Great article! I too have done weight watchers and won not once but 3 times - yet in the end I still gained back my weight. In the end it is all about eating less and exercising more, and being acutely aware of what you have eaten! Some of the problem is that "low fat" meals, "diet drinks" all are seen as answers to our problem. Sometimes they are, but in many cases low fat meals are high sodium, most diet drinks still have calories AND they may still have caffeine - so one struggles with it all. Not to mention the fact that quantity is frequently ignored when eating a "low fat snack" (How many of us eat the "whole box" of diet cookies as opposed to the recommended serving size?) I also blame restaurants - unless you are a child getting a "small portion" meal is tough.

stells84, I am on the run and don't want to count points. It is much easier to stock the frig with healthy alternatives to the junk food, drink water instead of a coffee latte or diet drink, and walk with some friends at least 30 minutes a day. I AM changing my lifestyle, just as the author of the article seems to be doing. From all the comments, it is obvious that what works for one person doesn't work for another. IF each person is becoming healthier, I say it is good. IF the program stops and the person goes back to the unhealthy habits and/or puts the pounds back on, then I say it wasn't the RIGHT program for them.

Gee, you try to help out some people.... You are most welcome. And by the way, it's "SuperDave". Capital S, capital D. Life is good :O)

get a life superdave

stells: Sorry to be the spelling cop...well, not really. You "lose" weight, and your pants will become more "loose". "Lose" rhymes with "news". "Loose" rhymes with "goose".
Hope that helps!

I do not like this article. Especially the closing sentence....You work so hard to loose weight and then "reward" your self with a burrito surpreme?You need to get in the right mind set before you commit to being serious about loosing weight. Its a lifestyle change. If you are serious about loosing weight,it is something that you must be commited to. There are so many other things to look at than the scale....body fat, body measurements etc. , as every body type is different.

I am in the process of loosing weight and it is hard, I need to think about the choices I make before I eat. Weight watchers is a great program and portion control along with exercise you will see results.

I suggest before another weightloss article is published the next author is much more serious about loosing weight, and does not suggest by merely making minimal temporary effort the weight will come off. That is a insult to people who are working hard to improve their body.

Exactly right, dg468. HFCS must first be metabolized in the liver. This further delays gratification of consuming it until too much has already been consumed. Other studies have shown liver damage resulting from very high intake of HFCS. It's nasty stuff.

To fool_on_the_hill's point: There also was a study that showed that high fructose corn syrup reduced the brain's ability to know when the body wasn't hungry anymore. Here's the paragraph from the article and the link to the full article:

"One of the main concerns about excess sugar in general, and specifically HFCS, is the impact on weight gain. Normally, our appetite is governed by a finely tuned hormonal system that drives us to eat just enough to meet our metabolic needs. Ghrelin, secreted by the stomach, tells us we are hungry, while leptin signals our brain to tell us we are full. The problem is that when HFCS is consumed, it does not shut off ghrelin, so we continue to feel hungry. In addition, the leptin signal is not triggered, so we don't feel full. This drives overeating and contributes to obesity. The excessive consumption of HFCS may be a main contributor to the incidence of diabetes in the US."
http://www.healthybrainforlife.com/artic...

Im so sick of people who blame heredity for being extremely overweight, nonsense, metabolism can dictate somewhat but for gods sake go on a diet, sure heredity can mean you have to work a bit harder to get in shape but it doesnt mean you cant be.

Acer - If you do . . . . WELCOME! Good luck!!

It is sad....im 6' and 205lbs and know im badly out of shape. Yet Walking through say the grocery store....Im a twig. I watch what people put in their carts and compare that to how big they are. There are A LOT of people that just dont care about themselves. This is why America is failing. People dont even care about themselves...how can they care about their jobs, their work, their families? Its all relative. No one gives a damn anymore because everything is handed to us. Why work? theres welfare, unemployment....etc.

great article.....
I think SNL did a skit with the same slogan "Eat Less,Move More".
I know how it feels to be obese and have been through ALOT of failed fad diets, and bogus OTC diet pills.
I started at 140(sz 8). Several yrs later I was at 218 (sz 18 was tight) and miserable.
I went to my family doctor. She prescribed an appetite suppressant and a food vs. activity journal(what an eye opener)to jumpstart my lifestyle change. Four months later, no more pills but continued the journal.
Today I'm at 150 and still losing.
Some of my tips.....
I parked at the back of the lot when going to work and took the stairs. Short walk 3-5x a week.
Ate what I like with portion control (my calorie limit was 1400) and allow myself the sweets (if I haven't used all my calories for the day or I would burn the calories I had already used up for the day to earn my sweets). 1 mile walk = 100 calories
Most importantly.. I took baby steps. I would add/modify 1 lifestyle change every couple weeks.
Everyone has their own opinion on weight loss. Just wanted to share what worked for me in hopes that it will help some one else.

