10 Steps to Lasting Weight Loss

BlackDoctor.org has an interesting list of 10 simple things you can do to lose and maintain your weight loss:

1. WEIGH YOURSELF OFTEN

Once upon a time, experts said to stay off the scale—it can be discouraging. But after studying 3,500 individuals from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) who've maintained 60 or more pounds of weight loss for at least a year, researchers found that 44 percent weighed themselves daily. Unhealthy obsession? No. They use it as an early warning system for preventing weight regain. If your goal is to keep your weight at a certain level, you have to have feedback to see whether you're successful.

2. TURN OFF THE TV

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York recently determined that simply seeing food can trigger a physiological "feed me" response. In the study, visual food cues caused brain activity to jump by 24 percent—mostly in the orbitofrontal cortex, the area of the brain that is related to drive and acquisition. So a constant barrage of pizza-delivery ads on TV could test your limits. And don't get us started on the Food Network.

3. PRAY THE FAT AWAY

Christian men who report feeling greater intimacy with God through prayer are more likely to be physically active than other men, according to research from Cornell University. Studies have shown that those who have more social support move more, and being closer to God may give men that support. Another possible reason: General religion in the United States encompasses theological teachings about the body as a temple, which may also lead to the consumption of a healthier diet and increased physical activity. Amen to that.

4. BEWARE OF TASTEBUD BETRAYAL

Hunger increases healthy men's taste sensitivity to sweet and salty substances. This means vending-machine snacks (which come in two flavors: sweet or salty—coincidence?) will taste even better when you're hungry. You could trust that you'd savor the flavor by eating only a small amount. (Right.) Or you could sidestep this land mine altogether. Eat offensively. Eat regularly during the day to stave off cravings and the bingeing that can result.

5. SNACK ON ALMONDS

Seventy per day, to be exact. That's the number that people in a City of Hope National Medical Center experiment ate daily for 6 months, in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet, to drop 18 percent of their body weight. Almonds are a nutrient-dense food that provides healthful monounsaturated fat, protein, and fiber, which together contribute to feeling full. Go for whole almonds in their unsalted, raw, or dry-roasted state. Fifteen to 20 will do the trick for a quick snack. Try 50 as a meal replacement.

You can read the rest of the article here.

I think for me one of the most important ones on the list is the "weight yourself often" step. I wrote about it in, "Be a Slave to the Scale.". It's easy to notice that your pants are getting tight or your belly is getting a little bigger but to dismiss and say, "Oh it's only a couple of punds," and before you know it a couple of pounds turns into 20.

If you have a constant reminder of where you are weight wise, you will be able to make the necessary changes to your diet/exercise regime early enough to prevent your weight gain from getting out of hand and having to start again from square one.

Why You Just Can't Lose Weight

You step on the scale and groan at the number peeking between your toes. "I'll go on a diet today!" you think. Not so fast. Unless you are mentally ready to lose weight, any diet you try is likely doomed to failure.

In a widely accepted model of behavioral change, there are five stages of motivational readiness. If you're stuck in an early stage, your diet won't work, says registered dietician Karen Collins. Studies suggest that people may feel ready to lose weight, but if they are unprepared to alter their behavior, they'll fail, reports the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. in a column titled "Nutrition Notes."

The five stages of motivational readiness that can be applied to dieting, exercise, or just about anything in your life:

Stage One: Precontemplation

A person has no intention of changing.

Stage Two: Contemplation

A person intends to change--later.

Read the rest of the stages here.

Vivrant Thang blogs about live, love and music over at Songs In The Key Of Life.

Breaking Up With Food

I have to break up with food before it kills me.

I clearly remember some 2 1/2 years ago when I wrote that on my weight loss blog. At 359 lbs, I weighed more than Shaquille O'Neal. I was wearing a 26/28, the very last size in Lane Bryant. I was suffering from borderline diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, mild asthma, joint pain, and high blood pressure. I was only 28, but at the rate I was going, it wasn't certain I would see 38.

