Fitness: How to keep lost pounds from coming back
The most recent battle cry from weight loss experts is not to rely on exercise alone to lose unwanted pounds. But that doesn’t mean that exercise doesn’t have a role in maintaining a healthy weight. In fact, there are those who encourage weight loss by almost any means, but preach the importance of exercise when it comes to keeping unwanted pounds from returning. So while changes in eating habits alone can trigger weight loss, it takes exercise to avoid weight regain. For as tough as it is to lose weight, it’s just as tough to keep it from coming back.
Part of the struggle to make weight loss permanent is related to the physiological changes that occur when a body shrinks in size. A lighter body burns fewer calories than a heavier one due to the reduced effort it takes to move less mass. It also burns fewer calories at rest. So, what worked to lose the weight may not be as effective when it comes to maintaining that new weight.
Some of the most interesting data concerning weight regain have been garnered from the subjects featured in the popular reality show The Biggest Loser, many of whom gained back all the weight they lost. Another valuable source of information comes from individuals registered with the National Weight Loss Registry, a database of people who have lost a minimum of 13.6 kg (30 pounds) for at least a year. Both sets of weight loss subjects have provided an interesting look at how much exercise it takes to keep lost pounds from returning.
The problem with most of the available data, however, is that they are self reported, meaning there could be a gap between how much the subjects are actually exercising and how much they say they’re exercising.
To get a more accurate picture of just how much successful weight maintainers are exercising, a group of researchers from the University of Colorado gathered three groups: those who had successfully maintained a substantial weight loss (30 pounds or more for at least a year); normal weight subjects with body mass indexes (BMI) similar to the weight loss maintainers; and overweight subjects whose BMI was similar to the weight loss group before they lost the weight. Then they compared the number of calories expended during exercise as well as the total number of calories burned daily.
As the researchers suspected, the successful weight loss maintainers were significantly more physically active than the normal weight and overweight controls. As for the number of calories they burned daily, the weight loss maintainers expended more than the normal weight subjects but were on par with the overweight group — likely due to the added effort it takes to move a heavy body through space. The weight maintainers also accumulated the greatest number of steps per day as compared to the normal and overweight subjects.
“The high levels of physical activity energy expenditure and total daily energy expenditure observed in successful weight loss maintainers suggest that the group relies on high levels of energy expended in physical activity to remain in energy balance (and avoid weight regain) at a reduced weight,” said the researchers.
How much did they exercise? The weight loss maintainers expended around 12 calories/kg/day as compared to the normal weight (10 calories/kg/day) and overweight individuals (seven calories/kg/day). Translated into a step count, the researchers reported that the weight loss maintainers logged 12,100 steps per day as compared to 8,900 steps by the normal weight subjects and 6,500 by the overweight group.
These results come close to those obtained from The Biggest Loser subjects, with successful weight loss maintainers (maintained a weight loss of 13 per cent or more of their original body weight for six years after leaving the show) expending 12 calories/kg/day and the weight regainers expending only eight calories/kg/day.
These findings are consistent with recommendations by the International Association for the Study of Obesity, which recommends individuals hoping to keep lost pounds from returning commit to 60-90 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (walking) or 30-45 minutes of vigorous physical activity (running) daily.
As for food intake, the study didn’t control for diet, but the researchers did suggest that the number of calories consumed daily would likely be close to the number of calories expended, which is the type of energy balance typically associated with weight maintenance (not gaining or losing pounds).
“Taken together, these results suggest that physical activity may play a relatively greater role in weight loss maintenance and chronic restriction of energy intake,” said the researchers.
So what’s the takeaway for anyone who has been successful at weight loss but not so successful at maintaining his or her new weight? Spend more of your energy exercising than counting calories. Changing your everyday habits to include more walks, bike rides and a daily fitness class is your key to staying trim. For many that means investing in some form of home exercise equipment or a membership to the local gym. Watch your favourite TV shows while walking on the treadmill or pedalling away on a stationary bike. Try a boot camp class at the gym and take the dog for an extra long walk before and after work. The more you move, the trimmer you’ll stay.