Tips to maintain your weight loss

by Anand Thakkar, MD. ~

Losing weight is one thing, but keeping the weight off is another. Do you find that you often yo-yo in weight? You may lose a few pounds, but then you put them back on again, and the process repeats itself. It can be incredibly frustrating. However, you are not alone! A lot of people experience the same sort of struggles. The good news for you, though, is that we have some great ideas and weight loss tips when it comes to maintaining weight loss. 

Why do people tend to regain weight?

Before we provide you with some specific tips on maintaining weight loss, it is first important to understand why people regain weight in the first place. This will help you to understand where you may be going wrong. 

• A lack of sustainable habits – A lot of diets are based on willpower, as opposed to adopting habits into your daily life. Focusing on rules instead of lifestyle changes can prevent weight maintenance, and this is one of the biggest mistakes we see people make.

• The wrong mindset – If you view a diet as a quick fix, as opposed to a long-term solution for your health, you are going to be much more likely to give up and up putting weight back on again.
• Restrictive diets – Restricting your calorie intake by extreme amounts can slow down your metabolism and shift the hormones in your body that regulate your appetite. Both of these are factors that can result in weight regain.

Eating a balanced diet is very important to maintain your weight loss

How do you maintain weight loss?

Now that you know some of the main reasons why people tend to regain weight, let’s take a look at some of the different steps that you can take to make sure that your weight loss is maintained. 

Lifestyle changes

• Stay hydrated – The first tip that we have for you when it comes to maintaining your weight is to stay hydrated. Drinking water is critical for maintaining your weight for a number of reasons. The first reason is that it can help to enhance the number of calories you burn throughout the day. Moreover, it makes you feel full and can help you in terms of keeping your calorie intake in check.
• Don’t punish yourself whenever you have a setback – Setbacks are part of life. Rather than punishing yourself whenever you eat something bad, think about how you are going to push forward and keep getting good results. Just because you have eaten a pizza does not mean you should then have takeaways the rest of the week!

Diet Changes

• Be mindful of your carb intake – We’re not saying that you need to cut carbs out of your diet entirely. This is often not sustainable. However, you do need to pay attention to the amounts and types of carbs you eat in order to maintain your weight. One thing that can be detrimental to your weight maintenance objectives is eating too many refined carbs, for example, fruit juices, white pasta, and white bread. The reason for this is because these types of foods have been stripped of their natural fiber, which is required to promote fullness. Diets that do not contain a lot of fiber are linked with obesity and weight gain. 

• Add plenty of protein to your diet – Consuming a lot of protein can be beneficial in terms of weight maintenance because protein can help to promote the feeling of fullness and lower appetite. Protein will enhance levels of certain hormones within the body that are vital for regulating your weight and inducing satiety. Protein has also been proven to reduce the number of hormones that increase the feeling of being hungry.

• Make sure you eat breakfast every morning – Yes, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day! Eating breakfast can prove critical in assisting with your weight maintenance goals. Those who eat breakfast tend to have healthier habits overall. Consuming more micronutrients and fiber, and exercising more is a good place to start. 

Exercise changes

• Workout on a regular basis – Last but not least, regular exercise plays a critical role when it comes to maintaining your weight. Exercise can help with burning off extra calories and increasing your metabolism. These are two vital factors that are required for energy balance. When you are in an energy balance, it means you are burning off the same number of calories that you are consuming, which means your weight is likely to stay the same. 
• Lift weights – Aside from the tips that we have provided so far, we also recommend that you consider lifting weights. Reduced muscle mass is one of the common side effects of losing weight. This can be limiting in terms of your ability to keep the weight off, as losing muscle will lower your metabolism, which means fewer calories are going to be burned throughout the day. Therefore, you can help to prevent muscle loss by doing some type of resistance training, for example, lifting weights. This will help to preserve or even enhance your metabolic rate. In fact, there have been a number of different studies that have shown that people who lift weights after losing weight are much more likely to keep weight off by maintaining muscle mass. It is advisable to engage in strength training at least twice per week to receive these benefits. Make sure your training regime works all of your muscle groups for the very best results. 

So there you have it: some of the different steps that you can take to maintain your weight loss.  Yes, it does take hard work and discipline, but it is worth it in the end. 

Maintain Your Weight Loss

If you need help losing and keeping your weight off, we are there to help! Let us help you take steps towards a healthier lifestyle, contact us to see what resources are available to you and schedule a free consultation. Find a location closest to you.

About Dr. Thakkar

Dr. Anand Thakkar is a licensed Internal Medicine physician. He is Board Certified in Anti-Aging & Regenerative Medicine. He has been a member of the teaching faculty for students at Chicago Medical School and has been featured on ABC, FOX, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes as a recognized authority in wellness, fitness & nutrition, weight loss, anti-aging, hormones & metabolic medicine, holistic medicine, lifestyle coaching and women’s & men’s health. His mission is to help people become the healthiest versions of themselves.

This blog is for informational purposes only. Do not make any major changes to your lifestyle, diet, or exercise without the supervision of a licensed medical professional.

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