I don't know who you are refering to biggirl as but its not me I'm only 10 pounds away from being a lifetime member. I will be training to do a 3k in the future. Like you Tom I love weight watchers!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Weight Watchers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hannah, I'm not positive on this but when I googled it up they said the average american woman wears a size 14. I really haven't dug too deep but this is what I found.

thats exactly what weight watchers teaches you is to eat healthy, its not a "fad diet" its all healthy eating and exercise, no pill taking. This is something I will be doing the rest of my life.

Hannah - are you drunk or are you just completely unaware of how to proofread? Your postings would make much more sense if you used sentences.

My motto is "I can eat anything, just not everything." That, along with portion control and quitting the soda, has worked for me.

As for exercising, try setting a goal for the week or month. I've exercised fairly regularly for a number of years, but never really had a goal. But then my husband gave me a Garmin Forerunner for Christmas 2008. It's a GPS device that keeps track of miles, speed, calories burned, etc. We walked quite a bit in January. Toward the end of the month I thought, "Hey, I bet I can get in 100 miles between walking and jogging if I just get out a few more times." I did it! I've been able to get in 100+ miles every month so far in 2009 except one. By having a goal, it really makes me think twice before skipping a walk or run.
Set attainable goals. I'd already been exercising when I set my 100 mile goal, so this distance, while a challenge, was not urealistic. Also, I live in California, so I don't have to deal with snow, which makes a big difference. I'm thinking of getting a big map of the US and tracking my miles on it. If I count the miles already traveled, I should roll into Janesville sometime in August 2010!

Read food labels and avoid all foods containing high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The demographic rise in obesity since 1980 tracks the per capita consumption of HFCS.

I don't know about that Big Girl. I used to weigh 310. I finally had enough - and lost 100 pounds over 3 years time. I've been 210 (I'm 6'3") since 2005 and have kept it off.

janesville you are absolutely correct. What I am doing is a life style change. I know that if I go back to my old eating habits and not exercising all the hard work I have been doing to loose my weight will come right back. (alot faster than it took to get it off).

The science behind weight loss is complex and sometimes contradictory. The more we know, the more we know how little we know. Some people, this is certain, are genetically predisposed toward weight gain. But there has to be a reason other than genetics to explain the dramatic weight gains among Americans overall compared with one or two generations back. Almost certainly that is diet -- sodas, quarter-pounders, and twinkies, to name some obvious culprits.
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The point is to change your diet, not to "diet down" to a weight and then go back to old habits. You have to make permanent lifestyle changes, and you really need to become more active. I've lost 20 pounds since being diagnosed diabetic -- not quite the 10% loss they recommend to stave off complications, but on my way to it. I don't know why I wasn't motivated before, but I am now. And it's been hard going -- I won't be smug. I had reached the point where I had no choice if I want to, oh, keep my feet.
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So don't think in terms of losing weight, think in terms of becoming healthy. Make it part of your daily life. Look forward to that bike ride (by the way, the Velo Club has a cyclocross race this weekend) or swimming at the Y or whatever does it for you. Because if you're doing something you "have to" you won't be able to stay motivated, but if you're doing something you "love to" that replaces something else that was sedentary or too close to the fridge, you'll just slide back again.

DEFINITELY QUIT THE SODA!! I lost 40 pounds without doing anything else.

Whatever the definition of diet is the point I was trying to make was that "fad" diets don't work because sooner or later you come off them. Changing your lifestyle to incorporate more exercise and healthier eating practices is what's going to work for you.

oops sorry Tom1cass2. I was actually talking to davvic. sorry yhanks for the compliment and awesome work on your part

if you're looking for support and help that is truly free, check out sparkpeople.com. It has tons of teams from every walk of life and every interest and hobby imaginable. Also, more importantly, it has a totally free food tracker that is incredibly easy to use (once you teach yourself the ins and outs of it) as well as a fitness tracker and goal trackers. Go give it a shot. Tell 'em Mousemarie sent ya, and maybe I'll get my 198 pound self back on there soon. =D

Tom1cass2, if you look the word diet up in a dictionary it says a life time change. So this is something that you can't stop for the rest of your life. I also agree exercise is very important which I also incorporated. Weight watchers teaches you to eat healthy and exercise.

hermione and breezy I totally agree I also belong to weight watchers and love the program if it wasn't for them I would still be 237 lbs I still have some weight to loose but am well on my my way to becoming a life time member. And I agree exercise is a must to help drop the pounds and keep them off, for me exercise is now part of my daily routine, I feel awful if I don't exercise.

biggirl-Scientific studies show that weight loss achieved through DIETING does not stay off. Any DIET you go on is going to have to end sooner or later. Whether it's pills, grapefruit, Jenny Craig or whatever sooner or later you go off it and the weight comes back. This is not a diet but a change in your daily habits. Walking more, sitting less. Adding more healthy foods to your meals, etc. These are things that you can do for the rest of your life and should.

