How do people manage to maintain weight over time after a diet?

Many people know how to survive diets and lose weight, but only a few know how to maintain that feat. New research shows the most effective psychological behaviors and strategies of those successful in the task. The good news - it gets easier over time

How do people manage to maintain weight over time after a diet?

In the video: The data reveals that about half of Israelis are overweight

Among the plethora of promises you made to yourself as the new decade opened, one may have been that this year not only did you diet and lose weight, but also managed to keep the new weight from everlasting. Not many are able to do that, because after all, you put so much effort and willpower into the diet and training that brought you to the weight of the target, where do you now draw the energy to invest in preserving this achievement?

This is what obesity does to every part of your body

A new study from the Polytechnic University of California (Cal Poly) found some of the few who manage to persevere, trying to see what their key to success is. The results, published this week in the journal obesity, found that some of the most effective psychological behaviors and strategies reported by those who maintained weight loss included choosing a healthy diet, monitoring and monitoring what they were eating and using positive self-talk. Total expected, but working.

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The study reviewed the weight management strategies of nearly 5,000 former members of a bodyweight bodyweight who, on average, lost 23 pounds of their weight, and maintained the new weight for more than three years. Researchers compared this group to a control group of more than 500 obese people and reported Who have not raised or dropped more than two kilos for more than five years.

The research team examined 54 behaviors related to weight management. Compared to the control group, the Weight Watchers group reported more frequent use of strategies such as setting a daily goal for food consumption, recording everything eaten each day, measuring food, recalling past successes and positive thinking about the chance of gaining weight again. The researchers found that these eating and thinking behaviors were inculcated among the group members and made easier to do over time.

Over time it gets easier

Susan Phelan, professor of kinesiology (muscle mechanics and anatomy research) and public health who led the study, said: "People who have maintained their successful weight loss for the most time have reported higher frequency and recurrence in healthy diet choices, and these choices have become more automatic over time. These are encouraging for those who are trying to maintain the new weight, because it means that over time, it gets easier and maintenance of the weight requires less deliberate effort. "

The results of the study can motivate many people. Looking back at fat woman (Photo: ShutterStock)

Obesity (Photo: ShutterStock)

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) data published in 2018, about half of the Israeli population (48 percent) is in obesity and overweight, with a slight lead of men: 55 percent of them are overweight compared to 41 percent of women. That 21 percent do an actual diet, and 47 percent receive guidance from a professional.

Obesity increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Obesity is the fifth cause of death in the world, with an estimated 2.8 million people dying each year overweight (an obese person has only a 70 percent chance of reaching 70!). According to the Medical Association and the Obesity Research and Treatment Society, only 10 percent of people who have lost weight through lifestyle change alone have been able to maintain that achievement for a year.

Gives long-term motivation

"Successful weight loss has a variety of health benefits," Fallen concluded, "The improved quality of life observed among participants in this study who were able to lose weight and maintain achievement may be an important motivation for people struggling to maintain their weight in the long run." The results of this study can help people focus on strategies that have been shown to be most effective for maintaining healthy weight.