Maintaining weight loss is the next challenge once you’ve reached your targeted weight. Really, a diet is not successful unless it allows you to keep the weight off that you’ve lost for good. Otherwise, you just found a temporary fix to a long-term problem.
Many people struggle to maintain weight loss, that is why they find themselves back in the diet seat shortly after they come off their diet plan.
Fortunately, with 4 key tricks, you can succeed with maintaining your new body and enjoy all the hard work that you put in.
Keep A Tight Weight Range
The very first thing that successful maintainers do is set a narrow weight range that they will allow themselves to fluctuate between. For instance, if your goal weight is 125 pounds, you might only let yourself get up to 128 before you start taking action.
Remember, it’s far easier to shed 3 pounds of weight gained with a few simple diet modifications than it is to shed 20 that you’ve let yourself gain back.
Calorie Intake
The second thing that you might consider to help you with maintenance is to maintain a lower calorie intake during the week. This creates a mini-calorie deficit that you can then use during the weekend when you are more social and the chances of you consuming more calories are greater.
Since most people do struggle with the weekends a lot more than weekdays, this gives you some leeway for going out to social functions or just treating yourself to something that you desire.
Maintain Your Exercise Levels
Another key factor in successful weight maintenance is to stick to a regular workout program. Exercise is one of the biggest factors that helps you to lose weight and keep it off.
This will help you maintain a higher metabolic rate to prevent fat gain. Weight training builds lean muscle mass, which naturally burns more calories all day long.
Indulge Once Per Day
Finally, if you decide that you do need to treat yourself on any given day, make sure that you limit yourself to just one treat per day. If you let yourself get too out of control and are treating here and there all day long, it will add up to weight gain.
If you’re craving chocolate, have a small piece, enjoy it, and then put the box away. A 100 calorie treat really won’t have much influence on your weight but six or seven of them will. Remember that and you’ll keep yourself in check.