The 6 Keys to Winning at Weight Loss

You know the weight-loss hookup? The one where you meet a hot diet, drop a jeans size, fall madly in love with your new body... and then, before you know it, wake up heavy-hearted, and just plain heavy-even more so than before?

It's a funny thing, but scientists are discovering that weight loss is a lot like marriage: To succeed, you've got to commit to a long-term relationship with a healthy lifestyle, avoid cheating, and hang on to whatever on earth made you get involved in the first place (let's not think about Al and Tipper right now). Experts talk about "motivation," but what is that? And how, if you're not Maria Sharapova, do you get your hands on some?

It's not about the bikini: You, rocking a sexy little suit, might be the vision that gets you off to Spinning class, but it probably won't keep you going through bad cramps and work problems, according to new research by Kelly Webber, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Kentucky's department of nutrition and food science. Trying to lose weight to get into a bikini is an example of "controlled" or external motivation (as is, say, your boyfriend wanting you to be thinner.) In one study, Webber found that women with high controlled motivation lost only 2 pounds in 16 weeks. Others, who were inspired by internal or personal reasons like wanting to be healthier or have more energy ("autonomous motivation"), lost 14 pounds.

It's all write, darling. What if you only care about a bikini? Start with that, Webber says, but push for more. Ask yourself if your weight has kept you from doing things with your friends, held you back in a job, or made you feel inferior. She also recommends meeting with a doctor or dietician, who can point out motivating health issues. Journaling is another idea-especially writing about your struggles and successes with weight, and what it might be like once you reach your goals. "That seems effective," she says. "It could have to do with being more present in your daily life, remembering your reasons for starting, and giving yourself time to problem-solve."

Who's the heroine? Jim Loehr, PhD, suggests going even deeper. Cofounder of the Human Performance Institute and author of The Power of Story, he has spent a career finding out what motivates people. Most exciting he says, is "the discovery we've made about the importance of connecting change to one's essential purpose in life." The question to ask yourself, he says, is this: When I look back on my life, what will make me feel fulfilled?

Whatever the answer is (brilliant career? great mom? diva du jour?), use it like a screensaver to keep coming back to, and figure out how your weight loss goals fit into the picture (I need 200 percent energy to stand out at work and be there for the kids). Granted when you're young, these are difficult questions, Leohr admits, and it may be easier to connect to stories of other women. "Maria," he says offering tennis star, Sharapova, as an example, "has endured many disappointments and injuries, yet she continues to perservere and succeed at ther sport with poise. You can integrate that spirit into your own life to remain resilient in the face of a challenge."

Sleep those 8 hours: Motivation requires real energy. Studies, for example, show that lack of sleep seriously undermines willpower. So does lack of food. (People have more self-control when their blood sugar is fueled versus depleted.) "For the many years I've studied motivation," Loehr says, "it is most often a lack of energy and loss of focus that impedes goal reaching." Young women are incredibly vulnerable, he points out-spread so thin building careers, dating, starting families, partying. He urges sleeping eight hours, just to see what happens.

Not so fast. We can IM as fast a we think, but when it comes to changing behavior, we still move at the pace of a sloth. "Habits develop over time and they need to be replaced over time," says Wendy Wood, PhD, provost professor of psychology and business at USC, who published research on the topic this year. If you're trying to quit a ritual (mid-afternoon Milky Way), she suggests that, rather than just forbidding it, you actively sub in a healthy habit (take a walk, eat an apple). Your brain will pick up the new habit more quickly if you make it simple at first, like taking the same walk or having the same snack every day.


Observe the 80/20 Rule: So many p eople slip up once, and figure, That's it; I've blown the whole thing. "It's okay to miss your routine here and there-that's realistic," stresses Loehr. "As long as you hit it 80 percent of the time, you'll reach your goal."


Hey, what's motivated you to lose weight or get in shape? Please share!



For more inspiration on weight loss ....
The Friend Factor
Some of the Best Quotes Ever
10 Steps to Just Get Off the Couch


[Photo credit: Getty Images]