Maintaining Weight Loss: Keep Yourself On Track
While standing on a weight scale, you see that you've lost pounds. You've been down this road before. You drop 4 or 5 pounds and feel that immediate sense of satisfaction. Losing weight is hard enough for a lot of people, but it's keeping that weight off that's really challenging. Many people who lose a good amount of weight often put it back on just as quickly as they have lost that fat.
There's a theory that this is in part because when you eat less calorie, you also lower your metabolism, which in turn makes it harder to keep losing weight. Your lower metabolic cycle can also cause you to slowly regain those lost pounds when you go back to your regular diet. This is why it isn't advisable to go on diets that involve low calories intake and promise rapid weight loss.
And, it is also why it's best to go on long-term diets that involve lifestyle adjustments. The reason behind this is simple. This increases the likelihood of long-term weight loss success. A good metric is try not to lose over 2 pounds every week.
Healthy weight loss provides health benefits like lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Lesser weight also means less stress on your bones and joints, and decreases the stress on your heart. These benefits only start happening when implemented over a longer span of time through lifestyle adjustments.
Here are a few ways to keep you on track and keep that weight off.
Physical Activity - This doesn't necessarily require you to hit the gym everyday. Short 20-minute walks or using the stairs instead of the elevator are enough in keeping the weight off.
Diet and Exercise - These two go hand-in-hand not only in initial weight loss, but also in the maintenance of weight.
Support Systems - You don't have to go through losing weight alone. Knowing that other people are doing that same thing will help you sustain your weight loss. So tell your friends about it and encourage them to do it with you.
Keeping these things in mind, it would not be difficult to maintain the new you. It's a lifestyle change, meaning that almost everything that you are doing now is permanent.
It's refreshing to both the mind and body, and when you see the results, you will not be saying that you made the wrong decision.
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