Weight Management

If you are overweight there are many reasons to try to lose a few pounds. Although many people focus on how they look, feeling healthy and preventing future health problems are just as important. Many health problems are related to being overweight including heart disease, diabetes (sugar), arthritis, and back and foot pain. A healthy weight can even give you more energy.

Losing weight depends on setting realistic goals. If each small goal you set is easy to reach, then you will be more likely to take off the weight and keep it off. Even taking off only 5 to 10% of your body weight can make a big difference.

Losing weight is not an overnight process. Weight gain happens slowly, over time, and the only healthy way to take weight off is slowly, over time. In fact, losing just one pound of weight per week is a safe and healthy goal. Two changes in your life--eating differently and increasing physical activity--are necessary to reach your weight loss goal. Just remember to give yourself credit for even small losses--and you'll be healthier in no time.

There are some links to useful information for weight management here. You might also want to browse the section on nutrition and exercise for some other helpful hints.

The Basics of Weight Management

• What is overweight and obesity?
• The definition of overweight
• Obesity: An overview
• Rates of obesity in the United States
• Weight gain, health, and disease
• Diabetes Growing with our waistlines
• Diabetes prevention and weight loss
• Overweight and Cancer
• Weight gain, dieting, and gallstones
• Obesity and special groups
• Cuide su peso: A weight loss pamphlet in Spanish 
• Healthy eating for African Americans
• Obesity and children/teens
• A site devoted to health topics just for kids!
• Healthy lifestyles for Teens
• For Teens: Should you go on a diet?
• For Parents:
  • Your overweight child
  • An online guide to helping your overweight child 
• Current treatments for overweight and obesity
  • Overview of treatments
  • Behavioral treatments: Changing habits, eating differently, and physical activity
    • Exercise and weight control
    • Weight loss and nutrition myths
    • Low-carb diets: facts and findings
    • Fad diets: What you need to know
    • The weight loss industry: protect yourself
  • Medical treatments
    • Medications for weight loss: Questions and answers
  • Surgical treatments
    • Gastrointestinal surgery for weight loss: The facts
  • Psychological issues
    • Eight traits of Emotional Eating
    • Binge eating disorder
    • Coping with very strong food cravings (for people with eating disorders but helpful for everyone!)
    • Overeaters Anonymous: A 12-step approach to help you stop overeating
    • National Eating Disorders Association: Information and resources for those with eating disorders

Taking Action

• Are you ready to lose weight?
• Setting goals for weight management
• Portion distortions
• Portion control: The basics
• Portion sizes youll understand
• Tiny bites equal big calories—how grazing all day causes weight gain.
• Strategies for success
• Six strategies for effective weight loss
• Choosing a weight loss program
• Still dieting but stopped losing weight?
• Strategies to prevent regaining pounds
• Behavior management and coping skills:
• How do I change my eating behavior?
• Emotional eating
• Coping with emotional eating

Tips

• Healthy eating/weight loss tips
• For adults
• For seniors
• For parents
• During pregnancy
• Three ways to watch your weight
• Feeling full on fewer calories
• Dining out and weight loss

• Ethnic foods and weight loss

• Serving up a healthy holiday
• Fat matters, but calories count
• Healthy food shopping tips
• Tips for coping with stress-based eating (for women, but useful for everyone!) 

Tools

• A Weight Loss Readiness Quiz
• Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator
• Body fat calculator
• Weight maintenance calculator for women
• Weight maintenance calculator for men 
• Are you eating well? A quiz
• Portion distortion quiz
• Food exchange list
• Interactive Menu Planner
• Calories burned chart
• Calories burned calculator
• Calculate how many calories are in your favorite foods 
• Emotional eating quiz
• Food diaries:
• Eating triggers food diary  and (instructions)
• Instructions and link for calorie-counting food diary

Communicate With Others Like You

• Cyber Diet Sisters Online: a site for women to talk about weight management
• Worldwide weight management support for everyone
• Weight management support at Prevention.com
• Eating tips forum at Prevention.com

More Resources

The ARCH research team does not endorse any products or programs linked to this site. However, we recognize that some individuals find weight loss more achievable when they are following a structured program. Because we have been unable to locate non-commercial structured weight loss programs to link to, we are providing several links to reputable commercial weight loss programs. These links are not an endorsement of these programs, nor are they a recommendation that you join a weight loss program. We encourage you to check with your doctor before you engage in any commercial weight loss program, including those listed below.

• The oldest reputable program for weight loss. You can follow this program online or find a local meeting: Weight Watchers
• Here are two sites where you can use online tools and get a customized diet:
• EDiets.com
• Cyberdiet.com
• Tax deductions for weight loss treatments: Are you eligible?
• North American Association for Studies of Obesity
• American Obesity Association

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