Six Steps to Maintain Your Weight Loss

You may have had success in shedding the pounds, and you don’t want to lose any more weight. It should be easy to maintain your weight loss, right? Not necessarily.

Your body is used to operating on fewer calories, and to maintain your weight loss, you can’t go back to your old eating habits. You’ll still need to use portion control.

Here are six steps to maintain your weight loss:

Count Calories

Yes, it can be a real drag, but you worked hard to lose the weight. Eat the same number of calories you did when you were losing weight. Try gradually adding 100 more calories and see if you are still maintaining your weight loss. Add or take away calories as needed.

Let Your Plate Be Your Guide

If counting calories is not your thing, putting the right foods on your plate will help you maintain your weight loss.

When your make your plate, fill up half with vegetables and the remaining space should be divided evenly between lean protein and whole grains. If you go back for seconds, limit yourself to vegetables, fruit or low-fat dairy.

Control Temptations

You don’t have to swear off desserts for the rest of your life, but you will have to limit yourself to occasional treats.

Don’t bring junk food home. When you’re going to have a treat, eat it while you’re out. If you’re craving rich foods like cheesecake, bring some friends along to share.

Have a stash of healthy foods with you at all times. Protein bars will satisfy the sweet urge without breaking the calorie bank. Apples can be eaten with the skin on, and you can put half a banana in a Ziploc. ™

Weigh Everyday

You may think that you just need to weigh yourself once a week to check in, but weighing yourself every day lets you know when you’re off-track and gives you time to make corrections.

Resist the temptation to weigh several times a day, because your weight does fluctuate according to what you’re eating or drinking.

Increase Exercise

The gold standard for exercise is to be active 30 minutes a day, five days a week. However, when you’re trying to maintain your weight loss, you may need to increase your time to 60 minutes.

You can increase your time gradually and start with 45 minutes and work your way up. The time will go faster if you exercise with a friend.

Use Measuring Cups

You need a precise measurement so you can count your calories, so invest in a set of measuring cups. Plastic ones are fine unless you feel the need to buy more expensive ones.

It’s easy to put too much on your plate if you’re not measuring and that can lead to weight gain.

You should pat yourself on the back for losing the extra pounds. It’s not easy to resist temptations but you did and you look and feel better.

Follow these tips to maintain your weight. It takes a little extra time but if it helps you maintain your weight loss it is worth it.