MAINTAINING WEIGHT LOSS

Some good advice here from University of Chicago Medical Center -

While losing weight is difficult for many people, it is even more challenging to keep weight off. Eighty percent to 85 percent of those who lose a large amount of weight regain it. One theory about regaining lost weight is that people who decrease their caloric intake to lose weight experience a drop in their metabolic rate, making it increasingly difficult to lose weight over a period of months. A lower metabolic rate may also make it easier to regain weight after a more normal diet is resumed. For these reasons, extremely low calorie diets and rapid weight loss are discouraged.

Losing no more than one to two pounds per week is recommended. Incorporating long-term lifestyle changes will increase the chance of successful long-term weight loss.
Weight loss to a healthy weight for a person's height can promote health benefits such as lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, less stress on bones and joints, and less work for the heart. Thus, it is vital to maintain weight loss to obtain health benefits over a lifetime.

Keeping extra weight off requires effort and commitment, just as losing weight does. Weight loss goals are reached by changes in diet, eating habits, exercise, and, in extreme circumstances, surgery.

Weight loss maintenance strategies:
+ The strategies that encourage weight loss also play an important role in maintenance:
Support systems used effectively during weight loss can contribute to weight maintenance. A study conducted by the National Weight Control Registry found people who lost weight and continued bi-monthly support group meetings for one year maintained their full weight loss. Study participants who did not attend support group meetings regained almost half of the weight.

+ Physical activity plays a vital role in maintaining weight loss. Studies show that even exercise that is not rigorous, such as walking and using stairs, has a positive effect. Activity that uses 1,500 to 2,000 calories per week is recommended for maintaining weight loss.

+ Diet and exercise are vital strategies for losing and maintaining weight. A study by the National Weight Control Registry found that nearly all of 784 study participants who had lost at least 30 pounds, and had maintained that loss for one year or longer, used diet and exercise to not only lose the weight, but also to maintain the weight loss.

+ Once the desired weight has been reached, the gradual addition of about 200 calories of healthy, low-fat food to daily intake may be attempted for one week to see if weight loss continues. If weight loss does continue, additional calories of healthy foods may be added to the daily diet until the right balance of calories to maintain the desired weight has been determined. It may take some time and record keeping to determine how adjusting food intake and exercise levels affect weight.

Continuing to use behavioral strategies can help maintain weight. Be aware of eating as a response to stress and use exercise, activity, or meditation to cope instead of eating.
A return to old habits does not mean failure. Paying renewed attention to dietary choices and exercise can help sustain behaviors that maintain weight loss. Identifying situations such as negative moods and interpersonal difficulties and incorporating alternative methods of coping with such situations rather than eating can prevent relapses to old habits.

Weight cycling:
Weight cycling is losing and regaining weight multiple times. Some studies suggest that weight cycling, also called "yo-yo dieting," may result in some health risks such as high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, and high cholesterol. However, these studies are not conclusive. The best strategy is to avoid weight cycling and to maintain healthy weight through activity and healthy eating.

One myth about weight cycling is that a person who loses and regains weight will have more difficulty losing weight again and maintaining it compared to a person who has not gone through a weight-loss cycle. Most studies show that weight cycling does not affect the rate at which the body burns fuel and a previous weight cycle does not influence the ability to lose weight again. In addition, weight cycling does not increase the amount of fat tissue or increase fat distribution around the stomach.

SAVE OVER $50

Here's an email I just got from our WW Territory Manager -


Dear Friend,

As part of the Weight Watchers family, you can share your experience and help a friend succeed by sending them this offer for a FREE month. This exclusive invitation expires on 6/1/09 -- so don't wait. Forward this email today and also spread the word to your family and friends via your profile pages on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and even your blogs.
Simply direct people to www.weightwatchers.com/friendsandfamily

So there you go, there's no cheape time to join than right now - see you Wednesday evenings in Miller Pace or Saturday mornings in Selden!

AND THE VERDICT IS ...

I went to the gym this morning as it is pretty damp here and anyway a blister on my heel would have made running a little complicated.

On to the eliptical!

And in all honesty, I think I work harder at the gym than I do whenI'm running on the road. I go a little easier on myself outside than I do inside, so I guess it was good to visit dear old Fitness Plus again!

THE GROOVE

My travels over the past three weeks have played havoc with my exercise schedule, mainly because it rained for eleven of the twelve days I spent in the UK.

Now that I'm back home, I'm getting back into the groove and will run outdoors this week as long as the weather cooperates. When we hot summer it gets too hot for me to run on the street most days, so I'll head back to the gym.

A significant break in routine throws up all kinds of challenges, so refocusing as soon as possible is essential.

BACK

It was good to be back with my Weight Watchers groups this morning. I have a lot of fun with the great people there and even though numbers were way down because of the holiday weekend, it was an excellent day.

