National Weight Control Registry
 

My paperwork arrived yesterday.

I've filled it out, included my PCP's contact info, printed photos, and included something like 20 printed pages of weight-logs.

Today, I'm not overweight. My weight is fluctuating, up and down, in a 5-lb range around the goal I decided to settle on. (Some of this fluctuation is because I now have a very physically demanding warehouse job, where I'm on my feet up to 12 hours/day. Swollen feet/tired muscles/fat being replaced with muscle = weight gain, on the scale.)

But I'm stable enough that I finally ordered those custom-fit jeans I'd promised myself, back when.

So excited! I'm "official"! (One more person skewing the data to what actually works!)

Congrats! Never heard of " National Weight Control Registry" link or brief description?

The NWCR is a registry of people who have successfully lost a minimum of 30lb and kept it off for at least one year. The data has been used in a number of published studies, but of course it's all observational so the findings need to be put in perspective. And it's opt-in, so it's subject to the same sort of bias as any sort of phone-in poll.

I looked at signing up for it a while back, but decided against it for reasons I can no longer remember. Might look at it again sometime.

I participated in the registry for a few years over a decade ago. Eventually I got disgusted by it. The questionnaire was clearly not designed for people eating low carb and because of the design of the study the low carb data just gets lost in all the low fat follow the guidelines folks. Consequently the results just mirror the conventional “wisdom”. I believe Janet (Jey100) has participated and tried to point out the problems with the study to the people conducting it with no positive changes ever made as far as I know.

I've been registered with them since 2012, Jean, Barbara and others much longer. Ken joined about five years ago. Think we have all become fed-up trying to change the questionnaire.

You will find it is impossible to give accurate answers for a low carb WOE, the multiple choices are biased against it. So I valiantly write a separate long email, explaining why my "answers" will seem wrong, how they could change it to account for the many LC successes, to no avail. I attach recent LC studies, photos, etc. This was a typical Dr. Thomas response to me in 2017:




The wheels of academic research grind slowly...but wishing you the best of luck to have them finally change the form!!

I quit before they went digital and the long food surveys designed for the low fat is healthy crowd were nearly impossible for me to fill out and then when I would get updates on the results it was all the same old same old low fat low calorie exercise mantra. I was statistically non-existent, I found it all a pointless waste of time.

Thanks for all the feedback on the National Weight Control Registry

Great milestone :) I'm registered but changed my email address a while back and never contacted them with the update. I should probably get on that :lol:

Just filled out the online survey. Yeah, they definitely wanted me to talk about how I cut fat....

There was an "always" option for things like trimming fat from meat, but no "never" option -- just "rarely".

I filled things out as truthfully as I could. (Things like "how many times a day, including snacks, do you eat" was hard. Um, 0-30? Depends on how hungry I am?) (Physically demanding job means some days, I feel like I can't stop eating. I stay on-plan, and don't sweat it. Other days, I'm not hungry at all, so have my morning coffee, and just drink a lot all day. Granted, most days fall somwhere between those extrems.)

There was also an optional "free-answer" section at the end, where you could just type.

So told my story: Nov 1 2018 diabetes diagnosis. Asked doc to let me try diet first. Cut out all sugar, grain, starch. 3 months later, normal A1C. (5.2... currently 5.1). 6 months later normal liver & lipid panels. Make sure I get plenty of fat, weigh daily, drink lots of water, and the weight continues to stay off.

Also described the fact that when folks are offering treats, if I tell them, "No thanks, I can't", they will -- 100% of the time -- try to talk me into having some anyway, but if I say, "No thanks, I can't -- I'm diabetic" they accept it and don't push. (I'm NOT diabetic anymore, but that's a whole 'nuther conversation.)

Honestly, if they don't accept my data because it doesn't fit what they're expecting to find... well, I can live with it. Some minds are hard to change.

But on a personal level, it means I did it... I got to mainenace and stayed here.

Congratulations for getting to maintenance ..and you will continue to stay there! I was not trying discourage anyone from joining...the more we write to them about low carb the better, just a warning about those question.
About two years ago? they sent a supplement survey for how you handle the holidays...it was newer so had some responses that acknowledged not everyone cut the fat.

