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The Weight Loss Maintenance Challenge

Maintaining an appropriate weight for your height and body type is critical if you want to continue enjoying the health benefits of weight loss for the duration of your natural life span. When you embark on any weight loss program, you should also think of how it will work for you in the long run – when you will be faced with the weight loss maintenance challenge.

I lost a little over 40 lbs over a three month period about a year ago, and I have not put any of it back. In fact, I think I may have lost another three to five pounds or so. For me, the health benefits of loosing those forty pounds have been lower cholesterol levels, improved breathing, an amazing reduction of aches and pains I had assumed were age-related, much higher energy levels and improved mobility.

Although I’ve lost weight many times over the past thirty years (and usually gained most of it back), I do not believe that losing weight is easier than maintaining weight loss. I just think that most people do not focus on the importance of weight loss maintenance WHILE they are losing the weight. I never did so before. When I was younger my weight loss efforts were all aimed at the need to fit into the clothes hanging in my closet. Not a single thought did I give to how I would behave once I had achieved this objective.

I believe that the key to maintaining weight loss is to focus on your health during the weight loss process.  This means, of course, adopting a weight loss plan that incorporates switching to a lifestyle (dietary and other habits) that you will be able to maintain, with adjustments, on the long run.  Below are some strategies and guidelines that may be helpful for those of you who have lost weight – and are now living in fear of the scales:

  • Never stop watching your weight: I don’t know why some experts advise us to weigh ourselves once a week at most. You can gain a significant amount of weight in a week. Why wait for that to happen? The dismay you feel when you discover you’ve gained back some of the weight you worked so hard to loose often leads to a sense of failure, making you avoid the scales the following week. There’s nothing wrong with weighing yourself on a daily basis, as long as you understand that it’s perfectly normal for your weight to fluctuate by one or two pounds – but not more.
  • Continue to read labels and ingredients. This is tiresome, but it is necessary. At the very least, you should read the calorie count.
  • Once you’re satisfied with your weight loss, gradually increase your calorie intake by adding the same amount (calorie-wise) of healthy foods to your weight loss diet every day, for a week. If you continue to loose weight, add more healthy calories until you find the approximate balance of calories to maintain your desired weight.
  • Consistency is important. While occasional indulgence in unhealthy eating habits is not a problem, try not to give yourself free license to do so all the time. As a general rule, watch what you eat 80 – 90% of the time. This does not mean that you should deprive yourself of foods you like that may not be good for you. Moderation is the key.
  • Don’t eat if you’re not hungry, meaning don’t use food to cope with problems unrelated to hunger. Do not eat because you are bored, depressed, etc. Find another way to deal with such situations. For those of you who have habitually relied on food to cope with problems, this may be very difficult advice to follow.
  • The feeling of accountability can do wonders. Professional counseling of some sort for the first year or so after weight loss can be very effective for keeping the pounds off. For thirty years, I successfully lost (and gained) weight many times. Only when I consulted a nutritionist did I manage to keep the weight off. In all honesty, there was nothing new in the weight loss program I followed – except that this time I felt accountable. Knowing I would see the nutritionist every three months or so after I had reached my target weight helped immensely.
  • Physical activity of some sort should become a natural part of your life. I don’t work out or go to the gym, but I do try to move as much as possible. In the past, I would join an exercise class for the duration of the weight loss program – and then gradually stop all activity. Since I hate to exercise, I did not do any aerobics, jogging, or swimming when I was losing weight this time. I knew I wouldn’t keep it up afterwards – and this time I was already planning to maintain my weight loss. However, I do walk everywhere I can, climb stairs instead of riding elevators etc
  • Continue to focus on improving health and energy.  
  • Last and certainly not least, develop a personalized strategy that works for you. The number of meals to eat a day is a good example. I eat two meals a day; lunch and dinner. I couldn’t wait to get off my weight loss diet – and stop HAVING to eat breakfast. For many people, eating five or more small meals a day is the perfect solution. You need to adopt a permanent lifestyle that you can maintain - and that will maintain your weight at the level that is healthy for you.

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