In a recent study that followed a group of women, it was discovered that 5 years after these women lost weight via a 6-month weight loss program, they weighed 7.9 pounds (3.6kg) more than their starting weight on average. This study perfectly validates the question that many people have: ‘How can I maintain the weight that I have lost’? In this blog post, we provide 5 simple (and often overlooked) tips that will help you maintain your weight into the future.
Congratulations, you have achieved your weight loss goals! But, now what? Sail off into the sunset and bask in your new shape while continuing old lifestyle habits. Please, no. Shedding previous pounds does not automatically immunize you to add them back. Losing weight, like life itself, is a marathon, not a sprint – and as such requires a LONG-TERM commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Given the choice, no one wants to be a weight cycler. Human physiology, however, makes it a daunting challenge to maintain weight loss. A reduced calorie intake (which is how many people lose weight) has a proportionate effect of shifting appetite hormones and reducing the rate at which the body burns calories. When – and if – a normal diet is reduced, this reduced rate of burning calories and hormone alteration combine to cause rapid weight gain.
But all hope is not lost. There are simple yet efficient tips that you can use to maintain and even improve your shape post-weight loss. Far removed from stringent rules or otherworldly willpower, these tips provide a bedrock to maintain your weight through the incorporation of positive and sustainable lifestyle habits.
Tip one – Prioritize healthy eating
Tip two – Be out and about: exercise
Tip three – Tweak it here and there: make changes
Tip four – Take advantage of the support
Tip five – measure and improve
- Prioritize healthy eating
Eating healthy, predominantly home-cooked meals is a sure-fire approach to maintaining your shape. Healthy foods, in weight maintenance terminology, encompass low-fat, protein-rich, and high-fiber diets that limit the dietary fat input, reduce appetite, and promote quicker satiety respectively. Proteins, besides reducing appetite, also take a relatively high amount of energy to break down, which enhances the burning of more calories during the day.
Ideally, you should observe how your body reacts to these food groups, and have your dietician/ nutritionist or weight loss clinic create a balanced and evolving dietary timetable that aids weight maintenance while providing you with all the nutrients you need.
| Diet | Low-fat | Protein-rich | High-fiber |
| Examples | Leafy vegetablesSkim milkFruitsLean proteinsChicken breastsWhole grainEgg whites | Cottage cheeseGreek yorghurt Lean beefEggsAlmondsLentilsProtein powders | Kidney beansBroccoliBeansChia seedsAppleCarrots and peasQionoa |
| Advantages | Lowers cholesterol concentrationReduces the risk of diabetes and heart diseaseReduces the calorie intake, thus assisting in weight loss | Promotes fat loss and helps maintain a healthy weightBuilds muscle massCurbs hunger | Improves metabolism (helping you burn more calories) Maintains bowel healthControls blood sugal levels |
Knowledge tip: Breakfast is an important meal that helps you develop healthy eating habits and sets the tone for the rest of your day!
- Be out and about: Exercise
Physical activity, whether self-performed or machine-administered, probably played an important role in how you lost weight in the first place. It bears to reason that it will continue to play a role in whether or not you maintain your weight. According to the US National Institute of Health, 30 minutes per day of moderate to intense physical activity like walking, jogging, and climbing stairs can help you burn up to 2000 calories per week – more than sufficient for most weight maintenance goals.
Furthermore, exercise helps the production of ‘feel good’ endorphins which helps to control stress. Built-up stress can cause weight gain as it leads to unhealthy eating tendencies and an increased cortisol level, a hormone linked to high amounts of belly fat, increased appetite, and food intake.
Knowledge tip: A common side effect of weight loss is a reduction in muscle mass which hampers your ability to maintain weight (constricted muscle mass reduces metabolism and calorie consumption). Lifting weights helps you to build muscle mass and maintain your lost weight!
- Tweak it, here and there: make changes
Your culinary safety and comfort zone, which may have been the perfect place before weight loss, will no longer suffice now that you have lost weight. Stepping forward into change is not just advised, but necessary if you want to maintain (and even improve) your new physical shape.
Some changes that will help you maintain your weight
- Do not eat late at night
- Use smaller portions or food sizes
- Become mindful of your unique precursors to snacking or unhealthy eating tendencies, and work with your weight loss clinic to tackle these at the root
- Eat slowly, chew the food properly, and pay attention to recognize when you are full
- Drink lots of water – before, during, and after meals.
- Get adequate amounts of sleep. If you persistently cannot sleep well, please consult with a doctor, as opposed to self-medicating
Knowledge tip: Poor sleep leads to higher levels of the so-called hunger hormone, ghrelin. Poor sleep also causes tiredness, a deterrent to exercise and often a precursor to unhealthy food choices.
- Take advantage of the support
The support systems – individuals, groups, surgeons, clinics, etc. that helped you lose weight in the first place are already positioned to provide the camaraderie, motivation, and post-procedure services necessary to maintain the lost weight. And taking advantage of this support is just plain smart. In the case of individuals and groups, their lifestyle choices will provide a positive rub-off that ‘fuels’ your weight maintenance goals and makes it easier to continue embracing these healthy habits.
Knowledge tip: Most weight loss clinics offer packages that include after-service consultations including nutrition advice
- Measure and improve
Tracking is a simple exercise. It works because it brings moment-to-moment awareness to the actions you take in the area of your life you want to improve – Darren Hardy
Weight tracking is a relatively new approach to weight maintenance that like corporate culture is similarly rooted in maximizing gains through data.
Weight tracking involves checking one’s weight at least once a week to monitor progress – and in collaboration with a nutritionist or a dietician, identify potential areas of improvement. Besides getting you ‘to retain consciousness’ of your weight maintenance goals, weight tracking also cultivates a meticulous approach to weight management that bears dividends in strengthening your long-term commitment to weight maintenance.
You can track your food intake (including specific calories and nutrients) vis-à-vis your weight gain/loss with a journal, online food tracker, and other niched websites, tools, and applications.
Knowledge tip: Whatever is measured, can be improved!
Contributed posts are advertisements written by third parties who have paid Woman Around Town for publication.
