Weight loss and keeping it off

At this time of year the common resolution I hear is to eat better and lose weight. It makes sense since generally we all have eaten thousands of extra calories and drank many more during the holidays. Holidays bring out the appetite in people and most people gain about 4 pounds from Halloween through New Years Day. What seems to be changing is not that people gain weight during this season but that in our sedentary society it is getting harder and harder to lose the weight we gain. Tara Pope Parker wrote a piece today in the NYTs highlighting great websites offering diet help. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/keeping-that-diet-resolution/
It is worth a read. I am interested in the site called 3Fatchicks.com written by 3 sisters that shares stories of real people's weight loss struggles.

I am also struck by the study in the April 2008 article in the British Journal of Nutrition. They looked at success rates of lifetime Weight Watchers members and found that a year after reaching goal weight, 80 percent of participants maintained only 5 percent of the weight loss. By one year only 27 percent of the dieters were below their goal weight. Despite that most people regained their weight, ww offers more success than most commercial diet plans.

I find the maintenance the key and with this I continue to recommend small weekly, weight loss support groups. They are easy to set up and work.