Weight Loss lessons learned from the big loser

You may have seen this show at one time or another; the big loser.  I never did but this lesson from the show is worth going over if you are interested in losing weight and keeping it off.   From what I understand about the format and style of the show, it goes something like this:  The contestants come in and get weighed, are put into a team with other contestants, and are to start loosing weight and the percentages lost over a set period of time determines the winner.  This study looked at the 16 contestants achievements and struggles with their weight loss after 6 years.   The study participants are divided into two phases: the weight loss phase and the weight loss maintenance phase.  what they found matched for the most part results of other studies on weight loss and weight loss maintenance.  The results of the study are that for weight loss to occur, there needs to be a caloric restriction.  This makes perfect sense, in that no matter what we do, if the calories in are greater than calories burned, then there is going to be a weight gain as the calories are turned into fat and stored away.  The second phase of the study was focused on what keeps the weight off over a long period of time, such as 6 years which this study lasted.  The answer is……can you guess what it would be?…….exercise!

Food intake, by itself without any additional measure, had little effect on long term weight loss and maintenance!   They called this phenomenon metabolic adaptation, in other words, your body becomes more efficient as the caloric intake goes down and so the body adjusts for the reduced food intake and weight loss stops or is even reversed.

30-35 minutes of intense activity, or an hour of moderate activity.  May seem like a lot of time for exercise, but given the health benefits of maintaining a healthy body, its worth working into your daily routine.

In conclusion therefore, for weight loss to occur and be maintained, the calories needs to be cut back and to be of higher quality calories, and the metabolism of the body needs to be turned up, thru exercise, and good things will come your way.

If you need some motivation to get started on your weight loss and maintenance desires, and the exercise requirements that go with healthy and long term weight loss, I can help!

Acupuncture can help with appetite control, it can help with turning up your metabolism, and perhaps most importantly, acupuncture can help with motivation!                           Let me know