The sad reality is that you have about as great a chance of losing weight and keeping it off as you do of winning the lottery. This is just a simple fact of life. Everybody knows it. Every magazine article and television show on the topic gives the same facts: 95% of diets fail, and for those who do lose weight, it’s just about guaranteed that they’ll gain it all back.

When the media interviews experts who study weight loss for a living, they all say this is true. The results of weight-loss failure surround us. Everybody has coworkers, neighbors, friends, and family who have lost weightlots of itonly to gain it back within a relatively short period of time. There are many reasons why sustained weight loss is impossible.

For some people, it is because they have a medical condition like a slow thyroid or a naturally slow metabolism. Another reason is that losing weight slows down the metabolism, forcing your body to regain the weight even though you’re eating less. Losing weight and keeping it off ? It’s just not possible! There are reports from credible sources that give some pretty negative statistics. In the 1950s, Dr. Albert J. Stunkard summarized his findings about weight-loss methods available at that time. The finding was that 95% of diets fail.

Likewise, an expert panel from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported in 1992 that people who completed a weightloss program could expect to regain about two-thirds of the loss after one year and virtually all their lost weight after five years. These two reports are widely used and reused in the media and in scientific circles. Another kernel of truth is that no single weight-loss method available today can help every overweight or obese person get down to an ideal weight and stay there forever.

This article shows that that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss. Every person needs a slightly different approach. It’s also true that weight loss means a lower metabolismthe number of calories burned in the course of daily living. A smaller body typically has less muscle on it, and this translates into a lower metabolism. In addition, restricting calories during the weight-loss process can cause metabolism to slow down a bit, especially if the restriction is extreme (for example, an 800-calorie-a-day diet).The effect isn’t enough to prevent weight loss, but it will slow down the rate of loss. And it’s also true that certain medical conditions and treatments can make weight loss more difficult.

A slow thyroid, called hypothyroidism, slows metabolism and calorie burning. Medications, such as steroids used to treat inflammatory diseases, several drugs used to treat anxiety, depression, and similar conditions, and some drugs used to treat diabetes, stimulate the appetite. For people taking these medications, it’s tough to stay committed to a weight-loss program because they are truly hungry. Finally, our environment works against sustained weight loss. We are surrounded by a lot of food that is filled with calories, tastes good, and is heavily advertised.We also live in an environment where modern technology has taken away a lot of our opportunities to burn calories.

We don’t even have to get up from the couch to change the channels on our televisions anymore.The combination of the twotoo much great-tasting food and too little activitycan make sustained weight loss a challenge. The Whole Truth

The Old Numbers Don’t Tell the Full Story

The reports about diet failure need to be put into context. The discouraging 95% statistic dates back to the 1950s. Dr. Stunkard, the father of that number, is the first to say that it is no longer accurate because weight-loss methods today are so different from those used fifty years ago. Moreover, most weight-loss studies clump all dieting methods into a single pool (as if the Cabbage Soup Diet and a doctor-supervised medical program were the same) and are based on a one-time effort. Finally, the typical person who enrolls in a clinical study at the obesity clinic of a research university is not a typical American who wants to lose weight.

Incorporate Success Factors into Your Weight-Loss Method How you lose weight makes a difference in how much you lose and how successful you are in keeping it off. In 1995, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advise U.S. policy makers on health-related issues in an unbiased and sciencebased way, issued a report about weight loss. The IOM’s Weighing the Options report evaluated the pool of weight-loss research and included a summary of those factors with proven links to weight-loss success.

The more success factors you make part of your weight-loss method, the more likely you are to win. All of these success factors have been incorporated into the Weight Watchers program. Sustainable Weight Loss Is Possible In addition to the inspiring stories throughout this article, there are two large databases filled with evidence that sustainable weight loss is possible: the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) and the Lifetime Member (LTM) Database from Weight Watchers. These two databases include information on thousands of people like you, your friends, and your family members who have successfully lost weight and kept it off.

