The secret strategies for lasting weight loss: A surprising study cites what's critical for sticking with an exercise and diet plan to lose weight. Five women tell how it brought them long-term success - New Research

Shape, March, 2002 by Alice Lesch Kelly

Collinson credits daily exercise for her success. She had always been a swimmer because it was a great way to reduce stress and maintain good health. She never thought she really needed to lose weight, but she just wanted her body to feel better, so she committed herself to more exercise. She added strength training and other forms of cardio -- and the pounds came off naturally. Her new workouts have become such a part of her life that today she still swims regularly, but also lifts weights, walks to work and explores her city on foot for three or four hours on the weekends. She says she exercises because she loves it and because it makes her feel good -- on most days, anyway. "Sometimes I don't feel like doing it, but then I remind myself that exercise really does make a difference," Collinson says. "When I exercise regularly, I can pay a lot less attention to what I eat, and I have so much more energy."

5. Concentrate on short-term goals (and avoid long-term ones).

Why this works: Studies conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have shown that obese men and women who set a more modest goal of losing just 5-10 percent of their body weight are more likely to succeed than are those who set more extreme goals. This study has led researchers such as Thomas Wadden, Ph.D., director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, to recommend to his patients that when attempting to lose weight, they focus only on losing a small amount.

Long-term goals alone -- for instance, wanting to go down three dress sizes before bathing-suit season -- fail to motivate healthy behavior because they are too far away to inspire you to make smart choices dozens of times a day. "Short-term goals are doable, and long-term goals are a fantasy" Peeke says. Say you weigh 175 and want to trim down to 140. "If all you think about is 140, it minimizes the tremendous accomplishment of losing 2 pounds, because it's 'only' 2 pounds" Peeke says. Having small, achievable goals creates a positive feedback loop that nurtures your resolve.

Who it's worked for: Kristi Whisenant, 33, of Ormond Beach, Fla., lost 68 pounds and has kept them off for three years. She is 5 feet 6 inches and now weighs 134 pounds.

Turning 30 jolted Whisenant into wanting to slim down her 202-pound body. She didn't succeed by fixating on pounds. Instead, she concentrated on two daily targets: Stick to her healthy eating plan and either walk or take a Spinning class. These two small and simple daily goals helped Whisenant shed the weight she wanted to lose. "If there were weeks when I didn't lose anything, I didn't beat myself up over it," Whisenant says. "I knew that I was still going to try to eat well and that I was still going to try to walk that day. That was what got me through it."

Alice Lesch Kelly is a health and psychology writer who lives in West Newton, Mass.

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