“Slowly but surely” won the weight loss race

If weight loss is more of a yo-yo than a ball rolling down a gentle hill, then you might want to rethink your approach. A new study shows that people whose weight fluctuates during the first few months of a weight-loss program lose less weight over the long-term, compared with those whose progress is more regular week by week.

Drexel University researchers suggest that this could help identify people early on who need extra support to reach their weight loss goals.

Yo-yo dieting less successful

In the study from Trusted Source, published August 28 in the journal Obesity, researchers followed 183 participants in a year-long behavioral weight loss program.

The researchers found that people whose weight fluctuated more during the first 6 or 12 months lost less weight after one and two years. For example, people who lost 4 pounds in one week, regained two pounds the next time, and then lost one pound the next time, performed worse than those who lost one pound per week for the first six months. .

While weight change during the first six months predicted long-term success, the researchers found that 12-month weight change was less influenced by other factors.

All volunteers were given goals to focus on throughout the program, such as tracking their habits, progress, and calorie intake, and increasing their physical activity.

The first six months of the program focus on weight loss, with weekly small group sessions. The last six months shift towards weight maintenance, with less frequent training sessions.

Those who reported binge eating, emotional eating, and a higher preoccupation with food at the start of the study showed greater weight change and less weight loss after a year or two. This suggests that weight change is a better predictor of long-term success than a person’s relationship with food.

Other research has also found that early success in a weight loss program predicts long-term results. But these studies looked at the percentage change in weight loss.

While losing 10 pounds in the first week can be a big motivator for many people, it may not matter in the long run if you stay the same weight for the rest of the time.

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