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28.03.2012

Weekends sabotage weight loss attempts

You're doing your best to lose weight, but it's going so slowly – you just wish those excess rolls of fat would disappear more quickly. An American study published in 2008 suggests that things go wrong during the weekend.

Study
In 2008, nutritionist Susan Racette, of Washington University in St Louis, published the results in Obesity of a yearlong experiment involving 48 subjects aged between 50 and 60, most of whom were overweight.

Nineteen of the subjects lost weight that year by eating less [CR]. Another 19 lost weight by exercising more [EX]. The ten people in the control group made no attempt at all to lose weight [HL].

Results
Those who ate less lost 8.0 kg, those who exercised more 6.4 kg. The researchers monitored their subjects so closely that they were able to see that weight loss stopped during the weekend. In fact the weight-losers actually put on weight at weekends.

The figures below show how this happened. On Saturdays and Sundays the subjects' energy intake rose. They had apparently decided they could treat themselves to calorie-rich food.

The exercisers lost 0.32 kg on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but were 0.24 kg heavier on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The dieters lost 0.28 kg on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but put on 0.06 kg on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So at weekends not only does weight loss stop, but some of the loss is actually put back on.

The researchers monitored their subjects before they started their weight-loss attempts. During that period the weekend effect was even stronger. Not only did the calorie intake peak, but on Sundays calorie expenditure also went down. The combined effect of these two phenomena was so strong that the subjects could potentially gain 4 kg in a year.

Many weight loss experts and dieticians tell those wanting to lose weight that they can eat what they want at weekends. No doubt this is psychologically a good idea, because it makes it easier to stick to a diet. But Racette's research shows that weight losers need more eating discipline at weekends, not less.

Conclusion
"Weekend dietary indulgences contribute to weight gain or cessation of weight loss", the Americans write. "Our results support the importance of maintaining consistent dietary and physical activity patterns throughout the week to avoid unwanted weight gain and to facilitate consistent weight loss."

Maybe dieticians could advise weight-losers to restrict their 'free choice moments' to one hour a week, or to just one meal.

Source:
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2008 Aug;16(8):1826-30.

More:
Lost weight? Discipline at weekends and on holiday helps you maintain your weight 17.03.2012
Lost weight? Staying on target gets easier by the year 15.03.2012
Burn more fat: drink two glasses of water before meals 30.11.2011

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