Want to lose weight and keep it off? Here’s an easy strategy: Weigh yourself everyday.
The findings, which were recently reported by Cornell University, reveal this strategy is one of the best ways to lose weight and keep it off–for up to two years, at least.
As for the reasons why, researchers say it makes people accountable.
“You just need a bathroom scale and an excel spreadsheet or even a piece of graph paper,” says David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University and lead author of the study. “[This method] forces you to be aware of the connection between your eating and your weight. It used to be taught that you shouldn’t weigh yourself daily, and this is just the reverse.”
The research appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Obesity.
The Research
To lose weight, most nutritionists recommend staying off the scale–so why did these findings show the opposite is true?
As it turns out, it’s all about keeping people on track.
So how did they discover these findings?
First, researchers recruited 162 adults for a two year trial, requiring all of them to lose weight with diet and exercise. Half of the participants were instructed to weigh themselves each day with a bathroom scale, however, which was provided by researchers.
One year later, researchers also gave the other participants bathroom scales so they could weigh themselves daily.
At the two year mark, researchers ended the study and measured their results from being on each prospective diet program. As it turned out, daily weigh-ins made a difference–these people were more likely to be thinner and stay thin on average.
However, people lost weight regardless of how often they used the scale.
“Because we didn’t prescribe, everyone found their own way of losing the weight,” says Levitsky. “It seems to work better for men than women, for reasons we cannot figure out yet. We think the scale also acts as a priming mechanism, making you conscious of food and enabling you to make choices that are consistent with your weight.”
What This Means For You
Want to lose weight and keep it off? Then it’s easy; weigh yourself daily. Research shows people who do daily weigh-ins keep the weight off over a two year period–and chances are it could keep you thin for much longer.
“The major finding of this study is that the use of frequent weighing accompanied by visual feedback of weight, without a prescribed diet or exercise plan, was effective in producing a small but sustainable weight loss in overweight males,” write researchers.
Readers: Do you weigh yourself on a scale? If so, how often do you do it?
Sources:
Weighing Yourself Daily Can Tip the Scale in Your Favor (Press Release) – ScienceDaily.com
Frequent Self-Weighing and Visual Feedback for Weight Loss in Overweight Adults (Study) – Hindawi.com
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