There are a lot of ways to lose weight, some healthier than others. But once you've lost the weight, how do you make sure you don't regain it? How do you keep your healthy habits going, so that you don't undo all the hard work you've put in over the past few months to lose weight?
Fortunately, researchers over the years have examined exactly these questions. They looked systematically at which factors predicted whether an individual who lost weight could maintain the weight loss for at least a year. Some of the studies even monitored weight loss over a 10 year period. They looked at the following possible strategies, among others:
Limiting dietary fat
Adding high fiber foods
Limiting sweets and junk foods
Regular weight checks
Keeping track of food intake
Portion size control
High protein diet
Engaging in regular physical activity
Surrounding oneself with a positive support group
Reducing stress
I am copying a figure from one summary of all the available evidence below:
"Determinants of weight loss maintenance. Determinants in bold have a strong level evidence; those not bolded have moderate level of evidence. The green arrows indicate positive factors for weight loss maintenance. The red arrow indicates negative determinants in weight loss maintenance. Determinants that are not significant for weight loss maintenance are represented in the dotted box."
As you can see, people who maintained weight loss successfully found ways to ensure that their energy (calorie) expenditure remained roughly the same as their energy (calorie) intake.
There are a variety of ways to do that, and it makes sense to pick the strategies you can see yourself incorporating long-term.
For example, you might think that increasing energy expenditure means you have to jump on a treadmill for an hour a day to maintain weight loss. Now if you love doing that, and barring any injuries you plan to maintain your running habit forever, then good for you. But it's not the only way. And if you don't like doing it, then how realistic is it to use that strategy forever?
Maybe it's easier for you to focus more on ways to keep food intake regulated-- whether that's avoiding junk food, eating smaller amounts, upping fruits and vegetables, or avoiding unhealthy types of fats.
Finally, you may be sick of hearing me say this, but STRENGTH TRAIN, regardless of what else you do. Even the most disciplined person wants to have birthday cake and ice cream every once in a while, and having extra muscle on your body is like having a metabolic garbage disposal. You can afford to eat an occasional piece of cake when you've got enough muscle to help dispose of all that glucose (blood sugar) for you. Your baseline metabolism becomes higher, so you can burn more calories at rest.
It takes time to build muscle, but once you have it, it takes less effort to maintain it than to build it. So don’t worry if it feels hard at first, I promise you it is worth it and it will not feel this hard forever. And building a new habit takes discipline at first, but eventually, making time for regular strength workouts will become a semi-automatic habit, using less willpower and mental energy.
I'm cheering for you and I know you can do it! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Yours in good health,
Nicole
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