Weight Loss Central

www.BurnTheFat.com

I have very little interest these days in all the
media-hyped stories of dramatic, rapid losses of body weight. “Big losers”
don’t impress me, for numerous reasons. For example, weight is not fat.
“Weight” could be composed of mostly lean tissue, or it could be mostly water
weight. In fact, I would go a step further and point out that rapid loss of bodyweight
correlates very highly with a greater chance of relapse, weight re-gain and
long term failure.

So what does impress me? What gets my attention?

I pay attention to what the “long term maintainers” have to
say - those are the people who have maintained an ideal weight for over a year…
preferably even 2-5 years or more.

The difference between losers and maintainers

As I was researching the subject of long term weight maintenance
recently, I was surprised at the huge amount of research that’s already been
done in this area.

One paper that caught my interest was published by Judy
Kruger and colleagues in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and
Physical Activity, titled,

“Dietary and physical activity behaviors among adults
successful at weight loss maintenance.”

This was not an experimental study, but a compilation of
data from the “Styles Survey” which was representative of the U.S. population and asked respondants
questions about strategies to aid with maintaining an ideal weight.

In this particular survey, only one-third (30.96%) of the
respondents said they were successful at keeping their weight off. The
researchers wanted to know the difference between the small group that was
successful and the majority that were not.

Both groups reduced the amount of food they consumed, they
ate smaller portions, more fruits and vegetables, fewer fatty foods and fewer
sweetened beverages.

Not really any surprises there, but what we want to know
most is not what losers and maintainers have in common, but what the
maintainers did that the losers didn’t.

Some major differences emerged between losers and
maintainers:

First, a significantly higher proportion of successful
maintainers reported exercising 30 minutes or more daily, and they also
reported adding other physical activity to their daily schedules (recreation,
sports, physical work, etc). In addition, more of the successful maintainers
included weight training in their exercise regimens than did the losers.

Reducing sedentary activities (TV watching, etc) was also a
significant difference between those who successfully maintained and those who
did not.

The next big difference that separated the successful
maintainers from the unsuccessful was in their “self-monitoring behaviors” including:

• tracking
  calories
• tracking
  body weight
• planning
  meals
• tracking
  fat
• measuring the
  amount of food on their plate

Unfortunately, these types of self-monitoring behaviors,
especially weighing and measuring food and counting calories, are among the
most avoided and even criticized weight control techniques. Some weight loss “experts”
even claim that it’s detrimental to count calories, weigh yourself or measure
and weigh your food.

However, these self monitoring behaviors are being
identified more and more frequently in the research as part of “the difference
that makes the difference.” I agree, and they have always played a major role
in my own Burn The Fat program.

A final difference was that people who reported
self-perceived “barriers” to their success were 48-76% less likely to be a
successful maintainer.

For example, they said they had no time to exercise, they
were too tired to exercise or it was too hard to maintain an exercise routine.
I interpret this as: the unsuccessful losers were excuse makers!

THE TOP 5 STRATEGIES
TO BE A SUCCESSFUL MAINTAINER

So let’s recap and turn these research findings into some
practical action steps you can apply today.

1. Increase your total daily activity level, including
formal exercise as well as sports, physical work or recreational activity.
Exercise improves weight loss, but more importantly, it is critical for weight
maintenance.

2. Decrease sedentary recreational activities by cutting
back on TV watching, computer games and web surfing. Take up physical recreation
such as sports, boating, biking, walking, hiking, gardening, physical hobbies
and playing with your kids, if you have them.

3. Include weight training as part of your formal exercise
program, throughout the fat loss phase and even more seriously during
maintenance.

4. Track and monitor everything! Count calories and
nutrients, measure your portion sizes, weigh your food, plan your menus in
writing and monitor your body weight and body fat percentage.

5. Avoid excuses and maintain positive beliefs and attitudes
towards your environment and what you perceive as “barriers.” For example, say,
“I can always make time for what is most important to me” instead of, “I don’t
have time to exercise.”

If you’re currently on a fat loss journey, and you want to
know how good your odds are for being a successful maintainer, it’s pretty easy
to predict using these 5 strategies. If you’re not using all 5 of them yet,
then when would be a good time to start today?

There are limitations to survey results such as these,
including the fact that they are cross sectional, and therefore cannot prove
causality. However, I believe these findings are important and significant.

Not only do they confirm previous similar studies and agree
with the findings of other groups of successful maintainers (such as the
National Weight Control Registry), I found that these results match precisely
what I’ve seen among my most successful “Burn The Fat”
clients.

THIS is the type of advice I’d suggest you listen to the
most: Advice about how to lose body FAT, not body WEIGHT, and how to maintain
an ideal bodyweight and body composition over the long haul, not how to lose weight
as fast as possible.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto

Fat Loss Coach

www.BurnTheFat.com
P.S. There was one more “difference that made the difference,”
in this study, and this one may surprise you (although it didn’t surprise me).
Successful maintainers were LESS likely to take over the counter diet products
(pills, etc).

About
the Author:

Tom Venuto is a
natural bodybuilder, certified
personal
trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the
Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean
without
drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and
fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your
metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com