Do weight-loss programs really work?

In 2012, Phillips was crowned Wyoming state queen of Take Pounds Off Sensibly, a nonprofit weight-loss program. She won the title by reaching a weight-loss goal of 75 pounds. Her goal required more weight-loss than other TOPS members who met their goals that same year.

Phillips got married at age 17 and, with little time between the births of her four children, never lost her pregnancy weight.

“It was emotional eating,” she said. “I was not happy in my first marriage, but I stuck it out and just kept gaining and gaining.”

After her children were grown and she had divorced her first husband, she moved away and started concentrating on herself, bringing her weight down to normal. It wasn’t until she had a hysterectomy in her 50s that the weight back came on, and it came on fast.

“It was such a body change that I went right up to 215 from 140,” she said.

In 1992, she joined Take Pounds Off Sensibly in Glenrock, where she lived with her second husband. Later, Phillips moved to Casper to be with her third husband, and in 2012, she met her goal weight.

“It took me a long time,” she said. “It was a struggle.”

The support she’s gotten from TOPS over the years is unmatched.

“You have your friends when you are tempted,” Phillips said. “You just touch base with them, and we help each other out.”

She also appreciates that TOPS doesn’t follow a specific diet, making it easy to participate in the program despite being on a special diet for kidney disease.

For Phillips, and others who need to lose weight, the right weight-loss program can be effective.

“It’s more of a commitment, but meeting other people and getting recipes and ideas can be really valuable in a diet program,” said Karla Case, a registered dietitian with the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service in Natrona County.

In 2011, more than half of Wyoming women had a body mass index greater than 25 making them overweight or obese, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. That puts them at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Whether you need to lose weight for better health, or just want to shed a few pounds, don’t buy anything until you’ve read the guidelines below. You’re wallet will thank you.

BUYERS' GUIDE

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM

1. It includes physical activity

Exercise is an important part of any weight-loss program.

“To have the overall best approach to weight loss, it would be good to decrease your calories and increase expenditure,” said Alice Burron, a Cheyenne-based personal trainer and wellness coach who has a master’s degree in exercise physiology.

Exercise components of a weight-loss program should include strength training, cardiovascular training and even balance exercises to accommodate for the imbalance created by weight loss.

2. It includes healthy lifestyle changes

You’re more likely to continue the program and have long-term success if it encourages healthy lifestyle changes. For example, eating smaller portions can become a habit that benefits you for years to come.

3. It is affordable

Ask yourself how much you would spend to not eat food, said Sheila Amir, a certified nutritionist in Casper.

“Always look at the overall cost,” she said. “It should not cost a lot of money to do what nature intended.”

4. The food tastes good

Not double-sundae-rocky-road-with-chocolate-drizzled-on-top good, but good.

“You have to eat your whole life. If it’s a miserable experience, you can’t just stop,” Amir said. “The more you think of enjoying food and think of it for health, the more you’re going to lose weight.”

5. It has scientific evidence to back it up

And personal testimonies do not count. For some scientifically proven recommendations on weight-loss books, pamphlets and websites, see www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/topics/weight/consumer.pdf.

6. It holds you accountable

Whether it requires you to track food intake and exercise, or simply check in with a weight-loss buddy or attend the meeting, you’re likely to have more success with a program that holds you accountable.

WHAT TO AVOID IN A WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM

1. It promises quick results

Losing more than one to two pounds a week can be a recipe for failure.

“If you’re losing more than that, your body is probably in starvation state, and once you start eating again your body will start storing calories,” said Karla Case, a registered dietitian with the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service in Natrona County.

2. It limits food groups

Look at what type of foods the program allows, Case said. Does it include fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy? If not, you could miss out on nutrients your body needs. For example, whole grains provide many vitamins and minerals that you can’t get anywhere else and carbohydrates are not only the body’s primary source of energy, but the only source of energy that the brain uses, Case added.

3. It requires pills, powders or potions

Diet supplements do not have to be approved by the FDA, and few are, which means they could be harmful to your health.

4. It sounds too good to be true

If a weight loss plan uses hype-words such as revolutionary, new, all natural, fast, quick or easy, don’t believe it.

“There is no magic formula out there,” Case said.

5. It cuts calories dramatically

You should cut calories gradually so your body doesn’t go into starvation mode.

6. You have to buy packaged foods

Sure, packaged foods are convenient, but you’re not likely to learn how to plan and cook healthful meals if you never have to do it, which makes long-term maintenance problematic.

“People go on diets to lose weight, but what do you do when you go off it?” Amir said. “In the average fad diet, you gain 125 percent of what you lost.”