So you’ve lost weight, or are in the process of losing weight.
First off, let’s gooo! I applaud you!
But you might be wondering if you’ll be able to maintain it, and hopefully, keep the weight off for good.
Maybe you’ve lost weight and then regained it, before, and are worried you might repeat that cycle.
This happened to me many times. My biggest weight fluctuations were initially losing close to 90lbs, and then a few years later regaining around 50 of those pounds.
It felt like I didn’t have much control over my weight, and that I had to be rigid all the time to maintain the weight loss.
Like I couldn’t just kick back and enjoy life without feeling like my progress was going to shit.
But I finally broke this cycle..
I discovered that I wasn’t cursed, or just “meant to be bigger”.
I eventually lost that 50lbs that I had regained. And have now been maintaining it for several years.
Which is why I want to share with you some tips and advice on keeping off lost weight.
Let’s talk about it!
THIS is why the weight comes back!
That picture made me laugh.
Anyway, why do people regain weight in the first place?
It could be because of a medical condition, or because the person is no longer interested in their weight loss.
But the most common reason weight regain happens is because people usually rely on unsustainable methods of weight loss, which in turn will make whatever weight loss they achieve, ultimately, unsustainable.
Another reason is because people will oftentimes have unrealistic expectations of their fitness goals; a big one being the amount of time and consistency it takes to achieve various goals.
These together or alone can make for an unsuccessful weight loss journey.
Let’s dive more into some of the common unsustainable methods people use, and why they’re unsustainable.
METHOD 1: FOOD RESTRICTION
One of the first things a person does when they want to lose weight is think that they can’t have certain foods, or that they have to cut carbs. Big mistake. Huge.
Food restriction can lead to developing an unhealthy relationship with food, disordered eating, and is one of the main causes of binge eating.
Instead of thinking about what you can’t eat, think about various foods to add to your diet. Like more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, leafy greens, and beans. Stuff like that!
Focus on getting enough protein and fiber.
Check the important boxes and then fit in whatever the hell you want!
Also, getting an idea of how many calories you typically eat is also important when it comes to weight loss. Actually, it can be crucial as eating in a calorie surplus will cause weight gain and is the only thing that causes weight gain.
Download a free app like Cronometer or Myfitnesspal and track your food for a week.
This can particularly be helpful because it can be very easy to eat in a calorie surplus without realizing it.
METHOD 2: SHITTY WORKOUTS
Having a shit workout program that you don’t enjoy and can’t progress with is a sure-fire way to give up on exercise and be more sedentary.
Losing weight does not require tons of running, or high intensity cardio, or crazy 10 minute fat burn workouts.
These types of workouts are great at getting the heart rate up and breaking a sweat, but they don’t guarantee weight loss, and most people don’t enjoy them, finding them difficult to stick to consistently for the long term.
The solution is to find the types of workouts or physical activities that you enjoy, and also ones that you can progress on.
Anything that gets you moving and can get the heart rate up is a great place to start. It could be a sport, biking, hiking, martial arts, swimming, etc.
And also focusing on goals such as getting stronger, or improving performance on something, will provide value and motivation to stick with it long term.
METHOD 3: FASTING, JUICING, DETOXES..
Don’t get me wrong, in the right context these might have benefits, particularly fasting.
Juicing and “detoxes”, however, are mostly just hype and won’t really do much for you.
But in any case, people might turn to these in the pursuit of weight loss. But unfortunately, it never really works out well.
That’s because these are terrible methods of weight loss. They require a lot of food restriction and feeling like you’re starving all the time.
These methods can also lead to phases of overeating or binge eating.
Fasting can be beneficial for reasons other than weight loss. A person might be fasting for 12 or 16 hours, but can still easily eat in a calorie surplus during their eating period, leading to weight gain.
Fasting, in this case, becomes useless for weight loss.
The real things to focus on are:
- Eating when you’re hungry
- Getting enough protein
- Getting 25g-30g of fiber per day
- Getting plenty of fruits and vegetables
METHOD 4: DIET HOPPING
Carnivore, paleo, keto, are some of the most popular diet fads out there.
For reasons such as good marketing, diets like these are perceived as the key to weight loss. They can be effective in helping people lose weight, but of course, there are many caveats to this..
For one, following a particular diet doesn’t do anything magical to the body that results in weight loss. It’s not because carbs were cut, or processed foods specifically were removed..
It’s because when someone cuts out entire food groups from their diet, they’re inherently going to be eating less food and calories overall, which is what will lead to weight loss. Not the fact that they started some particular “diet”.
The truth about these diets is that they’re restrictive, unhealthy, and unsustainable for the long term.
And when someone hops on to one of these diets, it may last a week or so until they eventually hop on to another one, or resort back to their original eating habits.
That’s why instead of being bought into some popular diet fad, follow the simple nutrition tips mentioned above! The real things to focus on.
THE METHODS THAT WORK
Now that we’ve covered pretty much how not to lose weight and keep it off, let’s dive into what it really takes to not only achieve weight loss, but to maintain it.
