Perhaps the biggest barrier to weight loss — whether you join a commercial plan or forge your own path — is simply sticking with it. Fortunately, there is a trick that may help, a new study finds: Enlist a coach. And it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune either. Even a friend will do, even if it’s someone who also struggles with weight. That’s the finding of a new pilot project from the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at the Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island. The pilot was small, with just 44 study participants. But it found that when assigned to a health coach — whether a behavior specialist or merely a peer (another study participant) — the would-be weight-losers shed 9% of their body weight on average over 24 weeks, an unusually big success for a weight-loss program. The study did not have a true control group, and the study authors say their results should be considered only preliminary. Still those researchers are optimistic. “Our study suggests health coaches may not only yield impressive weight loss outcomes, but that lay — or peer — health coaching may be particularly promising as a cost-effective obesity treatment strategy,” Tricia Leahey, the lead study author, told reporters. Her findings are published in the journal Obesity. It’s not hard to understand why coaching would work. Anyone can eat well for a couple days and do a brief exercise routine. But maintaining that schedule day in, day out, keeping up with regular exercise and watching what you eat not just for a few meals, but for a lifetime, can be hard work. Even in clinical weight-loss studies it’s not unusual for half of all participants to give up. When you’re short of cash, short of time or short of energy, it’s easy to let your healthy lifestyle slip. When you fail, you may think you just lack willpower. But a good weight-management coach — like any kind of coach — can help you break down performance and pinpoint specific areas for improvement. … Continue reading Want to Lose Weight? A Coach or a Buddy Can Help