What Works for Weight Loss

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Now Playing: What Works for Weight Loss

Reviewed By: Laura Martin,

SOURCES: This video is from the WebMD Video ArchiveJames Rippe, MDAssoc. Professor of MedicineTufts University School of Medicine

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Narrator:

I just can't seem to lose weight. What can I do?

James Rippe, MD:

If you've been struggling with weight in America, you're not alone. This is perhaps the most rapidly growing health problem, and it is a health problem, that we have in our country. Over 66 percent of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. One out of every three adults is obese. By obese we mean at least 30 or 40 pounds overweight. So if you've been struggling with your weight, here's what works. The hallmark of successful weight loss programs involves four things. So hallmark number 1 is regular physical activity. I'm not saying you have to train for a marathon or train for a triathlon. All you need to do is go out and walk on a regular basis. Probably no more than 30 minutes a day. In the National Weight Control Registry, which is a very large registry of 3,000 people who've lost at least thirty pounds and kept it off for at least a year, over 90 percent of them exercise 30 minutes a day on most days. Hallmark number 2 is pay attention every day to your nutrition. That doesn't mean dieting every day. It just means that some days you may eat more, some days you may eat less, but there's never a time when you are not always conscious that you need to pay some attention to your nutrition. The third thing is, adopt a long term mind set. I can't tell you how many patients have come to me and they say I've got to lose ten pounds for bathing suit season, or I've got to lose ten pounds because my class reunion is in two weeks. It is possible to lose ten pounds in two weeks, but it's a bad idea. Because a lot of it is going to be water and it's just not a good strategy. Most of us took a long time to gain the weight that we gained. We need to have a long term mind set to help us lose the weight. The fourth thing, and often forgotten is the support of other people. It can be your family. A lot of patients come to me and they say I got myself into this problem. I'm going to have the secret diet. I'm going to lose weight by myself. No one's going to know because it's my fault. I shouldn't have let myself gain this weight. That's a bad idea. And the reason for that is because if you don't tell other people that you're trying to lose weight, they won't support you and they may inadvertently sabotage you. Because when you don't eat quite as much they may say, aren't you feeling well? Don't you like my cooking? Or, are you sick? And so the idea that you can try to lose weight by yourself without enlisting the support of other people is a bad one. Just to summarize, the four things are regular physical activity, not a marathon just walk on a regular basis. Proper nutrition, flexible restraint every day, not dieting but pay attention every day. Adopt a long term mind set. You didn't gain the weight over night. And get the support of other people.