Benefits of maintaining weight loss

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello everyone! 

I hope you're doing great! 😊

Have you heard that it is challenging to maintain weight after losing some pounds? 

While losing weight is difficult for many people, it is even more challenging to keep the weight off. Most people who lose a large amount of weight have regained it 2 to 3 years later. One theory about regaining lost weight is that people who decrease the amount of calories they consume to lose weight experience a drop in the rate their bodies burn calories. This makes it increasingly difficult to lose weight over a period of months. A lower rate of burning calories may also make it easier to regain weight after a more normal diet is resumed. For these reasons, extremely low calorie diets and rapid weight loss are discouraged.

Weight loss to a healthy weight for a person's height can promote health benefits. These include lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, less stress on bones and joints, and less work for the heart. It is vital to maintain weight loss to obtain health benefits over a lifetime.

Keeping extra weight off takes effort and commitment, just as losing weight does. Weight loss goals are reached by a combination of changes in diet, eating habits, and exercise. In extreme circumstances, people turn to bariatric surgery.

Here are some weight loss maintenance strategies: 

The strategies that encourage weight loss also play an important role in maintenance:

• Physical activity plays a vital and essential role in maintaining weight loss. Studies show that even exercise that is not rigorous, such as walking and using stairs, has a positive effect. Activity that uses 1,500 to 2,000 calories per week is recommended for maintaining weight loss. Adults should try to get at least 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous level physical activity at least 3 to 4 times per week.

• Diet and exercise are vital strategies for losing and maintaining weight. Ninety-four percent of the registrants in the National Weight Control Registry increased their physical activity.
  
  

• Support systems used effectively during weight loss can contribute to weight maintenance. 
  
  

• Once the desired weight has been reached, the gradual addition of about 200 calories of healthy, low-fat food to daily intake may be attempted for one week to see if weight loss continues. If weight loss does continue, additional calories of healthy foods may be added to the daily diet until the right balance of calories to maintain the desired weight has been determined. It may take some time and record keeping to determine how adjusting food intake and exercise levels affect weight. A nutritionist can help with this.

A temporary return to old habits does not mean failure. Paying attention to dietary choices and exercise can help maintain weight loss. Identifying situations, such as negative moods and interpersonal difficulties, and using alternative methods of coping with such situations rather than eating can prevent returning to old habits.

Continuing to use behavioral strategies is necessary to maintaining weight. Be aware of eating as a response to stress. Also, use exercise, activity, or meditation to cope instead of eating.

I wonder what tips you follow to maintain your weight? I look forward to reading your comments and suggestions! 

See you around. 

[emili]

Maintaining weight loss is a commitment to yourself. It is about understanding nutrition well enough to make good choices all the time. When one is following a diet plan, you are told what to eat, how much, when. You don't really have to think beyond the prescribed diet you are on. Once the goal is reached, it becomes a bit more gray and that's where the problems start. I lost weight 7 years ago and I have gained back two pounds. I have guardrails in place that keep me on track everyday. It includes nutrition and fitness. I have a deal with myself that I can go off the rails Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights only. The balance between doing the right things and letting my hair down keeps me in check. I will say the two pounds are driving me crazy but not enough to give up that extra slice of delicious whatever on Sunday night 🙂

[Baltoscott]

@WilsonFitbit I agree that maintaining weight loss is harder than losing weight.  And I like your response @emili. It makes a lot of sense.

I lost about 40 lbs 4 years ago and have kept it off.  I lost a similar amount several times in the past and gained it back. I think the difference this last time is being mindful and generally aware of how much I'm eating daily, and shedding a few bad habits. Alcohol used to be a daily habit, but when I started losing weight I moved to three or four dry days a week. That really helped my progress and the habit stuck.  As far as mindfulness goes, I've developed an interest in fitness podcasts and continue to read about various diets. When I lost the weight I was tracking everything and that led to better awareness and general avoidance of things I was eating that are calorie dense and really easy to overeat. Occasionally I will log foods for a couple of weeks even now to help keep me aware of what is going in, but for the most part I've been so immersed in the subject that I just know.

The daily exercise part has never been a problem for me, and I try not to focus on calorie burn as a weight-loss or maintenance strategy. I do it more because I want to continue to be fit and mobile as I age, and because I enjoy it!  If I did it just to burn calories I probably would burn out or wind up with injuries -- both of which would lead to no exercise at all.

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @emili, @Baltoscott. It's great to see you around! 

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and wonderful tips! I'll definitely take that information into consideration and follow those tips. I'll get great results.