Find support - boost your dieting success

Success and failure at dieting is a subject close to many people’s hearts.

Unfortunately while success with a diet is hard to achieve keeping weight off is even harder. It is known that within two years of dieting most dieters regain two-thirds of what they initially lost.

But research has pointed to a good way of ensuring the weight stays off.

Rena Wing, a psychologist and director of the Weight Control Center at Brown University Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, did research with a group of 291 people who in the previous two years had lost at least 10% of their body weight – an average of 20kg.

These people were then split into three groups. One group had contact with other dieters online, one group had face-to-face support, and the third group had input from a newsletter. All of them were advised on diet and exercise at the start of the study and told to weigh themselves daily.

After 18 months researchers checked on participants. It was assumed those who had dropped out had regained 2.25kg or more.

People who had received a newsletter had regained on average 4.68kg, but those people who had used online support groups/partners had only regained 2.7kg. Those who met other dieters had put on an average of 1.125kg.

So having support from contact with other people helped the dieters.

But there was another key finding to the research.

At the start of the study, only 40% of participants in each group weighed themselves daily. Eighteen months later, that had fallen to 30% in the newsletter group.

But the figures for those who had support from other people actually improved! The figures increased to 65 percent of the internet support group users and 72 percent of the face-to-face group.

And whether people weighed themselves or not was the best way of judging who would or wouldn’t put on weight. Of the people who weighed themselves daily only 39% regained 5lb or more. But of the people who weighed themselves less often 68% put on the 5lb or more.

Rena Wing said the regular weighing helps catch any increases in weight before they start getting out of hand: "You're more likely to catch small changes in body weight" she said. "It's much easier to get back on track if you've just gained a pound or two."

Gary Foster, clinical director of the weight and eating disorders program at the University of Pennsylvania, said the big issue with tackling obesity is to find ways to make weight loss last. He said, other things known to help keep lost pounds from coming back are getting regular exercise and eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet.

Do you want help and support with weight loss, boosting your fitness or maintaining health exercise or eating habits? Why not sign up to Sports Fitness Partners? Give yourself the best chance of achieving your fitness goals.

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