Over a decade ago, Drs. Rena Wing and James Hill founded the NWCR, which includes several thousand people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept the weight off for at least one year. As of 2003, NWCR participants had lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for an average of five years. The Weight Watchers LTM Database is the largest and longeststanding database on people who have successfully lost weight. Any Weight Watchers member who reaches a goal weight that is within the healthy range and maintains that weight through a six-week maintenance phase of the Program is included in the LTM Database.

The two databases have some overlap because there are people in the LTM Database who have also volunteered their information to NWCR. How did the people who are part of the NWCR and Weight Watchers LTM Database succeed? They simply learned how to incorporate the basics of a comprehensive weight-loss method into their lives using approaches that work for them. As you will learn, the habits and skills that they developed as part of the weight-loss process have become so second nature that they say sustaining the loss is easier than taking the weight off in the first place! These basic components are so important that they are a common thread throughout this article.

They have also spawned their own myths and traps. By looking at the remaining nine myths more closely, you’ll be able to avoid the traps that may be getting in the way of your successful weight loss. In order to overcome the powerful myth that it is not possible to sustain weight loss, you need to have all four components in place: making wise food choices, being physically active, making positive lifestyle changes, and creating a supportive atmosphere. Let’s look more closely at each one.

Make Wise Food Choices Our food world is complicated.We are surrounded by tasty, affordable food choices.We are constantly reminded of food by the media, much benefit from regular physical activity that they wouldn’t dream of a day without it. Regular physical activity has three important elements.

The first is that the activity has to fit into your life, whether in a set block of time or in little nooks and crannies throughout the day.You can squeeze in a bit of activity by taking the stairs at work, parking farther away from the store on errands, taking a ten-minute walk at lunchtime, or walking the dog at the end of the day. These activities may sound too small to make a difference. But if you take a daily ten-minute walk at lunchtime for a year and change nothing else about your eating or activity, you can lose more than five pounds!

Imagine the result if you incorporated a number of these simple activities into your daily routine. Throughout the article, we’re hoping to show you that small lifestyle changes can translate into big changes in your weight. These positive changes are the key to sustainable weight loss. The second element of regular physical activity may seem obvious. Find physical activities that you enjoy. If you like an activity, you’re more likely to stick with it. What is right for you might be different from what

works for your family members or friends.That is okay.The key is to find something that you look forward to and enjoy such as walking outdoors or doing more structured activities like swimming, bicycling, or aerobics with a favorite exercise tape. Don’t turn your life upside downyour chances of success are greater if you create a plan that is livable for you.

The third element is to look for activities that you can do almost every day. Consistent exercisers get the most benefit, and once you incorporate exercise into your daily life, it becomes second nature. Make Positive Lifestyle Changes The value of a positive mindset for lasting weight loss is frequently overlooked. It shouldn’t be.You have to believe that you can do itthat you can lose weight and keep it off. Whether weight has become an issue only recently or if you have been overweight for a long time, having a positive mindset and making the changes that go with it are vital in accomplishing your goal of lasting weight loss. For many of the people who share their stories in this article, their battle with the bulge was longstanding. The same holds true with the NWCR volunteers, with almost half reporting that their weight issues began in childhood.

Despite this, they were able to look beyond what didn’t work in the past and focus on what they wanted to achieve. You should have both short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals like losing weight for a special event are easier to achieve and have immediate rewards. But setting only short-term goals is not enough. You also need a long-term mindset that takes life beyond weight loss into account. Making positive changes to your lifestyle also means taking personal responsibility for your weight.

All of us have the ability to harness our internal power to make wise choices for healthy, livable, sustainable weight loss. Lifestyle change requires focus. Both the Weight Watchers LTM Database and NWCR participants maintain a consistent focus on their weight management strategies. This does not mean that they are overly rigid with their diet or take exercise to extremes. Rather, they have learned the skill of flexible restraint and have developed habits, routines, and approaches that support their ability to sustain weight loss.