Health Library

Losing Weight

Do you keep two wardrobes, one for the "heavy" you and one for the "thin" you? Does your body shape vary from year to year in the family photo albums? If you answer "yes," you are not alone. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA) at any moment in America one in four men and 4 in ten women are trying to lose weight.

There are many reasons people are overweight according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP):

• Having weight problems in your family
• Eating when lonely, sad or stressed (Read about "Stress" "Job Stress" "Depressive Illnesses")
• Being pressured to eat by friends or family
• Using food for recreation
• Taking medicine that makes you feel hungry
• Having a low metabolism (the rate you burn calories) (Read about "Thyroid")
• Having problems with hormone levels (Read about "Endocrine System")

What follows, for the most part, concerns general weight loss tips. Obesity is a much more serious condition and requires much more serious intervention. (Read about "Obesity")

Goals that work

One of the keys to successful weight control is being realistic. Before starting any weight loss program, it's important to see your doctor to deal with any underlying problems. That may include counseling.

You can also ask your doctor to help you determine your best weight. This may not be the weight you see in magazines or movies, but it should be the weight that allows you to feel and be healthy for yourself. One indicator that can be used to help do this is your Body Mass Index or BMI. (Read about "Body Mass Index") Then, working with your physician, it's time to plan your weight loss strategy. That means planning a regular exercise program and a regular eating program. Any weight loss plan without an exercise component is doomed to failure says the ADA.

Starting slowly

AAFP says it's also helpful to break your weight and lifestyle goals down into smaller, more manageable ones. Perhaps start by adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet; then work on reducing the amount of fried foods you're eating. (Read about "Dietary Guidelines") By making small, but permanent changes in your diet and lifestyle, you may not "drop" pounds as fast, but you still can lose weight. And what's more, unless you have a medical need to lose excess weight quickly, most experts agree that gradual weight loss is more likely to be sustained for the long-term.

Another key, according to the ADA, is to stop thinking in terms of a short-term "diet," and start thinking about making a permanent change in your eating and lifestyle habits. Before setting out on such a change, it can be useful to examine your current eating and exercise habits. You can keep a journal for a few weeks to help determine, for example, the times you're most likely to eat for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger, times when you eat out of frustration, for example, or boredom.

It's also important to examine your attitude towards food in general. Do you see food as an enjoyable source of nutrition and sustenance for your body? Or do you equate food with other things? By working to develop a healthier attitude about food in general, you can increase the likelihood of maintaining healthier eating habits.

Helpful guidelines

When you're trying to lose weight, the following suggestions are compiled from the ADA, the Calorie Control Council and the National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics.

• Pay attention while you eat. Many times, we snack while doing other things such as watching TV. Without even knowing it, we've consumed a few hundred extra calories. That may not seem like much, but it adds up.
• Try increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet. (Read about "Fiber and Health") Many fruits and vegetables are low in calories, but their fiber content can help provide a feeling of fullness when you eat them.
• Arm yourself with knowledge. Start reading about nutrition, fat, calories and exercise. Some of the information may surprise you. For example, a one-ounce bag of potato chips contains about 150 calories and 10 grams of fat. A single tablespoon of regular salad dressing can contain about a hundred calories and 9 grams of fat. Eating that much extra every day - 250 calories a day more than your body needs - translates into a two pound weight gain in just a month. By the same token, simply eliminating some of those high fat foods - especially if you also start to include more exercise into your lifestyle - can translate into a weight loss over a period of months. And you'll accomplish it without going on some fad diet.
• Be honest with yourself. If you know you have a weakness for chocolate chip cookies, buying a two-pound bag to keep in the house may give you more temptation than you can handle; if you know you don't have a lot of energy in the morning, it can be self-defeating to plan on jogging every morning before work.
• Use packaged low-fat and low-calorie foods wisely. If you substitute two slices of diet bread for two slices of regular on your sandwich each day, you'll save calories. On the other hand, if you use two slices of diet bread to replace each slice of regular, you've saved nothing. You may also find that when it comes to flavor and enjoyment, you may feel more satisfied having a single slice of regular whole-grained bread, instead of two slices of a diet brand. Similarly, read the labels of so-called low-fat foods; you'll find many don't save you many calories at all, because they're high in sugar.

Diet alone isn't the answer

It's not enough to cut back on the amount of food you eat. ADA says regular exercise is the other key factor in permanent weight control. (Read about "Getting Started on Fitness") Exercise helps to burn calories. In addition, building muscle can help increase your metabolic basal rate, so you burn more calories throughout the day.

Although you should always ask your doctor before starting a diet or exercise program, many health experts suggest exercising at least three times a week for at least 20 minutes each time. (Read about "Walking for Health") Exercise doesn't just burn calories; it also raises your metabolism so you continue to burn more calories even after you stop exercising. (Find a Calorie Calculator in "Burning Calories") The American Council on Exercise says that exercise also increases muscle mass; since muscles burn calories at rest, more muscle mass also means an increase in your body's ability to burn calories. And all that can help put you on the path towards permanent, successful weight control.

It's also a good idea to remember that for most people slow and steady weight loss is more likely to produce permanent results. On the other hand, weight loss, especially rapid weight loss, can also be associated with certain health risks such as gallstones (Read about "Gallstones"). So if weight or obesity (Read about "Obesity") is a health consideration, or if someone has a great deal of weight to lose, they must consult their doctor first about the best way to go ahead.

Weight loss products

There are a number of products on the market for weight loss. Some are over-the-counter and some are prescription only. Many products that claim weight reduction abilities are not regulated however. Before taking any medications, supplements or other products to induce weight loss you should discuss the issue with your doctor. Some products can interfere with medications you are already taking (Read about "Drug Interaction Precautions") or could cause other problems.

Surgery

The morbidly obese (Read about "Obesity") are candidates for what is called bariatric surgery. (Read about "Bariatric Surgery") The American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) says a patient whose BMI exceeds 40 is a potential candidate for surgery if they strongly desire substantial weight loss, because obesity severely impairs the quality of their lives. There are many types of bariatric surgery. They can include surgery to restrict the size of the stomach and/or surgery to bypass parts of the digestive tract. All of these surgeries carry risks, some of them serious. They include ones that any type of surgical procedure involves. (Read about "Learn About Your Procedure") ASBA says that there are also nutritional consequences to the surgery with lifelong requirements to monitor one's diet for the correct nutrients.

Related Information:

    Waist-to-Hip Ratio

    Food Labels