METHOD 1: BUILDING A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD
This is one of the most important aspects of successfully losing weight and maintaining it, having a healthy relationship with food.
What does this mean exactly?
I’m no expert, but in general, having a healthy relationship with food can mean multiple things:
- Feeling like you have control of your eating habits
- Understanding that you don’t have to demonize and completely avoid certain foods, such as desserts
- Knowing the importance of eating your daily fruits and vegetables
- Knowing that it’s ok to indulge and not feeling bad about it
- Knowing when enough is enough
- Understanding that one donut or cookie is not going to make you fat, just like one salad isn’t going to make anyone skinny
This, of course, is easier said than done. And it can take some time and some trial and error before you actually shift your eating habits.
But focusing on simple daily goals, such as getting enough protein, fiber, and a few servings of fruits and vegetables, can actually help get you on the path to building better habits and creating a healthier relationship with food.
METHOD 2: MAKING EXERCISE ENJOYABLE
Let’s face it, nobody is going to stick to a workout plan they hate and more importantly, can’t progress with.
The good news is that losing weight and keeping it off isn’t about bootcamp-style workouts, or forcing yourself to endure some routine you hate, it’s really about getting the body moving more, and exposing it to some resistance.
In other words, getting plenty of steps/movement, and doing some resistance training.
Getting more steps and general movement in doesn’t have to mean running, or hopping on the elliptical. Of course, you can do these things, but anything that gets you moving can do the trick.
Whether you like hiking, biking, swimming, martial arts, or a sport, any method of physical activity can work.
You can also give yourself challenges, such as aiming for a certain amount of steps per day, or walking or biking a certain amount of miles, or improving your performance at a certain sport, or activity. Stuff like that!
When it comes to resistance training, you can absolutely follow a bodybuilding style routine, or whatever else gets you motivated and in the gym, but the truth is that a simple lifting routine can actually provide all the benefits you need.
What does a simple lifting routine look like?
It could be a simple split such as an upper/lower body split, or a full body split 2-3x per week. Another common one is a push, pull, legs split.
Each workout consisting of a few compound exercises (squats, benchpress, deadlift, bent over row, stuff like that), and, depending on your goals, some isolation exercises (bicep curls, tricep extensions, leg extensions, etc).
There are many ways to make resistance training enjoyable. The biggest one is focusing on improving your performance and progressing. Not just going through the motions, but actually getting better and stronger at various lifts is a motivator like no other.
And getting stronger is literally becoming more powerful.. I mean who wouldn’t want that?
Then, of course, you can improve your physique, have stronger bones, a better metabolism, better blood sugar control, and stronger self-confidence.
Those are just some of the other benefits of resistance training.
METHOD 3: DITCH FAD DIETS, KEEP IT SIMPLE
Don’t rely on keto or paleo to save you. They will just let you down.
Instead, similar to the rules of having a healthy relationship with food, structuring your eating habits around simple principles that are actually sustainable long term is all it takes.
Key principles:
- Get 25g-30g of fiber per day, more if you can
- Get enough protein
- Get at least 2-3 servings of both fruits and vegetables each day
- Have an idea of how many calories you consistently eat
- Don’t demonize and cut out certain foods because they’re perceived to be “unhealthy”, but also know when enough is enough
METHOD 4: GIVE YOUR GOALS A GREATER PURPOSE
Most people initially want to start a weight loss journey because they want to look and feel better about themselves. The thing is, this can be achieved regardless of if it’s your main goal or not.
What can happen often, though, is that when people do make looking better their main goal, they’re more likely to fall off the wagon or give up entirely.
This can be for numerous reasons, but a main one is that physical changes can take time. This becomes challenging when you’re putting effort in everyday, yet not seeing the results immediately. Big recipe for feeling discouraged and quitting.
However, if we can reframe our goals to have greater meaning and purpose than just vanity, they can become easier to stick to.
Here are some various ways to reframe health and fitness goals to give them more meaning and value:
- Eating healthy to feel better and have more energy
- Eating healthy to live longer for my family
- Exercising to lower risks of heart disease
- Exercising to help control blood sugar and blood pressure
- Exercising to be able to walk upstairs without being winded
- Lifting weights for stronger bones
- Lifting weights to be able to pick up objects, or your kids, without throwing your back out
SUMMARY
Weight loss can be tricky, but maintaining weight loss can be even more tricky.
The good news is that it can be more simple than you think.
Remember, be wary of unsustainable, “quick”, methods of weight loss. These methods, such as cutting food or carbs, crazy workouts, fad diets, juices, or cleanses, aren’t sustainable, and any weight lost from them will undoubtedly come right back.
Instead, choose more sustainable methods of weight loss that can actually become lifestyle habits that will make your progress stick.
Follow the simple nutrition protocols laid out, get plenty of daily movement/steps in, and pick up some damn weights a few times per week.
Also, if needed, reframe whatever your goals may be to give them more value. Your goals having more value makes it much less likely that you’ll quit on them. And even if you do, you’ll eventually get back on track.
Thanks for reading!
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And if you’re interested in taking your health and fitness goals to the next level, I’d love to work with you! Check out my online coaching page for more info!