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By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom If you’ve lost and gained the same 20 (or 30, 40, 50+ pounds) for years and believe that you’ve “wrecked” your metabolism and can’t maintain successful long term weight loss, there’s very good news for you! A recent article in the scientific journal Metabolism followed more than 400 women for one year. About 40% of the participants classified themselves as “weight cyclers,” defined as losing (and regaining) at least 10 to 20 pounds at least three times. Participants were assigned to one of four treatment groups: (1) reduced calorie diet only; (2) reduced calorie diet plus exercise plan; (3) exercise plan alone; (4) no intervention, served as the comparison group.  Now here’s the good news! There was no significant difference for the total amount of weight lost between women who were yo-yo dieters and those who weren’t. That’s a reassuring message for the millions of women (and men) who feel their efforts are sabotaged by their past weight cycling history....

There’s an old joke that goes something like this: “If you want to feel thinner, hang around with heavier people.” Maybe that’s not so funny anymore. With two-thirds of the U.S. population overweight or obese, the “look” of Americans has changed. We’re sizing ourselves up not by personal health, but by how we look compared to others. In discussing their weight, people often tell me they’re a lot slimmer than most of the people they know — as if this removes personal responsibility for their own weight concerns. It’s a defensive posture, implying things could be a lot worse. While often true, it doesn’t make the individual’s weight less important as a personal health risk. And that view is not limited only to body size perception. As a nation, we’ve changed our view of what a single serving looks like and what “family size” servings mean. What was perfectly acceptable as a single serving a decade or two ago, now looks puny in comparison to the “new” scale of serving size. And a family s...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom I’m not sure when this change first occurred, but we’ve gone from a nation of structured “three square meals a day” to grazing all day with small, frequent meals. We do this all in the name of good health and weight control. Does this idea of “fueling” throughout the day really work? Not for most people!  While it is well-documented that skipping meals leads to overeating later in the day, eating more often doesn’t really help to control calorie intake any better than eating three meals a day. In fact, eating less often can help cut calories.  The more often you eat, the more likely you are to consume extra calories. And extra calories, healthy or not, contribute to extra weight. It’s also harder to keep track of daily calories when you eat more often — your six smaller meals can easily become six bigger meals. When you eat three times a day (meals and a small snack if you prefer), you support the regulation of true hunger and fullness. With four to fi...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Years of debate continue about the best eating strategies to lose weight. Who hasn’t heard about the advantages of a high-fat diet – or is that a low-fat diet? Cut the carbs – no wait, keep the carbs? Was that load up on protein or cut back? Now a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association has really set the record straight. This excellent research study has documented what most of us already suspect: It’s the calories we consume that affect weight, and not the combination of carbohydrates, fats, and protein in our daily eating. While this sounds like a fundamental concept, it’s loaded with confusion for most people. Now, we can all take a step forward in identifying what type of eating plan is most compatible with long-term engagement and compliance. Success comes from following your personal preferences to create a plan that is unique for you. You can lose weight if you’re a meat-lover, as well as if you are partial to pasta. Eatin...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Do you struggle with food cravings?  This is a giant barrier to weight loss success. It sets up a negative cycle of initially “battling” the craving, giving in, overindulging, feeling like a failure, and giving up. Sound familiar?  I’d like you to try my easy “5 Ds” to help manage your food cravings. They really work!  DELAY – DISTRACT – DISTANCE – DETERMINE – DECIDE. Delay: Postpone eating for 10-15 minutes when you feel an urge. You’re not saying “no” – just stopping to think before you eat. You’re not ignoring the thought but dealing with it. While you’re delaying your decision, the next D makes it easier… Distract: Try a non-food activity to give you something to do (so you don’t watch the clock for 10 minutes!). Often the wave of desire to eat disappears in a few minutes when you keep your hands busy without food. Clean out a drawer, call a friend, brush your teeth, surf the web, or even learn to knit! Distance: It’s important to ...

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom If losing weight is your New Year's resolution, read on! This month, I'm going to share some of my favorite strategies to help you build your own weight loss tool box. I call it a BEAM box – and it's based on the four pillars of weight loss: Behavior, Eating, Activity, and Medical care. And no tool is too small to be included. It all starts with what you're both WILLING and ABLE to do. These are not the same thing, and when you think about the "able" part, you can set more realistic and practical goals. One important question I hear all the time belongs with the eating tools: What about meal replacements? Good or bad? Meal replacements can be a great help, since they make automatic portion control much easier. There's no guesswork in tallying your daily calories (studies continue to show that we all underestimate how many calories we eat). Meal replacements can be a great way to jump-start a reduced-calorie eating plan. This can ...