Are Successful Losers More Common than You Think?

We’ve all heard the claims that something dire—like 95% of people—always end up gaining back the weight they’ve worked so hard to lose. The point underlying the nay saying and the contrarian remarks is the notion that weight loss is a hopeless, pointless, waste of time.

On the other hand, most of us know someone who lost a chunk of weight and did keep it off. So what made them special? How did they beat the (purported) odds?

The fact is the so often repeated 95% figure, can be traced back to a 1958 research review paper[i] by Albert Stunkard. However, the data from Stunkard’s review was never applicable to the general population.

Part of the reason the 95% myth has been so intractable is that there has been almost no research on weight-loss maintenance that is applicable to the general population.

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"Fat-Burning" Workouts: Founded in Fact or Fiction?

We see a lot of claims about the so-called "fat-burning" properties of various eating styles, foods, supplements and exercise modes. On that track I am reposting my blog from a few months ago on "fat-burning" workouts. The rest of these fat-burning claims will be the subject of future blogs, so stay tuned!

At some point you’ve probably heard the term “fat-burning,” and if you’ve ever set foot on a piece of cardio equipment it probably had a “fat-burning” mode. The implication is that there is something especially important about burning fat in maximizing weight loss.

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“Fat-burning” workouts: founded in fact or fiction?

At some point you’ve probably heard the term “fat-burning,” and if you’ve ever set foot on a piece of cardio equipment it probably had a “fat-burning” mode. The implication is that there is something especially important about burning fat in maximizing weight loss.

Weight loss however, is a function of creating a calorie deficit (taking in fewer calories than you burn), and not the substrate (carbohydrate, protein, or fat) that your body is fueling on. In fact your body is always burning both carbohydrate and fat. As the intensity of the activity that you are engaged in increases the percentage of fat you are burning decreases, while conversely, the percentage of carbohydrate (and total calories) you burn increases.

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What would you guess is the #1 predictor of keeping the weight you lose off?

That would be Physical Activity. I know, I can almost hear all the groaning! Here’s the deal. No sugar coating. You can fight gravity all you want, but that won’t change it. There are a few Weight-Loss-Mastery-Skills that do indeed need to be mastered to get and keep weight off. We know that you need to burn a minimum of 2,000 calories a week in physical activity. The good news is that physical activity is like a magnet behavior. When you’re active you will tend to also follow your healthy eating plans and do better with the other factors that support your weight loss.

For more see: How much physical activity is needed for successful weight management?