You think that losing weight is hard BUT guess again: maintaining weight loss is even harder. I think one of the biggest problems when it comes to people losing weight and reaching their weight loss goal is that the majority of people gain the weight back (and then some). Maintaining weight loss doesn’t have to be as challenging as it may seem and it needs to be the goal even before you start the path to losing weight.
Wrong Approach to Maintaining Weight LossYou see people all the time at some function where they’ve lost a lot of weight, have a certain glow to them, and overall just look great. But then, 6-8 months later you see them again and, you can definitely tell that they put some weight back on. They’ve gotten into a bad cycle of their weight acting like a yo-yo. I mentioned before why maintaining weight loss is a better goal to have then simply losing weight and that when it comes to goals, you need to plan long term. Meaning, this isn’t like setting a goal like you are going to go to college and get your degree and then you’re done. Weight loss is different and I’m going to go through 3 simple ways you can use to in helping your ability in maintaining weight loss for yourself.
3 Tips to Maintaining Weight Loss1. When it comes to weight loss, you have to start off by saying “I’m going to lose X amount of weight and then I’m going to continue maintaining that weight loss.” This is very important because really, it’s all for naught if you’re just going to get down to your goal weight and then just say “Great! I’m done! Where’s that box of Twinkies?” You have to make sure that you keep your mental focus on maintaining your weight loss and the new lifestyle that you’ve started. So you need to continue with your eating style of choice and your exercise program and not just give it all up because once you do that, your body will just start to fall back to the way it was.
2. Continue monitoring your weight. Get on that scale once a week like you have been. Don’t freak out if your weight is one or two pounds over the weight you want to be at. That’s not really going to matter much and quite frankly, you’ll drive yourself nuts if you try to stay the SAME weight ALL the time. Just continue to monitor your weight on a regular, consistent basis.
3. Use the six pound rule. Like I mentioned above, don’t freak out if you’re one or two pounds over the weight that you want to be at. I’d say it’s best to keep your weight within six pounds of the weight you want to be at. Six pounds isn’t that much and it’s not something that is going to be all that noticeable to the average eye. Plus, if you have an upcoming event (high school reunion, wedding, etc), it makes it very easy to drop those six pounds within about a month so that you can be in “event body ready” in no time. BUT, don’t let it go over 6 pounds or it can get out of control really quickly.
You’ve taken the steps to lose weight and that’s a great accomplishment. But, that’s only half the battle. Maintaining weight loss is even more important and just following these three simple rules, will make it a lot easier.
By: Mike Navin About the Author:
Mike Navin is a Certfied Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and specializes in creating effective and efficient fat loss programs for those that need a workout but only have a limited time in the day. You can read more about his workouts at
http://www.mikenavin.com
