 |
Learning to Maintain Weight
Loss
By Mary Andrews, Urban Regional
Extension Agent, Lauderdale County & Wendi Williams, Editor
|
 It's that time of
the year when countless people make the decision to lose weight,
which is quite noble. But after the hard work of losing weight,
how do you maintain that weight loss?
Lauderdale County residents and participants
of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System's Walking and Eating
program, Narzey Turner and Mabel and Richard Taylor (husband
and wife), have discovered the secret to maintaining their weight
loss for the past four years by eating more fruits and vegetables
and walking an average of six miles during the course of a week.
According to the United States Department
of Health and Human Services, most Americans consume a lot of
calories, but not enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
The typical American diet is high in saturated fat, sugars, and
salt, which adds on the pounds and makes us ideal candidates
for heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. And you
know the rest of the story. We rarely exercise and spend more
time leading sedentary lifestyles.
Losing weight is a commitment like anything
else. Therefore, maintaining weight loss requires that same commitment.
In other words, it means making lasting lifestyle changes. The
National Weight Control Registry found these common factors among
people who lost 30 or more pounds and kept it off for at least
a year:
- Exercise
- Lost weight slowly
- Ate breakfast and watched food portion
sizes
- Enjoyed living a healthier lifestyle
Other factors that researcher Diane Berry
found among women that maintained their weight loss was a support
system to reinforce their objective, an awareness of their "trigger"
foods in addition to portion sizes, and they knew that losing
and/or maintaining weight loss would be a lifetime challenge.
The Walking and Eating Program is now
a part of the Community Health, Aerobic, and Motivational Program
Initiating Optimal Nutrition or CHAMPION program that is designed
to improve a participant's overall health through lifestyle changes
such as adopting obtainable and safe eating practices, daily
physical activity, and improving behavioral habits.
For more information about this program,
please contact Dr. Tamara Warren at (256) 372-4981.
References
Bren, L. (2002, January-February). Losing
weight: Start by counting calories. FDA Consumer Magazine.
Retrieved January 15, 2006.
Cretan, G. (2009). How to maintain your weight loss. dietblog. Retrieved
January 15, 2009.
Yale University. (2004, July 29). Yale researcher finds pattern in maintaining
weight loss. Office of Public Relations. Retrieved January
16, 2009.
If
you do not have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat and wish
to view the
PDF publication on this site, click here
to download:
Return to Metro News...
|