Now that you have lost the weight you wanted to lose, is it easy to keep that weight off? The answer is no. It's almost just as difficult to keep weight off as it was getting there in the first place. Many people lose weight and then get back to the normal way of life, thinking that everything will be ok. In only a couple of weeks they start noticing that the pounds recently lost are starting to make their comeback. It's a never ending battle, but with a right strategy in place and the tips I will give you, it's possible to make this battle easy for you and tough for the calories.
- Steadily increase your calorie intake.
In order to keep weight off, you must increase you calorie intake by about 30 callories a day until you find the right balance where you won't gain or lose weight. This will require some really close monitoring, but once you get there, you will know exactly what your magic calorie number is which is the first step in keeping weight off. - Continue eating healthy.
Just beacause you have lost all of this weight and have won the battle against callories, does not mean that they will not be more than happy to find their way back if you let them.
- Continue Exercising.
If you were only exercising to lose weight and now that you've shed those pounds, you no longer want to exercise, then I have some good and bad news for you. Bad news is that you should still continue to exercise in order to maintain your weight. Good news is that now you don't have to exercise nearly as hard in order to keep weight off. If before you were going to the gym 4-5 times a week, now you can cut it down to 2. Remember, you are not trying to burn more calories anymore, you are learning how to keep weight off. Even if you do decide to cut down on the number of times you exercise, I still highly recommend that you continue to exercise in order to keep weight off. You should make it part of your life, as your health and looks will only continue to improve if you contine to work on them. - Keep track of your weight daily.
Stay on target and pay attention if you begin to slip either way. If you notice that you have gained a pound or two, its time to cut back. Try to remember what you did in the past few days that may have brought some of this weight back. Maybe it's time to add another day of exercising or start to trim down on the calories. - Eat only when you are actually hungry.
How can you tell if you are actually hungry or if you are having a craving? Let's say you are sitting on a couch watching some TV or reading a book and you start thinking about that candy bar in the drawer. You really want it. Are you really hungry or is this just a craving? One way to find out is stop thinking about the candy bar and think about a nice juicy steak instead (or any other normal food you like). If you realize that you really want that steak it means you are actually hungry, so go get some food. Yes, go get food. You want to keep that metabolism up don't you? But if you realize that the steak doesn't sound so appealing at the momement, it means you are just craving junk food. Block it out of your mind and get a healthy snack instead, like an apple or a fiber bar.