I had to break up with food before it killed me.

I don't remember a time when I wasn't overweight. I was a chubby kid and have some memories of my mother sometimes having a hard time finding clothes for me for special occasions. She tried to help me - there were doctor's visits, specialized weight loss programs, gym memberships and dance classes. I would have initial success and then return to my same old habits. It got to the point that I was taking money from my her purse to buy extra food. I was am an addict.

By the time I got to high school, I tipped the scales at 250lbs. I don't ever remember weighing anything less. I joke that I went from diapers to size 3x overnight. Looking back, I can clearly identify the reasons I started gaining weight. My overdeveloped frame drew unwanted attention and thus began a sense of unease around men that still persists today. Essentially, I put on a fat suit to shield me. The fatter I got, the less attention I would draw. By the time I went off to college, I was well over 300lbs.

Even at 359lbs, I still embraced life. I started traveling internationally right after I graduated. I had romantic relationships. I dressed better than most people I knew, overweight or normal. I was always aware that I was often the largest thing in the room, but it wasn't something that constantly bothered me. I wasn't miserable. My personality and style was such that people didn't treat me differently because of my weight - at least not to my face. I just went about my life as a morbidly obese woman, assuming that's how it would always be. I didn't even own a scale and often didn't know my weight until my yearly physical. Like so many things in my life, if I ignored it, it wasn't an issue.

As I entered my late twenties, I started noticing more joint pain, particularly in my knees. I was getting more winded. I was tired of carrying around the weight of two people. I discovered that I was borderline diabetic, something I had always feared. I was tired of taking up more than my share of the train seat ; tired of dreading the whispered request for a seat belt extension. I didn't want to end up a statistic - losing my life to something preventable. I had too much to live for.

I had to do something.

I had to break up with food before I killed me.

I am Vivrant Thang, a new guest blogger here at Sweet Potato Pie. I feel I have an important story to tell -how I lost 140lbs and seven dress sizes and added years to my life. It's not a conventional story, but one I hope that some of you will relate to and learn from.

Permanent Weight Loss and Yes, Diets DO Work

Gaining weight is easy, losing it is hard and according to several well published studies keeping it off is damn near impossible. Studies show that 95% of people who lose weight put it back on in five years or less.

95%

Ouch.

Why is that? I'm not sure what the studies say but my guess is people don't fully change their lives. The diet/exercise program they were on was just temporary. They started their weight loss regime to reach a goal: reunion, new years, summertime, something. And once that goal is reach they go right back to their old, fatty ways.

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar:

You start your diet/exercise regime. You follow it to the letter (mostly), the whole time counting the pounds you lost and the counting down the days until you can end this godforsaken diet. Ouch. And the moment you reach your goal weight it's HELLO OREOS! WOO HOO!

And then we complain that diets never work and how is it we managed to put the weight back on so fast. And this is for those of us who actually got started to begin with.

LOL.

As a person who has gained and lost twenty pounds most of my adult life I understand the process all too well. What I've come to realize however, is there is only one way to lose the weight and to keep it off: Recognize that whatever I do I have to do it FOR LIFE.

That's right. For life.

So if you're going to do Atkins, you're going to do Atkins for life. If you're going to do Weight Watchers, you're going to do Weight Watchers for life. If you're going to do The Zone, you're gonna do it for life. It's just that simple.

You can't look at a 'diet' as a temporary thing. It's PERMANENT. So change your way of thinking and recognize that whatever you decide to do, it needs to be something you can do forever.

For me for example, I recognize I can't be on a diet that's not going to allow me to eat ice cream...lol. I can't. I tried. It never works. SMH. And the reality of it is I just eat more ice cream. LOL. I've never been good at deprivation.

So think long and hard before you start that next diet program. Ask yourself if this is something you can do for life. If the answer is no, go back to the drawing board and try again. Remember it shouldn't feel like a diet. It should feel like your life. 'Cause the truth of the matter is...it is.