Losing weight may seem like a tough job. But maintaining your weight loss is where the real battle begins. 95% of people who lose weight end up gaining it back. Usually with a couple additional pounds tacked on. Not only does this create damage to your metabolism and set the scene for multiple body imbalances, but it also can do a number on a person’s motivation.
The problem is that many people look at a diet a short-term. The want to lose the weight and then resume their pre-diet lifestyle. That simply cannot work. Your pre-diet lifestyle is what caused the weight gain in the first place.
The other problem is that you can’t stay on a diet forever.
So, you have to tackle weight maintenance with a different mindset. You have to make decisions about your lifestyle – changes you will make in your every day life in order to keep the body and health that you worked so hard for. Researchers as Penn State found that there were 2 techniques used by people who were successful in keeping it off: reminding yourself why you need to control your weight, and rewarding yourself for sticking to a diet and exercise plan.
So take some time each day to feel good about yourself and what you’ve accomplished. Remember how much better you feel, make a list of reasons why you don’t want to gain the weight back. As for rewards, just make sure you aren’t treating yourself to a bowl of ice cream after every workout.
Sources:
Brownstein, Joseph. “If you lost weight, you need a whole new diet strategy now”
today.msnbc.msn.com. July 5, 2011.
