Weight Maintenance Tips

Tips to Help You Maintain Your Healthy Weight

It's been an uphill climb but you did it! You met your glorious weight loss goals. It certainly wasn't a er....piece of cake. In fact, you haven't even thought about cake in such a long while that you may have even forgotten how it tastes.

Your mind was occupied elsewhere - focusing on positive health issues, and on sharpening your Willpower, and yes, on resisting evil feasting items such as cake. Yes, chocolate cake...

So congratulations for crossing the finish line in one of the most difficult journeys that you will face in your life.

And now that you've crossed over from the 'dark side' you may be thinking, "What do I need to do to maintain my weight?" You may feel like an awkward, lost puppy.

For so long now, whenever things got rough you summoned up your Willpower. And your scales benefited from doing such. But what now?

How much can you eat without gaining even an ounce of that unwanted weight back?

Most Post Dieters Regain the Lost Weight in Five Years OR Less

The fact that you have stopped to ponder such questions is an excellent indication of your future success with weight maintenance, because unfortunately, the majority of people who lose weight gain it back within 5 years of reaching their weight loss goal.

The reason why weight gain occurs is commonly due to the following causes.

Over Celebrating With Food & Drink

They are ecstatic about their weight loss success. Simply put - they are happier than a lost flea who has just stumbled onto a pack of dogs.

Amid their burst of happiness, they celebrate. And how do they celebrate? Yes, by going out to their favorite restaurant that they have been deprived of during their time on The Old Weight Loss Trail. Or, they drag out that special well-loved goody that they missed during dieting time.

That initial celebration feast may, or may not, pop back on a few pounds. If the pounds happen to pop on, many times the individual will think, "Gee, I lost a lot of weight, and I've been dieting for such a long time now. It's only a pound. I'll get that off quickly in a few days."

Three months later they are heavier than they were when they initially began their diet.

So by all means, rejoice, but rejoice very smartly!

Over Confidence Can Lead to Weight Gain

Too much confidence. Again, the individual is confident because they have reached their weight loss goal.

The fear of 'never being thin again' has been totally erased from their mind. Now they KNOW that by gosh, they can do this!

They have beat the internal system, so to speak. Even if they regain a bit of weight, then 'not a problem, baby'. Dieting wasn't that bad. They did it once, they can do it again.

The Revolving Dieter

This is where the individual achieves their goal weight, then 'enjoys himself/herself' for many moons to come, lavishing in rich, thick malts and wallowing in a Baker's Dozen donuts, especially when the old weekend plows around.

Every few months, they grow out of their 'thin clothes' and decide to hop on the scale. And when they do, their mouth looks like this: O.

So they hit The Old Diet Trail again. And again, they lose all the weight! Then they regain, and lose and regain - oh it's an ugly little circle for The Revolving Dieter and is not so hot on the old health factor, either.

The points above deal with the mind - with common horse sense and diet. Obviously, the individual knows how to LOSE weight. So if they experience a regain due to any of the 3 points bulleted above, it's a simple case of not properly using the old noggin.

Managing Your New Weight, Safely

You've lost the unwanted weight - you've ditched those dreadful pounds and above all else you don't want them ever 'hanging around' you again!

They made you feel sluggish. They made you lose self-esteem. They impacted your self-confidence. They may have even made you more gassy and crampy. Who needs that?

Therefore, you must work super-hard so that those lost pounds don't come knocking on your Diet Door ever again. Lost pounds are like vampires. They can't come in unless you invite them in - and once that happens not even Holy water, crosses, or roasted garlic will stop what happens next: weight gain.

Tips for Keeping Off Lost Weight

There are several techniques you can use to help keep your weight where you want it to be. Those EFFECTIVE (key word) modes include:

1. Counting calories - it's the most effective mode for keeping your weight in check. Body weight isn't governed by carb grams, fat grams, fiber grams or sugar grams rather the amount of calories required by the body. Calories which aren't needed are counted as excess and stored in the fat cells.

2. Eating healthy & controlling portions - This is easier said than done, particularly when something delicious and tempting is sitting on the dinner table - or in our pantry. Willpower is the key - and of course, that little bitty polka-dot bikini or sexy nightgown or trimmer jeans or that fancy western shirt hanging in our closet.

3. Weight Watchers: We highly recommend Weight Watchers. They have readily available products at your local market and support is at your fingertips.

4. Daily diet journal - We strongly recommend maintaining a daily diet journal once goal weight has been achieved. There is a delicate balancing act with the daily diet as the dieter strives to eat more calories after the extra weight is lost. Too many calories amid the balancing act and weight is quickly regained.

5. Exercising - Whether you enjoy walking, shopping, shooting hoops, hiking, camping, sledding, building snowmen and women or riding a bike - just get out and keep moving for a healthier body and a mega calorie burn.

Activity keeps the metabolism going strong and it also builds muscle. The more muscle the body has, the more calories it takes to support the muscle. And the healthier the metabolism rate - the stronger the calorie burn.

6. Slimfast program - not the liquid fasting, rather the sensible dining program supplemented with Slimfast.

7. Richard Simmon's Deal a Meal

But before you whiz off, there are many techniques that WON'T work in regards to weight maintenance:

- counting fat grams

- dieting all week and going ape over the weekend

- fasting all day and having only 1 meal - dinner

- fad dieting

5 Great Reasons to Lose Weight

Example of 1000 Calorie Diet Plan

Weight Gain Causes | Weight Loss Plan

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