Do you wish to keep those pounds off? Well here's some news that will help you. An article called the Study to Prevent Regain or STOP Regain, for publication in the New England Journal of Medicine has revealed that in addition to the 'Diet and Exercise' mantra, weight watchers may need to add the weighing scale as their new fitness tool.
The study authored by Dr.Rena R. Wing, director of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at the Miriam Hospital and also professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Brown University, observed 314 dieters who lost 10% of their body weight or 42 pounds on an average and maintained this loss for over 18 months. The participants were divided into groups-One that met online, another that had personal meetings regularly and the third that just received information regarding weight loss in newsletters. All groups were encouraged to record their weights at regular intervals.
They were also designated into 3 color coded categories according to how effectively they were maintaining their weight. Participants fell into the GREEN Zone if they stayed within 2 pounds of their initial weight and were given gifts as a show of reward. The YELLOW zone participants gained between 2 and 5 pounds and were offered support and encouragement to alter their diet and exercise routine. A gain of more than 5 pounds landed them in the RED zone and they were offered diet counseling and also the use of resources such as a diet diary or a diet replacement shake.
By the end of the 18-month study Dr Wing concluded that the most successful weight loss was observed in the group that had maintained its weight by regularly weighing-in along with weekly personal meetings. Contradictory to conventional weight-loss advice the study reported that this self-regulation by keeping a tight vigil on one's weight was the key to long term weight loss.
When one stepped on the scales regularly, a feeling of personal responsibility was bound to set in, also one could keep a check on even small increases and take steps to curb it before it could boil over and get out of hand. The results also suggests that to lose that extra fat one needs an organized 'action plan' that helps to take off the weight, and keep it off too. Dr Wing also cautioned that just getting on the scale was not the solution to all weight loss problems and one had to use that information to make sensible changes to the existing diet and exercise regime.
Although the findings have raised concerns that people may soon become obsessed with even small weight gains various health authorities have maintained that regular self-monitoring is vital for long term health benefits. Dr. Michael Dansinger, from Tufts-New England Medical Center, in Boston said that the article was useful as it gave one “some of the best insight on the natural history of weight regain and what can be done to minimize it."
