.

But let's look at the data.

78% ate breakfast, but that means that 22% SKIPPED breakfast, which to some is a sacrosanct ritual.

The kicker is that 90% exercised for an hour a day!

Easy to keep weight off exercising like that. The rest probably exercised for less than an hour.

Are you going to seriously exercise for an hour a day for the rest of your life?

If so, then you will not have a weight problem, almost guaranteed.

I generally exercise for about an hour a day (not all at once). Is it necessary? No. I'm fine on about 30 minutes a day. And no, not easy to keep off weight that day.
As for breakfast: yup, it's a good thing.

as for the rest, not sure why you're freaking out that it's not a government thing. most research isn't government run, it's university run. Like this one.

It's false advertising. They want you to THINK it is run by the government.

And it isn't even research- it's a collection of testimonials.

This site is even worse than forums like these. At least here, if someone makes an assertion they can be questioned.

Most studies are done via the self reporting method. The evidence is simply corollary.

iamthesweenmachine

I am so afraid of that. I am so close to my goal and I want to keep this weight off. Maybe they feel that they're done, so they stop keeping track and gradually slip into their old ways.

ndj1979

"bro, you are all over the place....no breakfast, companies are forcing us to eat, double blind placebos..bla, bla, bla..."


Do not underestimate the power of advertising. Fitness centers and commercial weight-loss programs do it all the time.

Dude.

right, because the food overlords have us programmed to eat when they tell us to.

You are just where they want you.

And you love Big Brother, right?

When I was a kid, an afternoon kid's show guy always talked about Hostess Creme-filled Cupcakes. He'd open one up and bite out of it, and show the creamy inside. I watched it religiously.

I have eaten a lot of them over the years.

Even today, i will pick one up on impulse.

And, you know, they taste pretty crappy.

But I still buy them.

has not had a hostess cupcake in 20 years…

I eat when I want, and eat what I want. If I go to mcdonalds and scarf down a big mac and fries, so what? I won't be back for six months when I am on the road again …

Just because you lack self control does not mean that you have been "programmed" to eat when some advertisement says so …it just means you need to work on said self control. how can I walk by a cupcake and not even glance at it, but you have an impulse to eat it? We both watch the same advertisement, yes? Yet you can't resist it, and I can ..hmmmm, I wonder why?

Actually, I am a libertarian who abhors government control …but nice try to fit me into your preconceived box.

eatmindfully

Here is a different perspective from the yoga text the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. In the text Patanjali identifies 9 obstacles on the yoga path.

Obstacles

1. Vyadhi-physical or psycho physical diseases
2. Styana-mental laziness, sluggishness, inertia, lack of interest
3. Samsaya-doubt/indecision
4. Pramada-negligence, carelessness, sluggishness
5. Alasya-idleness, physical laziness
6. Avirati-self gratification/self indulgence/indiscipline of the senses
7. Bhranti darshana-Living in the world of illusion
8. Alabdha bhumikatva-Doubt about results that will be achieved
9. Anavastitava-Not getting stabilized in any state-inability to maintain

- Patanjali Yoga Sutra #30

KANGOOJUMPS

no willpower

wild_wild_life

Here is a different perspective from the yoga text the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. In the text Patanjali identifies 9 obstacles on the yoga path.

Obstacles

1. Vyadhi-physical or psycho physical diseases
2. Styana-mental laziness, sluggishness, inertia, lack of interest
3. Samsaya-doubt/indecision
4. Pramada-negligence, carelessness, sluggishness
5. Alasya-idleness, physical laziness
6. Avirati-self gratification/self indulgence/indiscipline of the senses
7. Bhranti darshana-Living in the world of illusion
8. Alabdha bhumikatva-Doubt about results that will be achieved
9. Anavastitava-Not getting stabilized in any state-inability to maintain

- Patanjali Yoga Sutra #30

Let's see, 2, 5, 6 and 7 for me -- how many of these are we allowed to have?

kimad

For me, I think I failed in the past because I did quick fixes, and when I lost the weight I stopped.
Never in those times did I learn to eat healthy, in moderation, and I never once exercised.

This time around I taught myself to have a healthy diet 6/7 days, and to exercise atleast 3 days a week if not more.
My healthy habits have stuck because I made it realistic for ME. I made sure I cut out things I could live without, and found ways to add things in that I knew I couldn't give up. I have cheat days, EVERY week, it works for me but I know it doesn't for everyone - that being said I didn't have one right away.

Maintenance is hard. I got there last year, did well for about 8 months then put 10 lbs on. UGH! but I got myself in check quickly and lost most of it already. I know the tools, but life got away from me. So with that being said, I plan to be on MFP forever. Diets end, lifestyle changes don't. We all mess up, don't be too hard on yourself.

Just remember time is going to pass anyways so do something productive with that time. Small losses add up to big losses, small starts in the gym amount to so much more. Keep focused and you will get there I am sure of that.

kczarnec

I haven't read through all the replies so maybe someone has said this already but how is failure being defined? I doubt it's something we all agree has a universal definition in terms of weight management. If my perfectionism gets in the way, failure might mean one thing. It's a difficult question to answer when we all use different yardsticks for what is considered failure.

evviamarshall

Excellent question!

Amadbro

whats a failure?

