No-nonsense weight loss maintenance rules

Eat “primarian” 90 percent of the time: Lean meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, berries and low-fat dairy. Every dieter knows, while losing weight isn’t exactly easy, the really tough part is keeping the weight off for good.

Those who worked hard to shed excess pounds in 2009 may appreciate some guidance from weight management physician Barbara Berkeley, M.D., author of “Refuse to Regain! 12 Tough Rules to Maintain the Body You’ve Earned!” on keeping that weight off in 2010.

Maintaining weight loss is a crucial—but overlooked— element to health for any previously overweight person. The sad fact is that 80 to 90 percent of all dieters regain every pound they lose.

Why do so many dieters regain? It isn’t because these dieters are genetically programmed to be fat; it isn’t because they lack discipline or willpower; it isn’t because permanent weight loss is impossible. The problem is that even the most successful dieters haven’t learned the essential techniques to maintain weight loss.

Keeping excess weight off in the long term takes a completely different set of skills from mere dieting— and most dieting programs will never teach you those skills.

In “Refuse to Regain!” Berkeley outlines her 12 “tough rules” for maintaining weight loss, based on over 20 years’ experience helping patients maintain the lighter weight they’ve worked so hard to achieve:

Rule 1: Be tough, not moderate. You can only achieve big goals if you take dramatic action.

Rule 2: Make a threemonth commitment to eliminate toxic foods from your diet, completely. You need to make a clean break from unhealthful Western processed food and unhealthy eating habits.

Rule 3: Weigh yourself every day. Only by weighing yourself every day can you make the small changes in your diet that you need to stay on track.

Rule 4: Stay within five to eight pounds of your “scream weight” — and reverse small gains immediately.

Rule 5: Eat “primarian” 90 percent of the time. Primarian foods are natural foods eaten by our prehistoric ancestors: Lean meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, berries and low-fat dairy.

Rule 6: Eat one major meal per day. This is the easiest way to make sure you don’t eat too many calories.

Rule 7: Perform a daily scan and plan. Plan for facing food challenges every day—and know how you’ll overcome them.

Rule 8: Stop eating at 8 p.m. Food is fuel—you don’t need food when you’re going to rest, and it will turn to fat.

Rule 9: Eat from a limited menu. Too much choice is confusing and distracting. Restrict your choices to what you know is healthful and nonfattening.

Rule 10: Have one acceptable treat per day. Our culture is full of pressures to use food as a drug, a diversion and a reward. Allowing yourself one healthful, nonfattening treat a day will help keep these pressures from sabotaging you.

Rule 11: Develop a love affair with exercise. Exercise is crucial to maintaining weight loss, and you’ll keep exercising if you fall in love with a vigorous activity you truly enjoy.

Rule 12: Maintain relationships with supportive friends.

For more tough tips on maintaining weight loss, check out Dr. Berkeley’s blog at www.Refuse- ToRegain.com or see the book, “ Refuse to Regain!”