Weight Loss - A Balanced approach

  Weight loss is the endless topic in the fitness industry. I've written many times that weight loss is the end product of a commitment to get fit. As you get fit, the weight will come off (and you'll feel a lot better, too!).
   This balanced approach was endorsed by author and Dietician Sohailla Digsby in her presentation "Top 10 For Weight Loss" at the SCW Fitness "Mania" in New York last month.
     Ms. Digsby, a lean mother of three from Georgia, looks the part, and augments her Dietician practice by teaching Exercise Classes and running. But she also is packed with knowledge that she willingly shares with anyone who contacts her on social media. You can tell she truly believes in what she says.
   First, goal-setting: Rather than aiming for a weight you were when you graduated high school or got married, try to attain the leanest weight you were over the past five years. Much more realistic!
   Second, habit-forming: Ms. Digsby cited a study by the National Weight Control Registry of people who lost at least 30 lbs., and kept it off for one year.
    Success was associated with:
      1. Eating breakfast.
      2. Steady, vigorous exercise.
      3. Consistent eating patterns.
      4. 25% of calories from fat.
      5. Food and weight monitoring (weighing in every day).
      6. Recovering quickly from "slips."
  Those participants who were able to keep the weight off for two years or more reduced their subsequent regain risks by 50%!
    Third, components of success:
       1. Self-monitoring.
       2. Counselor feedback & communication.
       3. Social support.
       4. Structured, individually tailored program (that accounts for things like high blood pressure, diabetes,  food allergies, and personal preferences).
     Finally, Ms. Digsby counts down a 10-1 list of weight-loss success:
    10. Start.
      9. Self-Awareness.
      8. Focus.
      7. Plan.
      6. Accountability.
      5. Sugar De-Tox (no more than five grams of added sugar per day).
      4. Water (Half of all dietary sugars come from drinks).
      3. Balanced meals and snacks (approximately 50% complex carbs, 25% each protein and fats).
      2. "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper!' Two vegetables at two meals
            each day.  
       1. Movement!!!
    There we go! Sensible, to-the-point, and built to last. A weight-loss program that emphasizes long term success and health. Good luck on your personal journey!