It's so amazing to see people changing before your very eyes, like the young woman who reached a 50lb weight loss goal today and the row of three friends who have lost 75, 55 and 90lb respectively.

It's a privilege to be able to do what I do - and I love it!

THAT WAS TOUGH

Last night we got back from seven days in the UK, mainly for a family wedding, but also to visit with a lot more family and friends too while we were there.

I had a great time, but it was certainly a challenging week.

For one thing, it rained every single day - not necessarily all day, but on and off for varying periods throughout the whole of our stay. So running was difficult and the challenges with the weather were compounded by an irregular schedule. I only exercised three times, but each time was good.

The first was last Friday when I took a late afternoon run right through the center of historic Stratford-Upon-Avon, passing the house where William Shakespeare lived as bemused tourists looked on, wondering what this old man's problem was.

Then on Tuesday morning I ran with an old friend from college days, doing the circuit of a man-made lake, situated where there was an open cast coal mine when I lived nearby over 30 years ago. Neither of us would have entertained the though of running when we were students.

Wednesday was a nostalgic circuit of the area we lived in from 1972-76. I weighed over 320lb in those days, so I certainly didn't run anywhere at all.

To be honest, I did better with the exercise than I did facing food selections that I seldom see. I ate way too much the first half of the trip, before getting a grip of things after the weekend. So I'm up 2lb, which could be worse, but is enough to provoke me to be very disciplined over the next week or two.

BIGGEST LOSER - THE LAST WORD

Okay, so here's the deal, given all the unusual circumstances surrounding their weight loss efforts - isolation, personal trainers, etc., etc, very few of the contestants achieved a weght loss of more than 40% (that's the magic number for me you may recall, because that is what I lost).

The good news is therefore this - you don't haveto be selected by NBC for the show and whisked off to The Ranch. You can lose all the weight you want by getting back to or contining in a Weight Watchers group. In fact you can do better than most of the people in this recent series.

Sure, it will take longer and we won't pay you $250,000 for doing it, but you can most definitely get to a healthy weight just by following this well-proved program.

See you soon!!!

AND THEN THERE ARE THE OTHERS

It must be tough coming back for the finale of The Biggest Loser when you haven't lost a great deal of weight in total.

It all goes to prove that weight loss isn't easy.

But it can be done!

THE GRAND FINALE

I'm settling in for the marathon three hour finale of The Biggest Loser this evening. I've got plenty of nachos, wings, hot dogs, popcorn, candy and of course ice cream, with enough beer to wash it down with to last well into the final segment of the Tonight Show some time after midnight.

Okay, I'm kidding about the menu, but I'm looking forward to the show.

I guess the main reason I like this competition is that I can identify with the contestants, after being morbidly obese most of my life. I also know what it's like to struggle to stay focused on the journey towards health.

Then of course, I do enjoy knowing I have some bragging rights as, having lost 40% of my starting weight, I acheieved more than many of the TV competitors. Does that sound arrogant? I don't care. It was hard work and I did it!

As a Weight Loss Consultant, my main beef with The Biggest Loser is that it tends to create unrealistic expectations in lesser mortals, who did not have the privilege of separating themselves from the rest of the human race on The Ranch. But you can't blame the show for that.

Bottom line - good entertainment and I'll be watching the whole thing tonight. Of course I'll be flicking over to the Mets' game during the endless, annoying commercial breaks!

SUCCESS

Great morning at WW yesterday -

+ Two members reached Lifetime membership (got to goal and maintained it for six weeks).
+ One member reached goal.
+ One guy passed the 100lb weight loss milestone.

Plus, I got to hang out with some great people.

I love doing what I get to do!

HOMEWARD BOUND

I'm getting ready to fly back to the U.S. today after three days in England for my sister-in-law's funeral. It was a bitter/ sweet kind of trip, with the joy of seeing family being counter-balanced by the sadness of the occasion.

It's far more challenging to stay on track with healthy practices when you're out of routine and it was particularly difficult to get adequate exercise this week. I brought my running gear, but it has rained most mornings I have been here, so I only got out once. That was yesterday and I ran three and a half miles in rural Lincolnshire, which was delightful.

Of course there have been all kinds of food temptations too, with so many things avaiable that I don't get back home, but overall I think I did fairly well in that area. No fish and chips, which was a good thing! - I will have to do that just once when I come back over here next week for a wedding on my wife's side of the family.

Off to the airport soon - JFK at 2.45 - back home!

STRAWBERRY PIE

1/4 pie = 1 point

1 pkg vanilla (sugar free) pudding

1 pkg Strawberry Jello (sugar free)

2 1/4 cups water

Mix top 3 ingredients together. Bring to a boil. Cool.Pour over 4 cups strawberries.

Put in a graham cracker crust or dessert dish.

If you use a graham crust make sure to add Points per serving depending which crust you choose.