Question: I have lost about 25 pounds over the past year and do not want to regain it. Can you give me some feedback about maintaining a lower weight? You have said in your column that more than 95 percent of all people who lose weight gain it back, and I don't want to be one of those who does.
Answer: An article in the July/August 1993 issue of Obesity & Health addressed the issue of maintaining weight after weight loss. The researcher, Susan Kayman, a nutrition consultant for Kaiser Permanente, screened 700 women who came to the firm's medical offices to find a group of women who had been successful in losing a significant amount of weight. These women were classified as either "maintainers," formerly obese women who had lost at least 20 pounds and maintained the loss over at least two years; "regainers," women who had regained weight after losing at least 20 pounds; or controls, who had been at average weight. Then, 50 women were selected from each group for further screening to determine what factors accounted for success in maintaining weight loss once it had occurred.
One of the key findings of the study is that maintainers devised weight-control strategies that fit their own lifestyle and personality as opposed to using some weight-loss system or depending on their physician or a dietitian for their success.
These strategies usually included regular exercise and a change in eating style to reduced fat and sugar, eating more fruits and vegetables and controlling the amount of food they ate. They reported being patient, setting small goals that they could meet, and sticking to their plans until new habit patterns were established.
Maintainers reported that they changed the way they cooked and prepared food and tried to de-emphasize the role food played in their lives. After a while, they no longer wanted to eat as much, and they lost their desire to eat foods such as candy and doughnuts, which were no longer as appealing because they were sweet or fatty. Maintainers also learned how to deal with other problems and stressful events in a direct manner where they confronted and tried to solve their problems.
In contrast, few regainers exercised to lose weight or to maintain weight loss. They had lost weight by taking appetite suppressants, fasting or going on restrictive diets. They took diet formulas and repeatedly went to different weight-control groups and programs. They ate food that was different from the food they fed their families and the food that they really wanted. They felt deprived because they had a list of foods they could never eat and they easily reverted to old eating patterns when they got discouraged.
Regainers were less likely to deal with their problems directly and used emotion-focused ways of coping. This group felt that once the weight was lost, it was lost forever and were surprised when they regained weight, even though they had reverted to old habit patterns.
Women in the control group, who had always been at average weight, did not take their weight for granted but consciously watched their diet and exercised regularly. Their approach to maintaining weight was very similar to the maintainers, who learned to live a new lifestyle that led to a lower weight.