What’s the secret of success of people who lose lots of weight and keep it off for many years, despite all the delicious Thanksgiving dinners they eat? (Anne Strieber has done this and you can too!) When you push away from the table and turn on the football, consider this: A new study suggests that the number of TVs in your home may play a major role in obesity.

Instead of watching TV, maybe you should go out to a movie instead. Researcher Suzanne Phelan says that when her group looked at the factors that cause people to become obese, “the home environment really came out as a stronger factor than we would have anticipated.”

Phelan and colleagues examined surveys of 167 people in different areas of the United States who had managed to lose 10% percent or more of their body weight and keep it off for five years or more, in order to understand those who successfully had lost weight and “see what really set them apart from other obese people who haven’t lost.” They found that the weight-losers were much more likely to exercise. The successful weight-losers also had fewer TVs, more exercise equipment and fewer high-fat foods in their homes.

Researcher David Katz says, “If you want to choose better foods, keep better foods within reach. Don’t just rely on willpower. If you want to be more active, create opportunities for exercise that are always within reach. Don’t just rely on motivation.”

Contrary to what you might believe, living near a variety of restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and even fast food outlets actually LOWERS your risk for obesity. A new study showed that people who live more than a half mile away from any food outlets are the ones who tend to be fatter.

Researcher Cathleen Zick says, “A healthy grocery option may influence the food you choose to buy, while having multiple food destinations within walking distance might encourage you to walk, rather than drive, to your next meal.”

Here’s something that LOTS of dieters have found helpful: the FREE diet book right here on our website! To read it, click here and scroll down to What I Learned From the Fat Years. Anne Strieber, who used to be a diabetic, devised this diet herself, using scientific principles, and lost 100 pounds by following it, and you can too (and you’ll go down in tee shirt size!) . If you appreciate all the great things we do for you, show us you care: Subscribe today!

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