Losing weight is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, yet most of us struggle to achieve it. By the second or third week of January, many of us are finding it difficult to stick with the lifestyle changes required to lose weight or at least maintain our weight. But when it comes to managing our weight, one strategy that may work better is the “small change approach”. It starts with the understanding that for the long haul, it may be best to start small.
Big changes can be hard to keep up with
Most people watching their weight start by making major changes to their diet or physical activity habits. But big changes can be difficult to sustain over time because they require a high level of motivation. Since motivation naturally rises and falls, it’s no wonder that these big lifestyle changes can be so difficult to maintain. This is where the small change approach can be useful.
This weight management strategy recommends that people reduce the number of calories they eat and/or burn only 100–200 calories per day. To put this into perspective, this could just mean eating one or two fewer chocolate biscuits or walking an extra 10-20 minutes each day. It is likely that you will need to eat 100-200 calories fewer per day or make minor changes to your current behavior to burn 100-200 calories more.
These small changes can be easy to incorporate into your daily life and, unlike big changes, won’t require extra time and effort outside of your normal routine. A small change approach is also more flexible, as there are many different ways you can reduce the calories you eat and/or increase the calories you consume by 100-200 per day. This flexibility can help you stick with this approach for longer. And research shows that making small changes to your usual habits can be more effective when it comes to health. We are also less likely to fail when making small changes, which can motivate us to make bigger changes over time.
According to previous research our team has conducted, the small change approach can be a really effective strategy for helping 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 this approach gained around one kilogram less over a 14-month period than those who received general weight management advice. This is important because it suggests that a small-change approach could be used to prevent the currently observed 0.5 kg to 1.0 kg weight gain in the adult population each year, which over time may lead to overweight and obesity. May contribute to the development of obesity.
Further research will be needed to understand whether a small change approach may be a more effective long-term weight gain prevention and potential weight loss strategy.
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how to do this
If you want to try the small change approach, there are two questions you should ask yourself to help you get started: Can I reduce the calories I eat and/or eat just 100-200 kcal each day? What can I change to reduce it? Will I be able to achieve these changes even if my motivation is low? Small changes you design are more likely to fit into your daily life and therefore may be easier to maintain over time. But if you’re having trouble designing your own little variations, here are some examples:
talk on the go Whether it’s a phone call with colleagues or a catch-up 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 television commercials run for about 2-3 minutes. Take this time to exercise by doing some crunches, lunges or squats. During a one-hour show with three commercial breaks, you can burn up to 100 calories.
Avoid Add-ons: Although many of us like to add cheese, butter, mayonnaise and ketchup to our meals for added flavor, these contain more calories than many of us realise. For example, 30 grams of cheese (about the size of a small matchbox) contains 100 calories, while 30 grams of mayonnaise (about two tablespoons) contains approximately 200 calories. Limiting portions, or cutting them out completely, can make a big difference in the long term.
Take Your Coffee Black: Hot beverages such as lattes, cappuccinos and hot chocolate may be more caloric than you think. You can reduce your calorie intake by around 100-200 calories by reducing them. If you can’t bear to be without your day’s coffee, consider getting a smaller size or drinking it black.
Watching your weight doesn’t have to be complicated. Making small changes to your diet and lifestyle can add up over time and make all the difference, as the small change approach suggests.
(by Henrietta Graham, PhD Researcher, Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University)