Phone In The Weight Loss Game Plan?

Just this month, there was an article in Reuters Health that reported on a weight loss program that included individual coaching over the phone as an aid to taking diet pills. Researchers reported that Men and women in a weight loss program who combined both of these techniques did twice as well in their weight and body fat loss over those using either intervention individually.


It makes sense because in my experience, when I go to the gym, it's harder to get up and go by myself. On the other hand if a friend calls and says lets go, I am more inclined to go. Many programs use personal coaching, so why not a phone coach for losing weight?

Dr. Larry A. Tucker of Brigham Young University told Reuters Health "An effective supplement may help jump start a weight loss program," but his and colleagues findings suggest telephone coaching encourages steady weight loss over a longer term.

This team reported in the journal Health Promotion that 120 otherwise healthy, but overweight and obese, men and women, 25 to 60 years old, follow one of 4 regimens for 17 weeks.
Half got about 30 minutes per week of telephone coaching to promote weight loss, while half did not. In addition half in each of these groups either used a daily weight-loss supplement or a matching placebo containing no active ingredients.

The groups of 30 people each contained equal numbers of men and women, with similar average starting weights or percent body fat.

Average losses in the coaching plus supplement group were 9.7 pounds of weight and 5.1 pounds of body fat. By contrast, the groups taking a supplement without coaching group reported losses of 5.1 pounds of weight and 2.9 pounds of fat.

Coaching plus placebo, which was really only coaching, showed losses of 4.6 pounds weight and 2.4 pounds fat; and the no coaching/placebo group lost the least weight 3.7 pounds and fat 0.9 pounds.

Additionally it was noted that weight loss peaked during the first 2 months in supplement users, but remained more steady over 4 months in the coached group suggesting a longer-term benefit from the phone coaching.

If confirmed in follow-up studies of longer duration, the investigators suggest telephone coaching may prove to be especially useful in workplace weight loss programs.Remember to always include proper nutrition, diet and exercise in any plans to maintain a healthy lifestyle.