Weight Loss and Maintenance

Key Components of a Lifestyle Change Program

Lifestyle

Reduce rate of eating.

Keep food records.

Eliminate environmental triggers to eating.

Identify high-risk situations for overeating.

Uncouple eating from other activities.

Exercise

Confront psychological barriers to exercise.

Understand mechanisms linking exercise to weight control.

Establish reasonable exercise goals.

Develop a plan for regular activity.

Integrate increased activity into daily lifestyle.

Attitudes

Develop reasonable weight-loss goals.

Avoid "all or none" thinking.

Focus attention away from the scale and toward behavior.

Uncouple weight from self-esteem.

Recover from lapses with constructive action (relapse prevention).

Relationships

Understand the key role of social support to health.

Identify supportive others.

Match personal style to support-seeking activities.

Be specific in making support requests.

Be assertive but reinforcing in drawing help from others.

Nutrition

Resist the lure of popular fad diets.

Develop pro-health rather than restriction mentality about eating.

Eat with moderation in mind.

Maximize fiber.

Develop a tailored plan.

From Brownell KD. The LEARN Program for Weight Control. 7th ed. Dallas, Tex: American Health Publishing Company; 1998.