Losing 20 Real Women’s Experiences Losing and Maintaining a 20 Pound Weight Loss Qualitative Report July 2014

2 Research Approach 10 Women Participated in an Online Bulletin Board 3 Day Bulletin Board All respondents recruited by Schlesinger Associates Recruiting criteria include: Women Ages Must have lost pounds and maintained the loss for at least 1 year Weight loss could not be a result of a medical condition, eating disorder, prescription medication or surgery Weight loss could not have occurred within 1 year of delivering a baby Must not be currently or previously suffering from an eating disorder

3 Research Objectives Obtain a first-hand perspective of how women succeeded to lose about 20 pounds and kept it off What were previous weight loss attempts like? How was this (sustained) weight loss different? What were the motivations to lose weight and keep it off? What are some of the challenges/hurdles? What was the mix of diet vs. exercise? Apply this insight to provide examples of deliverables by Practical Insights Secondary data suggests the average American woman is about 20 pounds overweight. Losing 20 pounds would have a significant impact on their health.* *See appendix for supporting online articles and news stories

4  Impact weight loss has had on life  Feelings toward how weight loss is portrayed online, in magazines, on TV, etc.  Wrap–up and thank  Determining approach to most recent weight loss  Biggest challenges to overcome  Emotion, rewards, celebrations etc., once goal achieved  Approach to maintaining weight loss  Warm-up exercise  Experiences with prior weight loss attempts  Describing this most recent weight loss attempt  Motivation for recent weight loss…similar/different from prior attempts Online Bulletin Board Discussion Flow Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

5 Qualitative Research Caveat This report summarizes information collected using a qualitative research methodology. Common themes and interpretations of the online bulletin board are provided. While frequencies and comparisons are provided from this analysis, findings should be considered directional rather than conclusive.

6 The Top 5 Findings “I’ve tried mostly every diet out there.” “My most recent approach is a compilation of all the things I’ve learned over the years.” “I realized that it is not a diet but a lifestyle. There can be an occasional indulgence but nothing like before.” “I put equal effort on the foods I chose and exercise.” “Other times was mostly for cosmetic/vanity reasons. This time it was for health.”

7 Multiple Diet Attempts to Lifestyle Change Women in our research describe multiple previous attempts… …For most, a health concern prompts a lifestyle change to lose weight rather than a specific diet. “Like a switch went off that this was my time and I was mentally ready to deal with the struggle this time.” “Atkins, slim fast, skipping meals, any fad diet you could possibly think of. I even had meals delivered to my place at one point and hired a trainer, but it was hard to stick to.” “I wanted to have more energy and feel better about myself. I also have a high risk of diabetes in my family and want to be around for a long time.”

8 Focus on Health (this time) Instead of Appearance The women often described feeling better before they thought they looked better. “I didn’t really notice a difference, but my co- workers were constantly telling me I was looking better...” “When you put on a pair of pants that were tight before and they are loose.” “One person even called me ‘Slim,’ which was what I used to be called all the time when I was younger and very slender. That was a real ego boost, LOL! Also getting kudos from my doctor was a good motivator.” Even though the focus was on health, compliments and buying new clothes were commonly mentioned as motivation to continue their healthy lifestyle.

9 Build On Learning From Previous Attempts Many of the women created their own plan based on their learning from prior attempts. “I think the other attempts had to happen for me to learn how to do it right because I am able to look back on them and realize why they didn’t work. They helped my frame of mind be prepared for this.” While some of the women were following a specific program (like Weight Watchers), all of the women described an active vs. passive role in their weight loss—applying rules or customizing the approach to fit in their lifestyle. “I obviously follow the rule of how many points I’m ‘allowed’ to eat on the weight watchers plan. But in addition to that, I make sure I drink more than enough water daily with reminders through a water app on my phone. I also use a fit bit to motivate me to get in lots of steps on a daily basis in addition to my accountability with my boot camp group.”

10 Accountability Tools Critical for Some Some women described needing to be held accountable. Tools to meet this need included: –In-person meetings –Reporting weigh-ins –Food diary or journal “I learned that if I was going to meetings and had someone else to weigh me in, I did better. When just myself is involved I am more lenient than I should be.” “I tried to do it on my own, but I wasn’t always as accountable to myself as I should be. Getting weighed on a weekly basis was a motivator.” “…rules I created were to ‘track my eating’ and fit in some type of exercise.”

11 Routine vs. Variety Dependent on Lifestyle Routine Variety Some women needed to follow a routine to successfully incorporate changes into their lifestyle/daily schedule Others described needing to try new things to avoid boredom and keep motivated “I tried to see every day the same, went to exercise same time every day ate basically the same thing every day. I didn’t stray.” “My efforts had to be routine…it was definitely difficult at the beginning.” “Every week was different…I believe that’s what will keep you going, but doing different things every time and keeping you excited.” “For food—I ‘winged it’. If I didn’t make great choices one day—the next day I did.”

12 Plateaus or Slip-Ups Didn’t Derail the Long-Term Commitment Some described “hitting” a plateau with their weight loss. For those women, they approached it as a learning process rather than a set-back. Others indicated that they did not notice a plateau because their weight loss was slow and gradual and/or because their focus was on overall health rather than weight specifically. The occasional “overindulgence” is viewed by many as an acceptable part of the process when making a long- term lifestyle change. “Sometimes a plateau is okay. I feel good as long as I can maintain. But bumping up exercise always helps with a plateau.” “It was a steady weight loss…taking out the unhealthy foods slowly so that I wouldn’t rebound from it quickly.” “I am, or was, an emotional eater. So when I got frustrated, angry or depressed I would eat and eat and eat. I had to change the way I felt and thought about food.”

13 Balance of Diet and Exercise Throughout While some women attributed their efforts more to diet or exercise…most often it was described as a 50/50 balance. Regardless of the diet vs. exercise focus, all incorporated efforts on both. “I put equal effort on the foods I chose and exercise. It was easier to make better food choices because in my head I shifted my attitude about eating better. The exercise-which was 50% of the equation- required a little more attention to get me going.” “Being a baker and a foodie, I knew I had to emphasize the exercise to compensate for my eating in the beginning. But then I realized that my body actually worked better if it had better fuel, so now diet and exercise are equally important to my success.”

14 The road ahead… Most indicated it took 6 months or longer to lose the weight. Even though they are proud of the accomplishment… …Some describe wishing a magic pill exists to replace their lifestyle changes. “Following what I know works to keep the weight off, but I am always looking for better and easier options to maintain and lose more weight. I’m still dreaming about that magic diet pill.” “I did this solely on my own will power. It totally carries over to other areas of my life.”

Appendix 15

16 Secondary Data References For more information about average American Women being 20 pounds overweight go to: CDC: measurements.htm and /english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.htmlhttp:// measurements.htm /english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html Gallup Poll: reported-weight-nearly-pounds-1990.aspx?version=printhttp:// reported-weight-nearly-pounds-1990.aspx?version=print For more information about the impact of losing about 20 pounds go to: number-could-fix-america-weight-problem htmlhttps://news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-if-abc-news/magic- number-could-fix-america-weight-problem html change-life html?cat=5http://voices.yahoo.com/losing-20-pounds-dramatically- change-life html?cat=5 tons-of-benefitshttp:// tons-of-benefits

17 To see our video about “Lisa’s Story” inspired by this research go to

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