In my role as a trainer and R.D., I have the benefit of seeing individuals go through remarkable personal and physical change. Sometimes, the change is positive, sometimes, it’s negative; some people face down the challenge of eating well and getting fit, while others are overwhelmed and simply don’t succeed.

Recently, 34 people participated in a weight loss challenge that I administered through Joust Strength + Fitness. These 34, who competed as individuals and as teams of four, lost a total of 206.8 pounds (roughly six pounds each) over a six-week period. One of the individuals was able to discontinue the use of her blood pressure medication (with permission from her physcian) while another was able to stop using chewing tobacco. Their outcomes highlight lessons that others can learn from to help overcome the challenge of weight loss and tip the scales towards positive change

1. Accountability is key! Many of my nutrition clients are shocked by how the food diary they’re required to keep changes their eating habits. During the Joust Fitness weight loss challenge, individuals had to not only track everything they ate, but were given points for following a healthy diet. At the end of each week, scores were reported to teammates and other participants. 2. Having a support system can keep you on track. Not disappointing teammates made the cheeseburger versus salad debate a little easier to settle. Plus, your teammates were people you could commiserate with and look to for support. 3. Visualize a healthy meal, every meal. Challenge meals qualified for points if they consisted of a palm size portion of protein, a fist size portion of carbs and a thumb size portion of fat. You never leave home without your hand, so portion control was easy to monitor no matter where you were eating. Learning what a healthy meal looks like is key to a balanced diet. 4. There’s good and bad of every kind of food. People were surprised to find out that there are good and bad fats, carbs and protein sources. Learning the difference led to smarter food choices. 5. Drink more water. One of the rules of the challenge was that every participant had to drink 3 liters of water a day. For nearly every person competing, this was a huge increase in water intake. That added water kept people feeling full and hydrated. 6. Losing weight without a focus on healthy habits is lose-lose. In addition to drinking water, challenge participants receive bonus points for getting at least seven hours of sleep each night and adopting a healthy new habit of their choosing. Penalty points were assigned for failure to give up a bad habit (of their choosing) and snacking. Over time, giving up the bad habits and adopting new, good habits became part of the overall lifestyle change. Losing weight in a bubble, without changing your lifestyle in ways that can support healthy living and eating, is a recipe for disaster.

Melissa Gerharter MS, RD is co-owner of Joust Strength and Fitness of Ann Arbor, joustfitness.com. She is also a personal trainer and an adjunct lecturer at Eastern Michigan University. She can be reached at Melissa@joustfitness.com