4 habits of people who lose weight and keep it off

Let’s get this straight right from the start: I don’t want you to lose weight. I love you just the way you are, you gorgeous minx. But if you feel like you need to lose a few kilos in order to be healthy or happy in your own skin, this may interest you.

I’m reading a fantastic book called Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath. It’s a great read with loads of advice on staying healthy. But back to weight loss: a study of more than 6000 people who lost weight and kept it off revealed these four key findings:

  1. 92% of  the participants found a way to exercise at home. Whether it was a treadmill or exercise bike, weights, or going out for a run – these people found home the best place to build and begin their active lifestyle.
  2. 78% of respondents ate breakfast every day. Frankly, I’m surprised it isn’t higher. How anyone can function without breakfast is beyond me.
  3. 75% of participants weighed themselves once a week. This helped them keep tabs on how they were going and take measures to keep things in check when they needed to.
  4. 66% watched less than 10 hours of TV per week.

See the common thread here? It all revolves around what goes on at home. Want to trim down? Going to the gym is great, if you like that sort of thing, but you need to look at your habits at home. Set up a weights area outside, hire a treadmill, buy some scales and turn off the TV.

What do you think? Is your home set up for an active lifestyle?

Image from mumslounge.com.au

Written By

Carolyn is the editorial director of Champagne Cartel and a freelance writer. In her spare time she is a long-distance runner, peanut butter enthusiast, and single mum to three incredible humans.

13 Comments

    • Me too Katie! I’m going to be hardbody by this time next year. Haha only kidding, that’s not ever going to be true, but I am going to be uber-fit and full of vim and vigour.

      Although I am just coming out of a vicious bout of tonsilitis that had me bed ridden for a week, so basic functioning looks good right now hahahahaha.

      Thanks for great post Champagne Carolyn, you’re such an awesome health/wellbeing mentor!!!! I’d love to borrow that book when you’re done. x Champagne Gillian

  • For me, home definitely is the best place to exercise as I just don’t have the energy or inclination to go out to a gym. I don’t have any equipment yet, but I’m working on that 🙂

  • Over lost weight this year and am now maintaining – I agree with the breakfast and the less tv, now just need to read less blogs!

  • I find exercising at home much easier but only because my treadmill is in the loving room and I can see the TV….kind of contradicts number 4!

  • What if I buy one of those chairs that shakes the fat off me while I sit at my computer all day – it can flex my muscles and give me low resistance workout while I’m on my butt! Great tips though and I only watch the news so that’s true for me! Merry Christmas lovely 🙂

  • Hi Carolyn. That’s a really interesting study you are talking about which is part of the National Weight Control Registry. You might be interested in a post I wrote about this interesting long-term study in the middle of the year which has a bit more of the scientific background and data from it: http://deakinnutrition.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/preventng-weight-gain-6-common-strategies-used-by-successful-weight-losers/
    There are also two additional habits that were very common in these people who were successful at maintaining weight loss. 1) Eat a low-fat reduced-energy diet. 2) Maintain constant eating patterns – basically eating similar sorts of things from day to day.
    The other point too is that it wasn’t so much that they were exercising at home, although exercising at home is as effective as elsewhere, it was more that they were doing about 1 hour of exercise each day.
    Great that you are sharing this useful information!

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