I was also like you and struggled with my weight off and on. I was really inspired by watching the Biggest Loser program, if those people can do it why couldn't I. I gave up soda about 2 years ago and started Weight Watchers. When I started I weighed 238 pounds and now I'm down to 157. This program has given me my life back. I have also encouraged many other people in the process. It only took me about a year. So don't give up you can do it also.

Great article! Good Luck!! Exercise was/is the key for me. Biking is my favorite, but walking is good too. Working in your garden gets you away from the kitchen and is relaxing. Portion control. We don't have a realistic view anymore of what a portion is!!

Biggirl must be just that, a BIG girl. You can lose weight and keep it off. I have had family members do it and I myself lost 40 lbs on the Atkins diet 10 or so years ago. Fifteen have crept back, but I am still way better off 25 lighter. Who knows, this may inspire me to drop the other 15 again.

Keep up the work Catherine!

Catherine, If you find yourself getting stuck, you might try weight watchers. Their system has worked well for me. You can eat whatever you want. You just have to keep track of the numbers, though their system does encourage healthy choices, drinking water and exercise. Now you can do it on-line, though knowing I had to go in once a week and weigh in was a useful tool to keep me on track. The hardest thing to accept is as you get older is that you need a fraction of the food you once ate to survive -- even if you are active. Once I passed 40 my metabolism completely changed even though I was *more* active, not less.

sugarbear1 i am with you. You are telling my story. I also weighed 190# i quit drinking the soda and replaced it with the water and crystal light. The weight just fell off. Was kind of stuck at the 150# mark so i started walking and i am losing more know. Amazing what i lost and all i did was switch from soda to water.

okay so I was 185 lbs a year ago. I didnt diet or even try to lose weight. I love food too much, but hated the way I looked in clothes and yes even some depression kicked in when I would try clothes on. Simple solution was to get my butt up and move. Pull myself away from my TV shows and desk at work. I started moving and didnt really change a thing in my diet except I did give up all soda and started drinking water and generic crystal light. I am now down to 149 lbs and the more I move the more the weight comes off. I still enjoy my sweets and my salt and I know it isnt exactly healthy but the truth is the truth. Get up and move and you will lose the weight! Also your appetite may increase because you are burning more calories. I eat pretty much every hour but now I fit in healthy food choices along with my junk. I eat more fruit and vegtables in between my regular food and snacks and am still losing weight. No diet for me. Just getting up and moving is all it took.

I have found walking and eating in moderation works. You can't go back to the old ways if you want to keep off the weight, I have lost 50lbs so far and am learning what I can and can not do to help keep it off. If you really want it you can do it and keep it off.

Congratulations Catherine! Wisconsin women sure have a lot of padding for those cold winters! It is encouraging to think about small changes. I have found that having someone walking with me makes the time go much quicker. I bought a pedometer which tells me how many steps I really do take. What a shocker! It is encouraging when I find my clothes a little looser. WHEW!

Kay - While you are correct that a size 8 in the UK is really a size 2 in the U.S., what you fail to mention is that the average size in the UK is a 16. Please don't pick and choose what statistics you choose to post.

If I had only known that it only takes a "little effort and vigilance" I would have lost weight a long time ago. Closer to the truth is that it takes a lot of effort and vigilance to lose weight. That is unless you are one of those people who think they are overweight when they really aren't.

Biggirl, please cite those studies. With that logic, anyone classified as obese or morbidly obese has no chance to lose weight. As the writer noted, making healthy choices with regard to food and exercise does result in weight loss.
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Over the past decade, I've noticed restaurant portions increasing... along with women's clothing sizes. A size 8 in the UK is actually a size 2 here, and we have vanity sizes to thank for it. Honestly, American obesity is an epidemic. But if we take a good, hard look at our choices around food (fresh or fast food?), transportation (driving or walking?), exercise (routinely or never?), we can see where it's lead us.
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Catherine, as a former triathlete, why not aim for one next fall or spring in Whitewater?

Sorry, but science doesn't back you up. Scientific study after scientific study shows that weight loss, when measured out 2 years and more, is not successful.

I think Ken should buy!