The Key to a Healthy Body: Eating Right & Moving More
It isn’t sexy, but it’s making headlines: Some obese people achieve successful weight loss using the old-fashioned method of eating less and moving more.
A study published in American Journal of Preventative Medicine revealed 40% of obese participants who were trying to lose weight found success from eating less fat, exercising more, taking prescription weight loss medications and joining commercial weight loss programs. Of these four methods, the first two were the most widely used and more acceptable to health professionals. Eating less and moving more, in combination, is a time-tested approach that’s also among the more affordable and realistic solutions for losing and maintaining weight. In fact, the National Weight Control Registry, a research database that looks at behaviors associated with weight loss, identified strategies that mimic the findings of this study. The behaviors that predict successful weight loss/maintenance include:
- A low-fat, low-calorie diet
- Eating breakfast every day
- Weighing in once a week
- Less than 10 hours of TV viewing each week
- Exercising, on average, for one hour a day
While everyone has different needs when it comes to weight loss, we wanted to share this list because it’s made up of proven strategies for some people. Despite the countless fad diets out there, there really is no magic bullet for achieving a healthy weight. Unfortunately, losing weight is a lot easier than keeping it off and exercise is more important in the maintenance stage than in the losing process. Eating healthfully and exercising for a healthy body rather than focusing on weight loss are most important for long-term health.
Interested in learning more? Check out “The Weight of the Nation” which premieres this week on HBO and features success stories of people who have lost weight and kept it off the old-fashioned way.