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Losing 20
Real Women’s Experiences Losing and
Maintaining a 20 Pound Weight Loss
Qualitative Report
July 2014
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 18-60
• Must have lost 15-30 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
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Research Objectives
Secondary data suggests the average American woman is about 20 pounds
overweight. Losing 20 pounds would have a significant impact on their health.*
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
*See appendix for supporting online articles and news stories
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Online Bulletin Board Discussion Flow
 Warm-up exercise
Day 1
 Experiences with prior weight loss attempts
 Describing this most recent weight loss attempt
 Motivation for recent weight loss…similar/different from prior attempts
 Determining approach to most recent weight loss
 Biggest challenges to overcome
Day 2
 Emotion, rewards, celebrations etc., once goal achieved
 Approach to maintaining weight loss
 Impact weight loss has had on life
Day 3
 Feelings toward how weight loss is portrayed online, in magazines, on TV,
etc.
 Wrap–up and thank
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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.
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The Top 5 Findings
Multiple Attempts
“I’ve tried mostly every
diet out there.”
Self-Created Plan
“My most recent approach is a
compilation of all the things
I’ve learned over the years.”
50/50 Balance
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Health vs. Appearance
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“Other times was mostly for
cosmetic/vanity reasons. This
time it was for health.”
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Long Term Perspective
5
“I put equal effort on the foods I
chose and exercise.”
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“I realized that it is not a diet
but a lifestyle. There can be an
occasional indulgence but
nothing like before.”
Multiple Diet Attempts to Lifestyle Change
Women in our research describe
multiple previous attempts…
“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.”
…For most, a health concern prompts
a lifestyle change to lose weight rather
than a specific diet.
“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.”
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“Like a switch went off that this
was my time and I was mentally
ready to deal with the struggle
this time.”
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 coworkers were constantly telling me I was
looking better...”
Even though the focus was on health,
compliments and buying new clothes were
commonly mentioned as motivation to continue
their healthy lifestyle.
“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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
“Every week was different…I believe
that’s what will keep you going, but
doing different things every time and
keeping you excited.”
“My efforts had to be routine…it was
definitely difficult at the beginning.”
“For food—I ‘winged it’. If I didn’t
make great choices one day—the
next day I did.”
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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.
“Sometimes a plateau is okay. I feel good as long as I can
maintain. But bumping up exercise always helps with a plateau.”
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.
“It was a steady weight loss…taking out the unhealthy foods
slowly so that I wouldn’t rebound from it quickly.”
The occasional “overindulgence” is viewed by many as
an acceptable part of the process when making a longterm lifestyle change.
“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.”
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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.
“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 equationrequired a little more attention to get me going.”
Regardless of the diet vs. exercise focus, all incorporated
efforts on both.
“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.”
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The road ahead…
Most indicated it took 6 months or longer to lose
the weight.
Even though they are proud of the
accomplishment…
“I did this solely on my own will power. It totally
carries over to other areas of my life.”
…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.”
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Appendix
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Secondary Data References
For more information about average American Women being
20 pounds overweight go to:
• CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/bodymeasurements.htm and
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi
/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html
• Gallup Poll: http://www.gallup.com/poll/150947/selfreported-weight-nearly-pounds-1990.aspx?version=print
For more information about the impact of losing about 20
pounds go to:
• https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-if-abc-news/magicnumber-could-fix-america-weight-problem-193402728.html
• http://voices.yahoo.com/losing-20-pounds-dramaticallychange-life-6182940.html?cat=5
• http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-gaintons-of-benefits
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To see our video about “Lisa’s Story” inspired
by this research go to www.losing20.com
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Research Materials
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items. Please email us at [email protected] if you would like electronic copies
sent to you.
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