Research - Evidence on How To Keep The Weight off -For Good!!

The National Weight Control Registry published the results of their research of people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off. It's interesting to see the different ways people lost the weight, the amount they lost and the time they took to lose it. Of course we would all like it to be fast, but dieters primarily put the weight right back on and then some. Thankfully those who exercise have a much better chance of keeping weigh of than those who diet alone.

For those who seek to shed excess fat, the two most common methods used are simply to eat less and exercise more. If it were as simple as it’s stated we would not be a nation with a raging obesity epidemic. Dieting alone certainly can lead to shedding excess fat; however the sad fact is that 95% of those who lose weight through dieting alone regain their weight back plus some. For those who exercise without making any nutritional changes, it’s a very long, slow, painful road to achieving the body of their dreams. With exercise alone, they can expect higher levels of fitness, improved performance, healthier blood chemistries, a more efficient heart and so on, but there will be less than dramatic results to their overall shape and body composition. Combining both a healthy, wholesome and nutritious eating plan along with regular and consistent exercise and seven or more hours of sleep is the guaranteed road to a fit, firm and lean body to be proud of.

Exercise helps to expend calories during the exercise session. For example, 60 minutes on a bicycle or participating in a boot camp class at a moderate to high intensity will burn over 500 calories (Calories will vary depending on the person’s body weight, level of fitness and intensity). It takes 3,500 calories to burn one pound of body fat. So if the individual engaged in a 60 minute moderate to high intensity cardiovascular workout three times weekly, they could expect to burn a pound in just over 2 weeks without making any dietary changes. Add in 3 strength training workouts weekly and they would burn additional calories (approximately 250 calories per session depending on intensity, body size and fitness) to accelerate the fat burning process.

In addition to the calories burned during the session, there are two other ways that exercise assists in fat burning. One is called the after burn, referring to the calories burned once exercise has stopped. The number of calories burned while the metabolism is still revved up from activity depends on how hard the person worked during the session, how fit they are and their body size.

Also, people who are fit have bodies that are more efficient at burning fat compared to a non-exerciser of the same size. Fit people will burn more calories at rest, during sleep and during activities. They also have more muscle, which is one of the driving forces of metabolism. Muscle is much more metabolically active. It takes about 25 calories a day to sustain each pound of muscle and only 2 calories a day to sustain every pound of fat.

Overall exercise is your key to living in a lean body. Diet alone will help you lose fat, but will not improve your fitness, give youthful shape to your muscles or help you maintain the weight loss. When you combine diet with exercise, you not only preserve your muscle (which is lost along with fat during dieting and with aging), but you add more lean metabolically active muscle.



NWCR Facts
You may find it interesting to know about the people who have enrolled in the registry thus far.

80% of persons in the registry are women and 20% are men.
The "average" woman is 45 years of age and currently weights 145 lbs, while the "average" man is 49 years of age and currently weights 190 lbs.
Registry members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years.
These averages, however, hide a lot of diversity:
Weight losses have ranged from 30 to 300 lbs.
Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years!
Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly--over as many as 14 years.

We have also started to learn about how the weight loss was accomplished: 45% of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program.
98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight.
94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.
There is variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off. Most report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.

78% eat breakfast every day.
75% weigh them self at least once a week.
62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.


Research Findings
Check out our list of NWCR published studies Here!

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So, keep up with your boot camp workouts and healthy eating - for life!!!