Losing weight is one of most popular new year’s resolutions, yet it is a goal that most of us struggle to achieve. By the time the second or third week of January rolls around, many of us are struggling to stick with the lifestyle changes needed to lose, or at least maintain, our weight.
But one strategy that may work better when it comes to managing our weight is the “small change approach.” It starts with understanding that for the long haul it might be best to start small.
Big changes can be hard to sustain
Most people watching their weight tend to start by making big changes to their diet or exercise habits. But big changes can be difficult to keep time because they require a high level of motivation. Since motivation naturally go up and downit’s no wonder these big lifestyle changes are so hard to sustain.
This is where the small change approach could be useful.
This weight management strategy recommends that people decrease the calories they eat and/or increase the calories they burn by just 100-200 every day. To put that into perspective, that could mean eating just one or two less chocolate chip cookies or walking an extra 10-20 minutes each day.
It’s likely that you only need to make minor changes to your current behavior to eat 100-200 fewer calories or burn 100-200 more calories each day. These small changes might be easier to incorporate into your daily life and, unlike larger changes, won’t require extra time and effort outside of your usual routine.
A small change approach is also more flexible, as there are several different ways to reduce the calories you eat and/or increase the calories you burn by 100-200 each day. This flexibility can help you stay engaged in the approach longer.
And research shows that when it comes to health, make small changes to your usual habits may be more effective. We are also less likely to fail when we make small changes, which can motivate us to make bigger ones over time.
According to previous research conducted by our team, the small change approach can indeed be an effective strategy for help people manage their weight. Our study combined the results of 21 trials that used the small change approach to weight management. We found that adults who used the approach gained around one kilogram less over a 14-month period, compared to people who received generic weight management advice.
This is important because it suggests that a small change approach could be used to prevent the 0.5 kg to 1.0 kg weight gain currently seen in the adult population each year, which may contribute to the development of overweight and obesity over time.
Further research will be needed to understand whether a small-change approach might be a more effective strategy for long-term weight gain prevention, and potentially weight loss.
How to do
If you want to try the small change approach, there are two questions you should ask yourself to get you started:
- What changes can I make to reduce the calories I eat and/or burn from just 100-200 kcal per day?
- Will I be able to make these changes even when my motivation is low?
Small changes you’ve designed are more likely to fit into your daily life and may therefore be easier to sustain over time. But if you find it difficult to design your own small changes, here are some examples:
- Walk and talk: Whether it’s a phone call with co-workers or a chat with friends, adding an extra 20-30 minutes of walking to your day can help you burn up to 100 calories.
- Take a break: Most TV commercial breaks are around 2-3 minutes long. Take this time to exercise by doing crunches, lunges, or squats. During a one hour program with three commercial breaks, you could burn up to 100 calories.
- Avoid extensions: Although many of us like to add cheese, butter, mayonnaise and ketchup to our meals for added flavor, these tend to contain more calories than many of us realize. For example, as little as 30g of cheese (about the size of a small matchbox) is 100 calories, while 30g of mayonnaise (about two spoonfuls) is almost 200 calories. Limiting portions, or cutting them out altogether, can make a big difference in the long run.
- Take your black coffee: Hot drinks such as lattes, cappuccinos, and hot chocolate may be higher in calories than you think. You can reduce your calorie intake by about 100 to 200 calories by cutting them out. If you can’t stand going without your coffee of the day, consider downsizing or drinking it black.
Monitoring your weight doesn’t have to be complicated. Making small changes to your diet and lifestyle can add up over time and make a big difference, as the small change approach shows.
