National Weight Registry Eschews Low-Carb In Favor Of Low-Fat, Low-Calorie Diet

You will recall that I previously blogged about the fact that I joined the National Weight Control Registry in July 2005 after losing and maintaining my 180-pound weight loss on the low-carb lifestyle in 2004.

I have already gone through the first set of survey questions and returned them to Dr. Rena Wing, Dr. Suzanne Phelan, and Dr. James Hill, each of whom comprise the team of researchers examining the people who have seen weight loss success of at least 30 pounds and have kept that weight off for at least a year.

I received a letter in the mail today thanking me for my participation in the study and was told my answers will help them "better understand the process of maintaining weight loss." But enclosed with this letter of gratitude was an article from a magazine called Diabetes Forecast about the work of the National Weight Control Registry.

The article, published in the February 2005 issue, was called "Keeping Off Lost Weight" and featured the 4 keys to permanent weight loss and weight maintenance success:

1. Eat a reduced-calorie, low-fat, moderately high-carbohydrate diet
2. Try to eat breakfast every day
3. Check weight regularly
4. Exercise regularly

Let's skip the first one for now because I think you know I vehemently disagree with it.

But I fully concur with the notion that people should eat breakfast consistently every single day. A recent study found that you are more likely to be obese if you skip breakfast. My own experience underlines the importance of eating breakfast.

As for checking your weight regularly, again, I could not agree more. I used to NEVER weigh myself before I started livin' la vida low-carb because I didn't care how much I weighed. When you don't think there is any hope for you to lose weight, apathy sinks in quickly and you give up hope. But since I started losing weight last year and have kept it off, I weigh myself daily, which was found to be a secret to controlling your weight in another recent study.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that if you want to maintain your weight that you need to exercise. Researchers have revealed that people only need to commit to just 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day to reduce their weight and improve their heart health. Of course, you can do MORE than that, but a half hour is the minimum. That's not too much to ask for permanent weight control.

Which leads me to the first bit of advice the National Weight Control Registry recommends for keeping weight off. I have already blogged about the fact that there is already somewhat of a bias against low-carb by the researchers in this study, but this recommendation of a low-fat/low-calorie/high-carb diet is literally the icing for the cake! That recommendation has failed so many of us that we are tired of being told that is the ONLY way we can lose weight for good.

The article states that "most registrants" eat 24 percent of their calories in fat, 56 percent of their calories in carbohydrates, and 15 percent of their calories in protein. The researchers explain that "very few registrants" (defined as "less than 1 percent") were on a low-carb diet (defined as "less than 24 percent carbohydrates") to maintain their weight loss. I guess you can count me in that miniscule group!

But just in case anyone decided to maintain their weight loss using the low-carb approach, here's what the article states about imploring such a strategy:

"And those who did (lose weight on low-carb) kept their weight off for less time than those who followed a higher-carbohydrate diet."

Clearly the researchers do not like livin' la vida low-carb in the least bit. Every article I have seen about the National Weight Control Registry leads me to believe that they want to disprove the low-carb lifestyle as a legitimate way to lose and maintain weight. But I'm gonna buck that trend by continuing to eat my fat-burning, low-carb, high-protein meals to show that it is a lot more effective at helping people deal with their obesity for good.

We need more low-carb weight loss success stories to step up to the plate and join the National Weight Control Registry. There are millions upon millions of us out here and we are changing the world by gaining victory over our weight problem.

If you have lost at least 30 pounds and have kept it off for a year, then please click here to join. Join me in the effort to prove livin' la vida low-carb doesn't fail everyone who tries it and continues to do it after their weight loss. It's a lifestyle change that tastes and feels good!