You Did It! Now Here’s How to Keep That Weight Off for Good

It feels amazing to lose the pounds that have haunted you for years. Unfortunately, 8 out of 10 people who succeed in losing a lot of weight gain it back. Worse, many of those who regain the weight gain back more than they lost. You can beat the odds, but keeping the weight off for good takes work. Here are our tips for keeping the pounds from creeping back.

Make Sure Your Goals and Expectations Are Realistic

Make sure that your goals and expectations are realistic for your body and lifestyle. It’s easy to get caught up in how easy weight loss seems to be for someone else, but it’s not realistic. Your hormones, metabolism, and genetics all impact weight loss.

It’s also easy to lose weight rapidly for a few months and then plateau. When it starts to become hard, you may find yourself wanting to give up. That’s when you need to push through and keep the momentum going. You’ve made it this far.

Plan for plateaus and stay on track. If you notice you’ve gained five pounds back, don’t let that discourage you. It happens. It’s a good time to schedule a follow-up with your weight loss doctor to see if there are other approaches that might help you stay on course.

Keep Your Emotions in Check and Have a Plan in Place for Stressful Moments

Are you a stress eater? If you’re sad, do you find yourself craving something sweet or chocolatey? Does the thought of crispy, salty chips get your mouth watering? You’re not alone. The American Psychological Association found that 27% of the population admit to stress eating, and 34% admit it’s a habit. It’s also a hard habit to break.

What you need to do is find a better outlet for easing stress. For some people, exercise helps. You’re feeling overwhelmed, sad, frustrated, or even angry because of the heavy load weighing on you. Get outside and go for a walk, or consider investing in a boxing machine where you hit the lit square to the beat and take out your frustrations that way.

Another issue is emotional eating due to boredom. When you’re bored you often feel down and want to do something different. Food becomes a crutch to get you through those moments, and it’s not the best option. If you engage in emotional eating due to boredom, you need to find creative outlets for engaging your mind.

Try new hobbies until you find one that excites you. Join a walking group or sign up for a social activity like a book group or fitness class. Consider volunteering. When you’re helping others, it provides a feeling of accomplishment that ends boredom and makes you feel better about yourself.

Eat Regularly to Avoid Binge Eating

If you feel full, you’re less likely to binge eat. The best way to do this is to make sure you’re eating regularly. Don’t skip a meal, even if you’re busy. Keep snacks available that ensure you get enough protein to keep you full in between meals. 

It’s been two hours since breakfast, so you could have a small yogurt parfait with fresh fruit, plain Greek yogurt, and muesli to tide you over until lunch. Lunch is over, but you’re still an hour before it’s time to start making dinner. Have a handful of almonds.

Vegetable sticks provide a satisfying crunch and take time to chew, so they ease hunger while also providing vital nutrients. Avoid bottled dips like ranch dressing to avoid unnecessary sodium, fats, and sugar. Instead, have your vegetable sticks with healthier options like hummus or baba ghanoush.

Get Enough Exercise

While the national recommendation is 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days a week, that might not be enough for you to maintain your weight loss. You might benefit more from a 45-minute steady walk on a treadmill instead. Make sure you’re getting enough exercise to maintain your weight loss.

Don’t feel that the same exercises are required. You might want to do HIIT workouts one day, and go hiking on a day when the weather is pleasant. A mix of exercises is great as long as you’re meeting the weekly requirements and working all core muscle groups.

Choose a Sustainable, Manageable Weekly Diet

If your diet is so restrictive that you cannot afford the foods you need or have the time to make the foods you need, it’s going to be hard to manage. After losing weight, work with your weight loss doctor to create a weekly meal plan that is sustainable and manageable.

You need to enjoy what you’re eating. If it’s filled with different foods you tolerate rather than enjoy, you’ll get bored fast. You need to enjoy the foods you’re eating, and they also need to meet your nutritional goals. 

As you lose more weight, that diet plan may need to change. Make sure you keep working with your doctor. 

Hold Yourself Accountable

Make sure you’re holding yourself accountable. You slipped up and had foods you know you shouldn’t. It happens, so don’t get too down on yourself. Instead, make it up with an extra workout. Even if you think you don’t have time, there are ways to fit a workout into your schedule. 

Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day. After getting up and using the toilet is a good time to hold a weigh-in. Your bladder is empty and you haven’t had a meal, which gives you an accurate reading. Always weigh yourself at this time to get steady results.

If you have gained weight, think back to what you did differently or skipped doing. Sometimes, it’s hard and you might need encouragement to get back on track. Dr. Green at Premium Sports and Orthopedics has an online scheduler to make it easy to get a convenient appointment for a follow-up visit.

Weight Loss Programs Are Customized to Your Lifestyle and Goals

If the diet program you use is hard to maintain for the long term, it’s going to be hard to stay on track. The best diet and exercise program needs to be designed to match your lifestyle and weight loss goals. It must be personalized.

Premium Sports and Orthopedics offers a three-week or six-week weight loss program. Dr. Green doesn’t use a one-size-fits-all approach to his weight loss programs. He takes time to get to know you and creates a customized program that’s designed for success. Some people need multiple weight loss sessions or extended programs to achieve what they want, but success is within reach. Call today to schedule an appointment.