Good Measure Meals

When I went to college, I did not gain the Freshman 15, but rather the Freshman FORTY. I’m not sure exactly how or why this happened, although late night pizza and all-you-can-eat dining halls probably didn’t hurt.

After college, I slowly lost the weight over two years. Between changing my diet, stopping bad habits (eating late) and exercising, I shed the pounds. Now over 10 years later, I’ve managed to keep off the weight.

What have been the keys to my success?

• Trying on my fit-like-a-glove jeans regularly.  Almost everyone has one pair of jeans that make you feel your best.  I try them on every couple of weeks.  If a muffin top is forming, it’s time to cut back on snacks and treats and add a workout or two in for the week.
• Setting a cut-off weight. This is my weight that I vow to never exceed again and is within 5-10 pounds of my where I feel best.  My jeans usually keep me in check but I hop on the scale at least once a month just to be sure.
• Finding activities that I love. I hated going to the gym.  I found walking boring and not challenging.  So I kept trying new things until I found activities that I loved.  I learned that I don’t like exercising indoors, so I do a combination of tennis, boot camp and running outside at least five days each week.  Fortunately, I live in a climate where we can do most of these outdoors year round!

But what else works?  If these things don’t work for you, what are other tips to help keep the weight off?

The National Weight Control Registry is a group of 10,000 people who have successfully maintained a 30 pound weight that loss for a year or more.  Women make up 75% of the registry and most participants are college-educated.

As a part of the registry, participants complete annual lifestyle questionnaires. Recently, researchers reviewed the questionnaires of 3,000 ten-year participants.

Researchers found that registry participants usually:

• Keep track of their food intake.
• Count calorie, fat grams or use a calorie controlled weight-loss program.
• Eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet (~1,800 calories per day, less than 30% calories from fat).
• Eat breakfast.
• Eat at restaurants an average of three times a week and fast food less than once a week.
• Eat similar foods often.
• Don’t splurge at holidays and special occasions.
• Walk about an hour a day or do other activities to burn the same calories.
• Watch less than 10 hours of TV weekly.
• Hop on the scale at least weekly.

Have any of these tips worked for you?  Have you lost a substantial amount of weight on Good Measure Meals? If so, how have you maintained the weight loss? Share your stories with us and we will highlight your success in future posts!