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A few numbers to cheer you up
Have you ever felt discouraged and given up because your weight loss was slower than you would have liked?As a scientist running world-class clinical weight loss trials, and having seen dozens of clinical weight loss trials from other research teams around the world, I'm always amazed when people feel disappointed if they lose less than one or two kilos a month.
In the dozens of long-term clinical weight loss trials I've seen, when weight loss is achieved by lifestyle means (that is, by changing diet and / or physical activity levels), the average weight loss is about 12 kilos a year.
Some long-term clinical trials result in weight loss of a few kilos less, at about 9 kilos a year. Some long-term clinical trials result in weight loss of a few kilos more, at about 15 kilos a year, especially if changes in diet and exercise are combined with cognitive behavior therapy or regular contact with health professionals.
Weight loss medications are another factor that will increase weight loss in clinical trials, but they typically increase weight loss from about 12 kilos a year in people taking placebo pills and following a diet and exercise regime to about 16 kilos a year in people taking the active drug and following the same diet and exercise regime. Indeed, most of the weight loss is due to diet and exercise.
In brief, the best weight loss studies in the world, run by multidisciplinary teams of doctors, scientists, dietitians and psychologists, result in an average weight loss of 12 kilos per year. Sometimes it's a few kilos more; sometimes it's a few kilos less. But all in all, if you were to volunteer to participate in a long-term weight loss trial at a leading research institute and supervised by a team of weight loss experts, you could expect to lose about 12 kilos over the course of a year.
Why is it, then, that so many people feel disappointed if they lose less than one or two kilos a month? From where do they get the idea that it's possible to lose half a kilo to a kilo a week until they reach their ideal weight?
Advertisements for weight loss programs often show people who've lost 20 kilos in 6 months, or 10 kilos in 10 weeks. But when you check the fine print you almost always read something like "results not typical". For most people, weight loss is slower than the striking results you see in slick advertisements.
So the next time you lose 1 kilo in a month, instead of lamenting your "slow" progress, remind yourself that you're doing just as well as the best scientific weight loss studies in the world. Keep up your excellent progress.
Over to you
Here's something you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
The next time you doubt your progress and feel inclined to pack it all in, take a moment to remind yourself exactly how much weight you've lost since your highest non-pregnant weight ever.
When I was losing those 28 kilos, I used to constantly remind myself of how far I'd come since my top weight of 93 kilos. If ever I had a 'fat day' where I felt particularly large, I'd cheer myself up with thoughts such as 'well at least I'm still 6.2 kilos lighter than my top weight'.
One way to help you appreciate just how far you've come is to make a collection of packaged foods from your pantry, a collection that's as heavy as the total amount of weight you've lost since you were at your top weight.
You can use things such as one-liter cartons of UHT milk (they weigh about 1 kilo), one-kilo packets of flour or sugar and five hundred-gram packets of lentils or pasta.
If you put all that food into grocery bags and carry it around for a few minutes, you'll realize that you've actually lost a sizeable amount of weight.
Aren't you glad you don't have to carry it around all the time like you used to?
Have a great month, and I look forward to reading about your progress to date. To share your Success Story with me now, click here.
Sincerely,
Amanda
Dr Amanda
Connect with your body
www.DrAmandaOnline.com
What our readers say...
"Dear Amanda, just wanted to say how much I love your book The Don't Go Hungry Diet. I gave up traditional forms of dieting some years back as I am so over counting points or fat grams etc. Counting anything in fact! Been there done that. And who wants to spend their life 'counting' and obsessing and stressing over food. I certainly don't. I knew there had to be an answer and I reckon I've found it in your book. Having gained a massive amount of weight from taking anti-depressant medication for some years, I was fat and fed up - in fact I was depressed about being fat! The anti-depressants make you crave junk food, and the more you eat the more you want, you just can't fill that hole. Anyway, I weaned off them and no longer crave the junk, I eat mostly whole foods, lots of fruit & veg (aim for 9 serves a day, often go over). I eat full fat everything, use olive oil in my cooking, plenty of avocado and nuts etc. and have dinner out once a week and enjoy the odd bit of chocolate. In the 2 months since April 1st I've lost 8 kg and feel like a new person. After about 5 weeks of weight loss and feeling quite good about myself, I started to feel really hungry, wanting to eat but that inner voice saying, 'slow down or you'll put that weight on again'. I thought of the 'Famine Reaction' you talk about and decided to 'go with the flow' and just eat bigger helpings of healthy foods. After a few days, as predicted in your book, the 'Fat Brake' kicked in and I went back to my weight loss eating. Such a good feeling to have faith in my body, listen to it's signals and act accordingly. Since then I have had ravenous days where I increase my food, as well as not so hungry days where I eat less. And sure enough, at every weigh in at the gym there is a loss. I am an avid reader of anything to do with health, weight and nutrition and have a 'library' of books regarding eating disorders that deal with the mental side of things but had not come across anything on the physiological side of weight loss before your book. Thank you so much - I feel as though I've been released from a prison sentence. Warm regards, Lesley. PS - My sister is doing Weight Watchers and stayed with me recently. She arrived armed with diet yogurts, diet this, diet that etc. One day she was complaining of being hungry but had used up all her points - and as I sat there chowing down on a chunk of my home made organic bread with humus, I thought, Thank God for Dr Amanda. Maybe I'll buy my sister a copy of your book!"