Is Long Term Weight Loss For Real?

You dedicate yourself to lose weight, and you labor, and you eat smarter, and finally, those extra pounds are gone! But, how easy is it to uphold your hard-earned success?

It was revealed in a recent study that persons who lose weight and want to keep it off might benefit from communicating at least monthly with a fitness/nutrition expert to help them stay on course.

In a test of three ways that might help people manage weight loss, those who got monthly personal counseling were best at keeping off excess pounds. Overall, almost 50 percent of the study members maintained at least a nine pound weight loss for 30 months. This study is the longest and largest to test strategies for extended weight loss maintenance, and it signifies that long-term weight control is an attainable goal.

The United States is in the midst of an obesity pandemic, one that indicates serious future health repercussions. Obesity is the primary cause of high blood pressure, diabetes and abnormal cholesterol, which are in turn the foremost causes of cardiovascular disease and death in this country.

The 3-year study consisted of 18-25 members; experienced counselors stressed three key issues to weight loss: consuming fewer calories, boosting fair to middling physical activity, and having a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grain/high fiber foods and fat-free dairy products.

Researchers randomly appointed the participants to one of three groups:

•Personal contact - Participants communicated with an interventionist monthly,( 9 times by telephone and three times in person each year) who offered personal counseling and encouragement.

•Interactive technology - Study members had access to an interactive website on which they could record and track their exercise and calorie consumption; set goals and monitor their progress toward them.

•Self-directed - Members were encouraged to maintain their weight loss and then sent off without further intervention.

Overall, 71 % weighed less than when they got started.

The research results also noted that even when volunteers did not necessarily lose a great amount of weight, even smaller amounts had potential health benefits.