Did you pledge to get to a healthier weight this year? January is a time when many people set that goal but ultimately many are unable to achieve it. So it's important to take steps to improve your prospects for success and to recognize there are several factors that make it hard for people to lose weight and keep it off, say health care professionals.
"It's a very complex issue," said Dr. Christopher Chapman, assistant professor of medicine and director of bariatric and metabolic endoscopy at UChicago Medicine. "Some things are out of one's control."
That can include medications patients are on to treat medical conditions — medicines that have the side effect of weight gain.
"Genetics can play a role; Sometimes, it runs in the family," said Dr. Jennette Berry, a family practice physician specializing in women's health and obesity medicine at Advocate Medical Group in Olympia Fields.
Some health conditions like arthritis can be a factor, she said.
"Many people are dealing with back and knee pain," she said. "They want to lose the weight, but it's difficult."
For folks who've been overweight for a long period of time, the body can work against your weight loss plans, said Mary Condon, wellness dietitian at UChicago Medicine's Ingalls Outpatient Diabetes and Wellness Center in Flossmoor. "If you've been obese the majority of your life, it's harder to lose because your body always wants to be at that weight."
So if you start to lose weight, your hunger hormones can increase and the hormones that make you feel full can decrease resulting in weight regain, said Condon, who is also a licensed dietitian nutritionist.
Mental health can also play a role. Sometimes when people are depressed, they either eat too little, which can slow down their metabolism, or they eat too much causing weight gain, Berry said.
Lack of sleep and increased stress also make it harder to shed the pounds.
"Lack of sleep increases hunger hormones and cortisol levels," and people who don't get enough sleep tend to eat more, said Condon.
The environment we live in also poses a challenge.
"We live in an environment where we have so many cues for foods that are high in sugar, high in salt high in fat, and at a biological level, we are programmed to seek those kinds of food out," said Jennifer Wildes, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at UChicago Medicine.
She noted generally losing the weight is actually the less difficult part of the process of weight loss. Keeping it off is the bigger challenge, she said, because if you're going to lose weight, you have to change your pattern of behavior.
"You need to cut roughly 500 calories a day from your diet. Often people can be fairly successful in the short term. You will see good results in behavioral weight loss trials," she said. "It's when you get to the point of maintaining the weight. It gets very difficult because you're not getting the rewards that you get by seeing changes on the scale, but you're still having to maintain behavioral changes."
If you want to lose weight and maintain at a healthy level, you have to see it as a long haul change in your life, said Wildes, who is also director of the Eating Disorders Research Program at the University of Chicago.
Those beginning a weight loss journey should start with a reality check, health care professionals say.
"You see everybody at the first of the year running to the gym," Berry said. "But a common mistake people make is setting their expectations too high. This is January. You have to set small goals. You can't say by March, I'm going to lose 30 pounds."
Losing one to two pounds a week is more realistic, she noted, stressing "don't set yourself up for failure."
Condon uses the SMART acronym to make sure goals are specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and timed.
"So instead of saying your goal is to get healthy or lose weight, say my goal is to lower my blood sugar by 30 points in three months by limiting my carb intake to 30 grams per meal," she said. "Or my goal is to lose 10 pounds in three months by exercising 30 minutes per day Monday through Friday walking on the treadmill."
It's important to have an accountability partner to help keep you on track and motivated, Berry and Condon said.
If you're considering a particular weight loss program, "support and ongoing feedback is very important whether in person or by phone, online or through combination of these," as is regular physical activity, Condon advised.
Weighing yourself weekly and maintaining logs of what you eat and your physical activity should also be a part of your weight loss and maintenance plan, she said, as should behavioral and lifestyle counseling.
Kairis Stanton, says bariatric surgery and a strong counseling and support system helped her lose 120 pounds, and get off of blood pressure medication. She said the surgery was no easy fix. Afterward she had periods of weight regain.
"I have to stay focused to keep the weight off," she shared.
"I learned that I'm an emotional eater. I'm a stress eater," said Stanton, 38, who lives in Lansing. "Now if I start feeling stressed out and want to grab a bag of chips, I'll go for a walk. I'll get on the treadmill. I'll write in my journal. There are things that are therapeutic for me that have taken the place of binging on junk food."
She says she still works with a nutritionist and attends support groups, and Berry, her primary health care physician, helps her stay on track.
"Working with a team is important," she said. "That helps me keep the weight off."
Linda McCormick Ervin, who enrolled in a healthy lifestyle class at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, said that helped her lose 10 pounds. The class included sessions on nutrition, fitness, stress management, cooking demonstrations and a grocery store visit. The class has helped her learn about healthier recipes and to make healthier food decisions, and she now consumes more fruits and vegetables.
"It's about lifestyle change," said Ervin, 62.
Keeping that in mind, Wildes and Condon advise avoiding fad diets that cut out whole food groups. They're typically not sustainable, said Condon.
Condon also says to recognize that you're going to slip up at times. But that doesn't mean you can't be successful going forward.
"Be patient with the process, and know you're worth it," said Stanton.
Francine Knowles is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
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