Four-W Plan for Weight Control

Journal Entry 4/7/10: Weight = 171.8 lbs.; Coinage = $5.28 (Money Spots were all generous, best single find, a quarter, two dimes, and two pennies in a parking lot); 118 pennies, 7 nickels, 19 dimes, 7 quarters.

Journal Entry 4/6/10: Weight = 174.0 (vacation weight gain, note to self, show more discipline on vacation); Coinage = $.72, 27 pennies, 5 nickels, 2 dimes.

Journal Entry 4/5/10: Weight (did not weight, on the road from vacation, I weight only in the morning because weight fluctuates during different parts of the day); Coinage = $3.25, ninety pennies, 7 nickels, 15 dimes, 2 quarters (.55 of the total was found on vacation walks)

Journal Entry 3/30/10; Weight = 171.8 lbs; Coinage = $1.84, pennies = 44, 3 nickels, 5 dimes, and 3 quarters.

Feature Entry: Four-W Plan for Weight Control

Coming back from a five day beach get-away with three sets of friends combined with the prudence of a 1st quarter audit of New Year’s resolutions has led the money to break out his non-copyrighted “Four-W Plan for Weight Control.” Slippage of weight control goals often happens during both situations—lengthy outings with friends and the passage of three or four months post resolution.

The Four-W is created by the four behaviors-in-common of people that lose weight and keep off. The Four-W is based on the work of Rena Wing, Ph.D. at Brown Medical School in Providence, RI who directs the National Weight Control Registry
The four “Ws” for weight loss and weight loss maintenance are as follows:

Weigh: Contrary to some, the MoneyWalker believes that a good digital scale is an essential tool for weight lost/maintenance. Weight should be taken every morning upon waking in a posture free of clothes. A digital scale provides the precision that is important for motivation reinforcement. An eating binge as well as calorie consciousness will be reflected with the precision of digital scales.

Walk: Walking is one of many recommended methods for the daily requirement of burning more calories than consumed. Other methods include jogging, swimming, and dancing. A one hour walk burns about 500 calories. Our daily caloric need ranges between 2000 and 2500 calories.

Watch: The most important component of weight loss/maintenance is to watch what you eat. Exercise physiologists at the U. of South Carolina compared four groups of dieters- diet only, exercise only, exercise/diet combined, and Control. Although the combined group lost the most weight, the amount was only marginally better than the diet group alone. Thus, portion control and decision prudence is the most important aspect of weight loss/maintenance. Wing found that her successful subjects all ate breakfast; it helped them to avoid food cravings later in the day.

Write: People that lose weight should chronicle their results. A journal should be maintained that visual depicts daily weight loss and gains as well as a journal of the when, what, and where food is consumed. Those serious about weight loss monitors the food and the calories/fats that they contain. Weighing and a journal combined are powerful motivation tools. Self-transparency is guaranteed.

So folks, join the MoneyWalker and conduct a first quarter audit on your weight control goals. As for me, I am just over the weight that I consider best for my health. By following the Four-W method, I anticipate that my next break-through is to consistently weigh in the 160s.

MoneyWalker