Help With Losing Weight When Nothing Is Working

Sometimes dieters reach a plateau for various reasons. That's when they need to consider their options to achieve their desired weight loss. A number of diets start with a time-limited, strict diet to help jump-start the process. Losing weight quickly at first can provide motivation and give you confidence that you can reach your goals. Increased activity also burns more calories for added weight loss. Aim to lose 1 to 2 lbs. a week by following a healthy, calorie-controlled diet and moderate exercise program to succeed at losing excess weight, advises MayoClinic.com.

Weight Loss -- What Works

Sticking to a diet long-term is more important than the specifics of the diet. That was the conclusion of a study reported in a March 2006 article, "A Stick-to-It Diet Is More Important Than a Popular One," in Agricultural Research magazine. The study, conducted by Michael L. Dansinger, Ernst J. Schaefer and Joi A. Gleason of the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, followed volunteers on four popular diets, including low-fat and low-carbohydrate plans. Those who stuck with their diets for a year, regardless of which program they were on, lost weight. Low-carbohydrate diets result in the most impressive initial weight loss, so they can provide a helpful option for someone who has been frustrated with lack of results on other kinds of diets. Cutting out processed carbohydrates helps to maintain blood sugar levels and reduce food cravings.

Americans who lost more than 30 lbs. and maintained their new weight for over a year exercised for an average of an hour a day; most of them walk, the National Weight Control Registry reports.

Emotional Issues

In some cases, such as when a person has a history of abuse or other trauma, the assistance of a therapist or psychologist may be needed to get past blocks to losing weight and habits such as emotional eating or not taking care of yourself. The Emotional Freedom Technique, EFT, has been effective in helping people overcome blocks to losing weight, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of "Dr. Mercola's Total Health Program." This emotional release technique, also called emotional acupuncture and energy psychology, involves tapping on meridians -- the same energy points as in acupuncture -- while repeating phrases that express feelings. This technique might help to change emotions and behavior, David Feinstein, Ph.D., notes in a report to the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. Although the practice is somewhat controversial, Feinstein notes that "evidence is mounting that these techniques are significant, powerful tools for both self-help and clinical treatment."

Extra Help

Consuming two glasses of water before meals resulted in 5 lbs. greater weight loss in a 12-week study of overweight, 55- to 75-year-old women and men conducted by Elizabeth Dennis and colleagues for the Department of Human Nutrition at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The study, published in the February 2010 issue of "Obesity," found that the subjects who drank water before each meal consumed fewer calories and lost 44 percent more weight than the control group. Drinking two glasses of water before eating helps you to feel full sooner and eat less without feeling deprived. This may not be an effective strategy for people younger than 35, because their stomachs empty more quickly.

An active ingredient in green tea, EGCG, helped overweight men burn 33 percent more fat, according to a study conducted by Frank Thielecke and colleagues for Switzerland's DSM Nutritional Products. The authors reported in the April 7, 2007, issue of the "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition" that 300 mg of EGCG, a component of green tea, increased fat burning more than a 600 mg dose.Two cups of green tea provide an amount of EGCG equivalent to the lower, more effective dose.

How Exercise Helps

Performing both cardiovascular exercises, such as walking, biking or dancing, as well as strengthening exercises, such as weight training, help to burn fat and maintain muscle, MayoClinic.com advises. Restricting calories can result in losing lean tissue in addition to fat. Exercise, especially weight training, helps to maintain and even increase muscle tissue, so that you lose primarily fat and keep up your metabolism.

Warnings

A therapist or psychologist can help with issues about body image and weight and provide support to stop binge-purge behavior, self-starvation and other eating disorders.

Conditions causing excessive weight gain are rare and include Cushing's syndrome and hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid gland, according to nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky at MayoClinic.com. Discuss your health and weight issues with your doctor.