It appears that a little “pat on the back,” positive reinforcement, or constructive criticism are all good things for weight loss. People who take part in online weight loss programs see better results when they receive feedback.

A study, which included 179 people who were taking part in Shape Up RI, an annual online 12-week community weight-loss competition in Rhode Island, found that people who had a computer-generated feedback component lost the most weight.

The study had three groups: one with just the standard Shape Up RI program, another with the standard program and additional video lessons, and those with both of these plus added feedback. The group that lost the most weight, 7.7 pounds on average, had all three components to their program.
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Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper are two of the biggest names when it comes to weight loss. As co-hosts of the hit reality series, the Biggest Loser, Jillian and Bob have each created their own mini diet and fitness empires with books, DVDs, cookbooks and now online programs.

Jillian Michaels Online and My Trainer Bob were both designed to make their sage and result-friendly expertise accessible to anyone interested in losing weight and getting healthier – no blue or black T-shirts needed.

Here is a look at how these two programs stack up against each other.
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Guest bloggers, Kenneth Schwarz PhD and Julie North Schwarz are the authors of Maria’s Last Diet and Breaking Up with Food. Dr. Kenneth Schwarz is a psychologist and psychoanalyst specializing in personal change and goal achievement. Julie North Schwarz writes about the non-food issues related to women’s weight loss. For more help with the psychological side of dieting, visit their website: Maria’s Last Diet.

Sometimes weight gain comes unannounced, uninvited, unwelcome, an intruder into your life. And yet, upon closer observation, there are reasons. You just weren’t looking their way.

The reasons, if not purely physical and metabolic (which they can be, but not often) have their origins in psychology, feelings, coping skills and life situations.

The reasons are there, but many times they creep in and exert their influence without your permission, and without your conscious knowledge.

And yet, as people, we have enormous reserves of brainpower: We can think; we can investigate; we can observe; we can change things.
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What would you give up to avoid weight gain? In a survey conducted on behalf of NutriSystem, half of women said they would rather go without sex for a summer than gain 10 pounds. About a quarter of men agreed. However, more than half the participants polled felt that they needed to lose weight in order to feel sexy, about 66 percent.

The survey, called the NutriSystem Diet Index, also asked what people would be willing to give up for a summer in exchange for a flat stomach. Fifty-four percent said they would sacrifice watching TV or shopping, 42 percent said they would give up using a cellphone and 38 percent said they would forgo their computers. “What this shows is that people are highly motivated to not gain weight,” said NutriSystem vice president of research and development Bruce Daggy. “They recognize what it will do to their feeling of well-being and fitness.”
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On average, women last only 19 days before falling off a diet, reports The Mirror. The research also shows that they begin diets three times a year on average. Chips, chocolate and wine were cited as the most common foods to break down dieters’ will power. The period between 3 and 8 pm was found to be the most difficult time of day to stick to a diet.

The average diet attempt costs women in the UK £161.75, or $249.18. “Women tend to go all out in a bid to shed pounds,” said one expert. “But sticking to a restricted diet for any length of time is difficult, which is why it is better to introduce a more realistic routine involving regular exercise and healthy eating. Rather than embark on expensive diets and impossible fitness regimes which are hard to maintain it is better to introduce long term lifestyle changes which will have lasting benefit.”

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