There are countless strategies people use to lose weight. Almost any of these approaches can work for a short time, but the most crucial part of weight loss is keeping it off.

On average, one third of Americans attempt to lose weight each year (1). Among those who are obese, the proportion of people trying to lose weight is closer to two thirds (2). Despite these widespread efforts, the rate of obesity continues to rise. In fact, over 50 percent of those who try to lose weight will regain the majority of the weight they lost within the first year (3). Less than one-third will be able to avoid weight regain over a three-year period (4).

Considering these statistics, typical strategies for weight loss simply don’t work for many people. There’s little benefit to losing weight only to regain it a few months later. Fortunately, recent research suggests an alternative.

Several published clinical trials have shown that the Isagenix 30-Day System is an effective method to help people achieve weight loss, improve body composition, and overall health (5, 6). Now, a recently published long-term, clinical study has demonstrated that the Isagenix 30-Day System can have significant benefits for supporting the most important part of weight loss: maintenance (7).

Losing Weight and Keeping it Off

The 15-month study recently published in the peer-reviewed journal, Nutrients, was led by Paul Arciero, Ph.D., from the Human Nutrition and Metabolism lab at Skidmore College. The study consisted of two phases, a 12-week weight-loss phase and a one-year weight maintenance phase. During the initial weight-loss phase, all study volunteers used the 30-Day System and lost an average of 10 percent of their body weight, close to 20 percent body fat, and 33 percent of their visceral fat, while increasing their proportion of lean body mass by nine percent.

The second phase of the study aimed to investigate weight-loss maintenance and followed study participants for a full year after they completed the initial weight-loss phase of this study. Half of the participants continued to use the Isagenix System while the other half switched to a whole-foods-based, heart-healthy diet.

During the maintenance phase, the participants who used the Isagenix System were not only able to maintain their weight loss and improved body composition, but they were also able to maintain their improvements in cardiovascular health. By the end of the one-year weight-maintenance phase, the study participants who were following a heart-healthy diet had regained much of their initial weight loss.

The subjects who used the Isagenix System during the 12-month period had a significantly lower body weight, a lower amount of body fat (10 percent), and increased lean body mass (five percent).

Role of Metabolism

Researchers have identified a number of reasons why it’s so challenging to maintain weight loss. Reduced energy expenditure and changes in appetite-mediating hormones are each related to a “slower metabolism” (8, 9). After losing weight, an individual’s metabolism often remains slowed increasing the likelihood of regaining weight.

In the Skidmore College study, when looking at the metabolic rates of the Isagenix and heart-healthy groups, there was essentially no difference between the groups, yet the heart-healthy group experienced significant gains in both fat and body weight. Clearly there was some other variable at play in preventing the weight relapse.

A Scientific Advantage

The relative higher protein content of the Isagenix System compared to a traditional heart-healthy diet might be one of the underlying causes. Weight-loss studies consistently find that higher protein diets lead to greater satiety and delays increases in appetite during the evening (10-13).

A benefit of the Isagenix System is that protein intake is distributed over the day. Termed “protein-pacing,” timing your daily ingestion of protein-rich meals has been found to be effective in helping consumers reduce body fat and increase lean body mass (14). It’s also likely that periods of fasting on Cleanse Days in this study provided an additional benefit in improving body composition (15, 16).

The advantage with Isagenix is the convenience of a system that has been tested through scientific analysis and shown to be effective for losing weight safely and keeping it off. Keeping pounds off long term is what really defines weight-loss success. Scientific validation continues to increase showing that the system works.

References

  1. Bish CL, Blanck HM, Serdula MK, Marcus M & Kohl HW, III, Khan LK. Diet and physical activity behaviors among Americans trying to lose weight: 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Obes Res. 2005 Mar; 13(3):596-607.
  2. Nicklas JM, Huskey KW, Davis RB, Wee CC. Successful weight loss among obese U.S. adults. Am J Prev Med. 2012 May; 42(5):481-5.
  3. Crawford D, Jeffery RW & French SA. Can anyone successfully control their weight? Findings of a three year community-based study of men and women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Sep; 24(9):1107-10.
  4. Serdula MK, Mokdad AH, Williamson DF, Galuska DA, Mendlein JM & Heath GW. Prevalence of attempting weight loss and strategies for controlling weight. JAMA. 1999 Oct 13; 282(14):1353-8.
  5. Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, Wycherley TP, Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Luscombe-Marsh ND, Woods SC & Mattes RD. The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Apr 29.
  6. Kroeger CM, Klempel MC, Bhutani S, Trepanowski JF, Tangney CC & Varady KA. Improvement in coronary heart disease risk factors during an intermittent fasting/calorie restriction regimen: Relationship to adipokine modulations. Nutr Metab. 2012 Oct 31; 9(1):98.
  7. Arciero PJ, Edmonds R, He F, Ward E, Gumpricht E, Mohr A, Ormsbee MJ & Astrup A.  Protein-Pacing Caloric-Restriction Enhances Body Composition Similarly in Obese Men and Women during Weight Loss and Sustains Efficacy during Long-Term Weight Maintenance. Nutrients 2016, 8(8), 476.
  8. Rosenbaum M, Hirsch J, Gallagher DA & Leibel RL. Long-term persistence of adaptive thermogenesis in subjects who have maintained a reduced body weight. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct; 88(4):906-12.
  9. Fothergill E, et al. Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after “The Biggest Loser” competition. Obesity. 2016 May 2. [Epub ahead of print]
  10. Belza A, Ritz C, Sørensen MQ, Holst JJ, Rehfeld JF & Astrup A. Contribution of gastroenteropancreatic appetite hormones to protein-induced satiety. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 May; 97(5):980-9.
  11. Maersk M, Belza A, Holst JJ, Fenger-Grøn M, Pedersen SB, Astrup A & Richelsen B. Satiety scores and satiety hormone response after sucrose-sweetened soft drink compared with isocaloric semi-skimmed milk and with non-caloric soft drink: a controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Apr; 66(4):523-9.
  12. Schmidt JB, Gregersen NT, Pedersen SD, Arentoft JL, Ritz C, Schwartz TW, Holst JJ, Astrup A, Sjodin A. Effects of PYY3-36 and GLP-1 on energy intake, energy expenditure, and appetite in overweight men. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2014; 306(11):E1248-56.
  13. Astrup A, Raben, A & Geiker, N. The role of higher protein diets in weight control and obesity-related comorbidities. Int J Obes. 2015 May; 39(5):721-6.
  14. Arciero PJ, Ormsbee MJ, Gentile CL, Nindl BC, Brestoff JR & Ruby M. Increased protein intake and meal frequency reduces abdominal fat during energy balance and energy deficit. Obesity. 2013 Jul; 21(7):1357-66.
  15. Klempel MC, Kroeger CM, Bhutani S, Trepanowski JF & Varady KA. Intermittent fasting combined with calorie restriction is effective for weight loss and cardio-protection in obese women. Nutr J. 2012 Nov 21; 11:98.
  16. Varady KA, Bhutani S, Klempel MC, Kroeger CM, Trepanowski JF, Haus JM, Hoddy KK & Calvo Y. Alternate day fasting for weight loss in normal weight and overweight subjects: a randomized controlled trial. Nutr J. 2013 Nov 12; 12(1):146.