What actually works--I wouldn't say that what low fat dieters report as working for them doesn't actually work. But I do think the data's skewed. Tell everybody in the world to do things a certain way--and then send out a call for people with weight loss success to say what they did. You've got an extremely large sample from which those your advice actually worked for can self-select themselves.

So I'm for low carbers registering, from a propaganda standpoint. :lol:

I am assuming this is a quote from me.

I can't find it in my posts on this thread, but I'm still 100% convinced you're quoting me. (This shows how much that phrase is part of my mindset, when it comes to reaching goals in terms of fat-loss and improved health.)

When I do get into a conversation with someone about how I eat and why, the phrase, "I eat like a QUEEN." is always used.

I mean, one week recently, I brought cheesecake to work as my lunch. (Not saying every day that week, but at least once I JUST had cheesecake for lunch.)

My favorite "grab a quick meal" is wings. (Which usually gets the folks trying to starve themselves salivating.) (I like wings -- lots of places you can get them, and they're almost always "safe" in terms of added carbs... and always satisfying.)

I never feel "deprived" in my food, which is one reason it's not hard to stay on-plan. Heck, I even recently found a readily available LC ice cream. (Used to make my own, but a.) my machine broke, and b.) I couldn't make caramel swirl.) (Ingredient list is short, not franken-food... I can feel good about indulging once in a while.) (Brand is "Rebel", before anyone asks. Found it in Publix.)

I eat when I'm hungry. I don't eat when I'm not. If I have a craving, I find a way to fill it. (Sometimes, this means dissecting the craving... like if I'm forced to smell doughnuts for an hour, and start to want them, what is it I need? Certainly not the doughnut... but maybe a square of 90% dark chocolate will make that noise shut up. It'll taste better, than actual doughnuts, anyway.)

What I tend to see on low-fat is people walking around hungry all the time... sometimes feeling stuffed (from the volume in their stomach, but never quite satisfied. When you're always hungry, eventually, you'll eat. (They always seem to.)

When I run into folks discussing weight, I'm supportive. I give encouragement, and don't bring up how I eat unless asked. If they ask, though... I'll tell.

LiterateGr--I don't think I disagree with you in any material way. At the same time--because of self-selection I do think anything we do along the lines of the weight loss registry is along the lines of representing the cause rather than something somebody should see as proof of efficacy. People will, and have, for low fat, so I do think it's good to get in there just to counter that. We don't need to meet a standard of evidence any better than that of the evidence we're refuting, after all. We do of course, in other places.

I don't discount anecdote--I think any honest anecdote is useful, "if it worked for me, it may work for you" is true even if "if it worked for me, it will work for you" may or may not be in all cases.

Low fat actually did work for me, for the weeks or months I was willing/able to follow it. :lol: Low carb is something that I've been able to stick with pretty constantly for well over a decade. So due to probability of compliance, for me personally low carb/ketogenic doesn't really need to be better for me than low fat, it just has to be better than the SAD diet I always defaulted to when low fat was what I did when I was trying to be good.

A 2021 update. Today I filled out their survey shortly after having received it. Nothing has changed with the survey, same 'ole questions geared to a low fat diet and lots of exercise. Checking my emails, found I had sent the lead researcher, Dr. Thomas, an update only last December. That email summarized my weight regain in 2020 and losing back down to a healthy BMI of 169.

Now at 156, I send another update ... still low carb, but increased protein, added more vegetables and fermented dairy. He answered right away, and wanted to know more about my physical activity and the P:E diet. He must have been disappointed to learn of my very limited exercise until this summer...this past year was only walking around the neighborhood. :lol: But filling in the "free form" section at the end...you can write anything you believe important for him to know about your weight loss journey... is worth it. You are invited to email him directly as well..I do both. He obviously reads them. The survey is unlikely to change as he explained in 2017, but maybe more special surveys or a new researcher will look back on all our comments make some adjustments. :idea:

I applaud your perseverance Janet. I just gave up when I realized that not only was the research design severely flawed but that nothing was going to be done to change it and that my low carb success story, which did not support their flawed conclusion derived from their flawed design and no doubt flawed initial assumptions, would simply get swallowed up and therefore discounted. Perhaps your continued persistence will make some small dent in point of view of the researcher.