This study reveals weigh loss tips that work…and keep working!
Wouldn’t it be great if simple changes could result in weight loss? Wouldn’t it be great it the weight would actually stay off? It turns out that weight loss is very doable with some simple changes on your part.
An article published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics studied 465 overweight and obese postmenopausal women between ages 58 – 62 years who previously participated in the Women on the Move through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) study. The women were randomly assigned to either a lifestyle-change intervention or a control group and changes in their eating habits and weight loss from the beginning of the study to six and 48 months.
You don’t have to go on a specific diet to lose weight
The women in the intervention group met regularly with nutritionists, exercise physiologists and psychologists. The women in the control group attended occasional seminars focusing on general women’s health. Here’s what the found:
At the end of the four years of the study, 57 percent of the intervention participants and 29 percent of controls had maintained at least a five-pound weight loss. No one was placed on a specific diet.
Here’s what worked to lose weight at 6 months:
- Decrease sugar-sweetened beverages
- Decrease deserts
- Decrease eating out
- Decreased fried foods
- Increased fish consumption
Here’s what worked to lose weight and keep it off for 48 months:
- Decrease sugar-sweetene beverages
- Decrease deserts
- Decreased meats/cheeses
- Increased fruits and vegetables
Eating out and eating fried food had no apparent effect on long-term weight change.
“Behaviors like cutting out fried foods may work in the short-term, but may be too restrictive to continue for a long period of time. On the other hand, adding fruits and vegetables may be a small change that makes a difference over a period of many months or years,” said Dr. Barone Gibbs. Even if you don’t go on a specific diet, focusing on eating behavior may improve long-term weight loss and help to keep that weight off.
