Why Slow Weight Loss Wins In The Long Run

How does your diet unfold?

Do you lose a bunch of weight quickly, deviate from the plan, and gain it back?

Are you yo-yo’ing at every opportunity?

The reality of the matter is that when you embark on a weight loss journey, it should be like rolling a ball gently down a hill.

Researchers at Drexel University found that consistent weight loss is key (https://drexel.edu/now/archive/2017/August/Consistent-Pounds-Shed-Leads-to-Weight-Loss/).

More importantly, perhaps, is slow weight loss.

Yo-yo dieting is a giant red flag in dieting.

You are following unhealthy patterns of dieting and exercising, then deviating from it, only to go back on it again.

You have to look at the patterns ingrained in your routine and break them.

In the study, 183 people participated over the course of a year.

What they found was that those who experienced more fluctuation in their weight loss during the first six to 12 months were less likely to lose weight after a year or two.

The participants who lost four pounds, then two pounds, then one, and back to four couldn’t lose as much as the people consistently losing a pound each week for six months.

This was predictive of long-term success.

Now, that’s not to say it isn’t thrilling to lose five pounds in the first week of your weight loss journey.

It can be deeply motivational, but it could indicate the risk of yo-yo’ing.

If you do lose large numbers early you may want to revisit your diet plan and make some tweaks.

It’s possible that you have been too aggressive with calorie cutting.

While this is great for quick weight loss, it isn’t great for long-term success.

A great example of this would be the researchers who held a study based on The Biggest Loser (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.21538).

Only 14 participated, but the results are fascinating.

The study ran for 30 weeks, with the average weight loss coming in at 129 pounds (each).

Fast forward six years and only one of the 14 participants had kept the weight off.

The rest of the participants have regained an average of 90 pounds each.

Sustainable Weight Loss

The problem with diets is that they are short-term.

When you choose to restrict your calories, cut carbs or embrace low-fat options, then you’re encouraging a dramatic weight loss.

That’s not the way forward if you’re trying to achieve long-term, lifelong success.

You can restrict your calories and still come out on the other side the winner.

You won’t have a dramatic weight loss story to share.

Nor will you achieve your weight loss goal in record time.

However, sustainable weight loss is for life.

You can achieve sustainable weight loss by goal setting.

Your goals should always be achievable.

If you run a mile daily and you want to include running as part of your weight loss plan, what comes next?

You don’t increase it to five miles daily.

You can increase it to two miles daily.

Small incremental changes, like slowly turning up the volume dial on a stereo.

It might not seem much at the time, but as you build and build on it, you get results.

Get to know what triggers your eating, and learn how to manage your snacking patterns.

You can make small positive changes around those behaviors, which will aid your long-term weight loss journey.

The reason people burn out from diets is because they set unattainable goals and struggle to maintain strict diets and harsh exercise regimens.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, then you have to embrace a lifestyle that will help you slowly erase those extra pounds.