Diet

Want to Lose Weight? Don’t Tell Anyone!

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Anita Mills and her 200 pound weight loss

I am happy for Anita, but this method doesn’t work for me.

Anita Mills was 382 pounds when a family doctor gave her four simple rules to lose weight:

1. Eat 8 ounces of food every 3 hours

2. No sugary drinks

3. Do not skip meals

4. Do not tell anyone what you’re doing

Now 242 pounds lighter, Mills credits that last tip for helping her through the most difficult months of her weight loss journey. Not having someone questioning every bite or trying to persuade her to relax on weekends helped her focus on the goal.

“It’s so much better to walk into a room and have someone say, ‘Hey, did you do something different?’ than to announce, ‘I’m on a diet,’ and have people pointing fingers at you,” she said.

The advice seems counterintuitive. Weight Watchers and similar groups tout support as a major reason for their programs’ success, and studies have found that accountability is important in accomplishing a goal. But telling family, friends and Facebook about your diet plans could have a detrimental effect, some experts say.

I, too, have lost a large amount of weight and have taken many years to do so. I now weigh 240 pounds down from 370 plus or so (8 years ago).

I understand about friends and acquaintenances making comments, but I have found accountability to my wife, children and friends to be a good motivator. Now, I am using MyFitnessPal.com and share my daily diet and exercise with certain friends, who also wish to lose weight.

Different weight loss methods for different people……

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