Losing weight is pretty straightforward – burning more calories than you eat will cause you to lose weight. But once you achieve the ideal weight, maintaining healthy weight can pose quite a challenge. Less than 10% of the people who lose weight manage to keep it off and keep it off permanently. Here are five tips how to maintain weight once you’ve reached your weight loss goals:
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise
People who have managed to keep the pounds off generally follow a strict exercise regimen. You got to where you are today because you exercised regularly, so it makes sense to continue with the exercise routine to maintain healthy weight. Ideally, you need to get at least an hour to ninety minutes of exercise daily, but you can aim for at least 45 minutes every second day of the week. Combine aerobics with strength training along with interval training of high intensity. These exercises help you burn off more calories while also helping you build muscle mass.
Monitor your Weight
To reach your healthy weight target you might have been restricting your calorie intake. Once you have reached the ideal weight, you may have to adjust your calorie intake to prevent more weight loss. The first step is to add about 250 calories to your daily diet and weigh yourself after a week. If you have still lost a few more pounds, add another 250 calories to your diet and check your weight after a week. If the weight has stabilized, that would be the right calorie intake that would help you maintain healthy weight.
On the other hand, if you still continue to gain weight after the target is achieved, then either you are eating the wrong food or are overeating; reduce your calorie intake by 100 calories each day. Monitor your weight weekly until it stabilizes and follow the diet required to maintain weight.
Limit Restaurant Food and Alcohol
Eating right is the key to successful weight loss; it therefore follows that you must control what you eat to maintain that ideal weight. Restaurant food tends to pack on the pounds while alcohol is never good for the body except in moderation.
Protein Rich Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The nutritional quality of your breakfast improves metabolism and keeps hunger pangs away. Breakfast rich in proteins will keep you full longer so you don’t reach for an unhealthy snack in between meals. Beginning your day with a protein rich breakfast will make it easier to keep the pounds from coming back.
Lifestyle Changes
You have already changed a lot of things to achieve your healthy weight – you eat healthy foods rich in nutrients, avoid processed foods and follow an active lifestyle. If you’d like to maintain that slim and trim figure that you got with such great effort, you’ve got to continue with the lifestyle changes you made to get there. Be a little more active – walk to the neighborhood grocery store instead of driving there, walk the dog, mow the lawn or take the stairs. Of course, you must also control your food intake to limit the calories, which is also a part of making lifestyle changes.