Anne Fletcher, MS, RD is also the author of the national bestseller Thin For Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It Off. Fletcher’s 2001 book, Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems – Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded was also a national bestseller and received several distinguished awards.

Fletcher is the recipient of the American Dietetic Association’s Media Excellence Award, as well as awards from the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Writers Association. As the former assistant director of an obesity treatment program, she provided counseling to hundreds of clients with weight problems. Previously, Fletcher was executive editor and chief writer of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter and a contributing editor for Prevention magazine. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition from Cornell University and a Master of Science degree from Drexel University.

Weight Loss Confidential was featured on the Today Show, the CBS Early Show, and in the NY Times, USA Today, USA Weekend, and US News & World Report. Her media experience also includes appearances on The Today Show, The View, Donahue, Good Morning America, The Early Show on CBS, and National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation. Her articles have appeared in Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, Reader’s Digest, Redbook, Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light, American Psychologist, and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Anne Fletcher--

When one out of every three teens today is overweight, many teens and their parents are in a quandary about what to do. A novel solution came to me after my own overweight teenage son, Wes, came home from camp one summer and excitedly told me about another boy he’d met who had lost 40 pounds. That’s when it occurred to me that a great model for a book would be “teens helping other teens” with weight management. Wes lost more than 60 pounds when he was 18 and, when he’d kept it off for a few years, I decided it was time to write Weight Loss Confidential: How Teens Lose Weight and Keep It Off – And What They Wish Parents Knew, which was just released in paperback by Houghton Mifflin. (Wes is now 24 and he’s not only maintained his initial weight loss, he’s dropped another 20 pounds.) Also, as a registered dietitian, I was troubled by the skyrocketing numbers of overweight kids and thought it was time to offer some sensible solutions.

So I set out to locate formerly overweight teens who had lost weight in healthy ways and kept it off for a year or more. I turned to schools, health clubs, weight programs, friends, relatives, and colleagues, all across the United States – even in other countries – to find the 104 teens who took part in the book. I surveyed and interviewed them along with many of their parents to find out what works and what doesn’t work when trying to get to a healthier weight. The teens’ average weight loss is 58 pounds, and the average length of time they’ve been successfully managing their weight is just over three years.

How the teens lost weight–the common threads

The most striking theme is that there is no one way to do it–teens have to find what’s right for them, as individuals. About half of the teens lost weight on their own and the other half had help from a professional or program. So that readers can find their best way for a teen to slim down, I share in-depth stories of kids who lost weight in different ways and offer detailed guidelines about choosing a weight-loss program. Written for both teens and parents, the book also offers a “shopper’s guide” to weight programs, helpful Web sites, and other resources for healthy weight management.

If I had to pick one specific strategy that led to the success of these teens, without hesitation, I’d say that exercise is the most important one. In fact, exercise (or becoming more physically active) was the number one response when I asked the teens for their most important weight-loss strategies and for the most important things they do to keep the weight off. I was actually surprised to see how dedicated these teens are to exercise– strength training and running were the most common forms of activity. Less than a quarter of them were involved in team sports, however, so kids don’t have to become “jocks” to be fit. The teens offer strategies for overcoming self-consciousness about exercising, getting started, and making physical activity fun.

Another success strategy that jumped out at me was giving up or cutting back on regular soda – and many teens said that drinking more water is important. The teens also share how they stay motivated, cut the fat, downsize portions, snack smarter, shift to healthier carbs, make better restaurant choices, and manage emotions without eating. Most of them are not meal-skippers, and they don’t deprive themselves of treats. But all of the advice comes from the teens themselves with their stories of how they did things their way. This advice is specially captured in a brand, new companion book that’s just for teens: Weight Loss Confidential Journal: Week-By-Week Success Strategies for Teens from Teens.

The bottom line for overweight teens is that they have to believe they can succeed – I know this because I found more than 100 teens who did it. And these kids beat some pretty tough odds: most of them had been overweight for a long time, most had at least one overweight parent, and most had tried to lose weight and failed at least a few time before finding success. It’s also clear that teens have to do it for themselves–parents need to provide support and healthy foods, but ultimately they have to let teens take the lead in finding a way to lose weight and keep it off. The young people in Weight Loss Confidential pave the way for that to happen.Aaron T., says, “It took years for me to find the inspiration, but when I finally got it, there was no stopping me. If you want it enough, you will lose weight.There are millions of reasons to lose weight. Find one, go with it, stick with it, and believe in yourself. ”

Will Power VS. Want Power

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Update on Jul 28, 2008 by At Basil & Spice

Reuters!