Small Changes are the Key to Healthy Weight Loss

The Optimal Health magazine that DMBA sends out every month had an article entitled "Small Changes are the Key to Healthy Weight Loss." The article included some interesting statistics:

1. Nine out of ten adults tried to lose weight last year.

2. People who eat breakfast are more likely to lose weight. Breakfast skippers usually eat more calories by the end of the day.

3. Of the people who successfully lost weight, 75 percent weighed themselves at least once a week.

4. People who kept a Food Log lost more weight than the people who didn't.

5. In a national survey, only 45 % of people knew that eating fewer calories is the best way to lose weight. Instead, they said eating less fat or fewer carbohydrates or eating more protein was most important.

6. Nearly 2/3rds of people who successfully lost weight watched 10 hours or less of TV a week. That's 18 fewer hours than the national average.

7. The National Weight Control Registry reports that getting about an hour of exercise a day, usually walking, is a key habit of people who successfully lose weight.

Bottom Line of the Article: Weight loss is not about exercising for hours a day, skipping meals, or avoiding carbohydrates. It's about making small changes in your diet and physical activity level and making them day after day and week after week.

Bottom Line for Me: I need to stop eating while I'm watching TV. (Maybe I can lift weights instead.)