CNN had a very good weight loss documentary on Sunday night. It focussed on a study of several thousand people who had lost more than 30 pounds and kept it off for more than a year. Interesting points from the show:

- 95% of people who lose weight will put it back on, because they don't permanently change their way of eating

- the study allowed long term weight losers to register and be monitored. Then the study looked into 7 factors that makes weight loss successful and long term

1. Expect disappointments, but keep on trying. It doesn't happen magically. You need to work at it to have success.

2. Don't deny yourself. The people in the study had learned to limit their danger foods...2 cookies instead of a bag full, a couple of tablespoons of icecream instead of enought to make you full. While these people were still eating things that we consider bad on LC, the point is they had learned to change the way they eat these things.

3. Weigh yourself often. (We could substitute measure yourself often). The point being you need to know where you started , where you are at and what direction you are going in.

4. Get one hour of vigourous exercise daily.

5. Get additional other physical activity into your life.

6. Eat a low cal/low fat diet. I watched this with particular interest, not to pooh-pooh the theory, but to find out why. The study came to that conclusion because the overwhelming majority of people in the study had followed a low fat/low cal diet. This point I'm taking with a grain of salt. It's kind of like thinking if the overall majority of people who achieved a sustained long term weight loss had red hair, then the conclusion would be red-heads are more successful. If the overall majority in the study had been LCers or vegetarians, then the study's conclusion would have said be a vegetarian or be an LCer

7. Darned if I can remember the last one, but it wasn't earth shattering.

The 2 people profiled in the show had life changes similar to what we strive to achieve (only diff being they were low fat/low cal)
For example...
- they ate 5 smaller meals instead of 3 big ones
- they chose foods better, and for the most part ate less processed food and more fresh fruits and veggies
- exercise has become a normal and satisfying part of their daily lives
- they had both reached a weight breaking point...something about their heavy weight that triggered enough is enough
-they are commited and work at it every day
- IT WAS A CHANGE IN THEIR WAY OF EATING, AND THEIR WAY OF LIFE - A LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO CHANGING BAD HABITS. THEY DID NOT VIEW IT AS "GOING ON A DIET"

What I really liked about the show was that it focused on motivation, state of mind, and making significant changes to your lifestyle. It didn't heavily push any one diet plan, or criticise one plan over another.

There is a National Weight Control Registry (probably also available on the internet, but I haven't looked for it yet). People who have lost a minimum of 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year may apply to register and become part of the study.