KEY POINTS:
Doug Sellman knows a thing or two about obsessive human behaviour, but he had to taste the turbulent world of the crash dieter before he could learn a better way.
The professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine at Otago University in Christchurch reached 45 and didn't like his flabby flanks.
His body mass index (BMI) rating of 27 matched the average for adults, putting him nearly in the middle of the overweight range. About 36 per cent of adults are overweight and 26 per cent obese.
He needed to change, but his first efforts were a failure, a reflection of how hard it is to alter a lifetime's habits. Only 5 per cent of dieters maintain their weight loss long-term.
"In my frantic times of trying to lose weight I sometimes skipped breakfast and tried to get through the day not eating much," Professor Sellman said yesterday.
"I would go for a few weeks and bring an apple or an orange for lunch or go on vigorous runs to try and get fit. I'm not a natural runner so it has always been a strain and of course it didn't work, it would never last."
After six months and weighing 86kg, with no sign of shrinkage, he changed tack, setting out on a long-term course of "fundamental but subtle" change in his lifestyle.
He cut his food intake by 20 per cent, made sure he ate well, and increased his physical activity, especially by biking to work - a 20-minute ride each way.
He plays golf occasionally, but shuns exercise programmes. He has sustained his new course for more than seven years.
Now aged 52, he has been at or near his goal weight of 70kg for three years and has produced a self-help book, Real Weight Loss: a Practical Guide to Changing Your Lifestyle and Achieving Long-Term Weight Loss.
"When I finally came to my senses and realised I needed to do something about being overweight, I found myself surrounded by a weight-loss industry peddling nonsense solutions focused on short-term weight loss, rather than long-term lifestyle change."
"Lifestyle change is difficult, but it's nearly impossible with the unrealistic timeframes people generally set themselves."
Most who succeeded at long-term weight-loss had devised their own programme, Professor Sellman said.
Massey University professor of nutrition John Birkbeck said the Sellman advice "all sounds very sensible".
It was a message the middle-aged overweight needed to hear, "but getting them to listen and act on it is the difficult part".
"It's all very well cycling in Christchurch but it's lethal in Auckland in many places. You could walk instead - take the bus and walk."
SIMPLE TRICKS
Doug Sellman's advice for sustained weight loss:
* Take control of your life.
* Be regularly active.
* Reduce consumption and eat nutritious food.
* Persist, and enjoy life.
A typical Sellman menu:
Breakfast: Muesli with extra fruit, seeds, nuts, served with soy or light milk and yoghurt. A mussel.
Lunch and snacks: A sandwich of two slices of wholemeal bread with olive-oil spread, hummus and lettuce. Three pieces of fruit, a tomato and a carrot.
Dinner: Lentil dahl with rice and lots of vegetables. Possibly some yoghurt or pieces of fruit.