Sabine_Stroehm

I have heard that calling anything a "diet" is going to set you up for failure, you should consider it a lifestyle change. A diet is something that is temporary and will not be sustained for a lifetime. Counting calories is a good way to make sure you lose and when you have lost you can maintain by counting calories as well. I think some people just want to see instant results, but not lbs are going to melt off as fast as you want them to. You have to be patient with yourself.

Changing a word and expecting it to happen is silly.

Just stating what has worked for me since I started. I started this for motivation not for people to try to say what I do is wrong. When you set your mind to something anything is possible. I'd rather tell people I changed my lifestyle than say I am on a diet because a diet is short term, you can't say you are on a diet your whole life. You change things about your eating and sustain that eating habit for life.

umm okay?

Sabine_Stroehm

"has not had a hostess cupcake in 20 years…

I eat when I want, and eat what I want. If I go to mcdonalds and scarf down a big mac and fries, so what? I won't be back for six months when I am on the road again …

Just because you lack self control does not mean that you have been "programmed" to eat when some advertisement says so …it just means you need to work on said self control. how can I walk by a cupcake and not even glance at it, but you have an impulse to eat it? We both watch the same advertisement, yes? Yet you can't resist it, and I can ..hmmmm, I wonder why?

Actually, I am a libertarian who abhors government control …but nice try to fit me into your preconceived box."

Well, I'm talking about the overweight who want to lose weight. People in THAT box are the ones I am addressing.

Advertising plays a huge role in how they think of food and what they eat.

If you have conquered that and maintain your weight where you want it, congratulations.

Frankly, I can't figure out WHO you're addressing.
In any post you comment on. Mayhaps it's just me.

Madaly320

I am full of excuses for why I fail. The excuse I use the most is that I got so busy. The real reason is that I am lazy. I guess it means I don't "want it bad enough". That could be it...I feel like I want it bad enough, but obviously I don't.

The truth is, I love food. I don't mind excercise one bit, but I LOVE to eat, and eat very bad things. I got tired of tracking my food and I just wanted to do what I want. and I let those feelings take over again, and I gained back the 20lbs which I worked VERY hard to remove.

I am back to the OMG WHAT HAVE I DONE phase, and I am ready again to work hard. I need to get to the root of the issue that causes my motivation to fade away. I hate that person I become, but she takes over. Here is to hoping I can overcome those lazy cravings!

fattymcrunnerpants

I haven't read through all the replies so maybe someone has said this already but how is failure being defined? I doubt it's something we all agree has a universal definition in terms of weight management. If my perfectionism gets in the way, failure might mean one thing. It's a difficult question to answer when we all use different yardsticks for what is considered failure.

For me failure is losing control completely. For myself I saw my weight continue to creep up and creep up more and more and more around January last year. I couldn't stop it from going higher and I got discouraged and therefore began not doing things I knew I should be doing such as staying gluten free (I have celiac's). Come to find out there was a combination of things going on but losing my control over what I should be doing also harmed me quite a bit. I had stayed away from gluten for YEARS, regularly exercised (3-4x's/ week) for YEARS. That is failure to me, stopping doing the things you should be doing just because you get discouraged. Failure for me has never been defined by a certain weight. It has been maintaining a space (mind and body) where I feel my best.

XxmeetmydedicationxX

Yeah, I have to agree with the others that say it's the people that view it as a "diet" rather than a "lifestyle change". I've been maintaining my weight for almost 2 years now & I honestly see it as my way of life. I don't stress too much if I treat myself or indulge now and then - I just make sure I stay on my weekly targets and cut back a little bit in the following days if necessary

I think it's moreso the people that think "Oh, I'm going to cut out ALL carbs until I lose x amount of pounds" or "Oh, I'm going to only eat cabbage soup for all my meals until I lose x amount of pounds". And those approaches might work out in the short term, but once they actually DO lose "x amount of pounds", they're just going to pile it back on again when they start re-introducing carbs into their diets or foods other than cabbage soup.

So my advice to you, OP is to NOT restrict yourself or demonize certain foods. Stick to your weekly calorie goals and try to meet your macros as much as possible, but make it SUSTAINABLE to do so. If you're craving chocolate cake one day, save some room in your allowance for a slice of chocolate cake. If you're craving taco bell, leave a space in your cals for a burrito. Whatever tickles your fancy! It's gotta be a plan that you can stick with for years to come :happy:

AtLeastOnceMore

I hit one particular weight, and it suddenly triggers a panic response that ends up with me comfort eating. I'm going through counselling to prevent it happening this time, but it's interesting the things that cause us to go back to old habits. This time it's a lifestyle change, not an 'eating program' or 'diet' or 'exercise regime' - it's just 'what I'm doing now to be as healthy as I can'.

Kittyvicious1

Three months in to losing weight, life struck, I lost my father and I was in my second semester of my Master's program at school. I finished the semester with A's but was running on fumes. People may do better if they plan or manage losing weight around life occurrences. In the two months I took off I gained ten out thirteen pounds back. Bottom line PLAN for success.

QuietBloom

Lack of success.

Seriously, just trying to bump this thread along so it goes off my feed.

twixlepennie

The National Weight Control Registry tracks people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year. They have found some common behaviors in successful maintainers.


78% eat breakfast every day.
75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.


More data available at: http://www.nwcr.ws/default.htm

I can't wait until I add my stats to that site It's very interesting to see how different people are succeeding at maintenance. I do eat breakfast every day, weigh myself every day, don't have a tv hooked up (wonder how internet plays a role though ), and I exercise 30 minutes a day/5 days a week. So pretty in line with the statistics.