Congrats on your weight loss. Now comes the hard part – keeping it off. You have to make eating in moderation and exercising a way of life. There is no way around it any more than you can hope to have smooth, hair-free legs by shaving or epilating your legs just once. There’s not a woman alive who doesn’t hate the never ending task of defuzzing, but you don’t see them stopping and then blaming the razor for not working when the hair grows back! It’s the same with dieting: you can’t go back to your old eating habits and then complain that diets don’t work when you gain weight back.
Some women are lucky to have been born with naturally hair-free legs. If you’re not one of them, you shave – forever. Some people can eat whatever they like and never put on weight. If you’re not one of them, you have to watch what you eat and exercise – forever. That’s the bad news. The good news is that when you were dieting, you really had to restrict your calorie intake in order to take off weight. Now that you have the weight off and are only trying to maintain a normal weight, you can eat more than you did when you were dieting, though not as much as you used to eat before you started dieting. That’s what put the weight on in the first place.
So how do you keep off the weight without condemning yourself to a life sentence of carrots and celery sticks? There is no magic formula but here is what has worked for me for decades since I dieted off the excess weight I was carrying as an obese ten-year-old. I am not recommending that you do the same, only using my experience to demonstrate that it can be done.
1) I eat only twice a day (breakfast and lunch). I eat anything I like, but in moderation. If I do pig out (and who doesn’t occasionally), I cut back for a while until I’m back to what I call my “default” weight. This way, two pounds never become four, four – seven, and so on. In addition, you may also consider taking weight loss supplements like resurge. This product has also anti-aging properties so it can help maintain your healthy skin as well. Always keep in mind that sometimes, diet and workouts are not enough.
2) I eat no snacks except fruit or vegetables. This is easy for me because if I eat between meals I feel overfull.
3) I exercise 365 days a year. I hate exercise but there’s no avoiding it if you want to keep your weight under control. It is probably not necessary to exercise every single day as I do, but I do it because, frankly, I’m afraid that if I miss a day it will be too easy to miss two, then three, then give up all together. I exercise first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
4) I eat very little salt because salt encourages water retention, which shows up immediately on the scale. Cut down on salt gradually so you don’t feel deprived. After a while, you won’t miss it at all.
5) I weigh myself every day but I don’t obsess over daily fluctuations as long as I see my “default” weight at least once a month.
6) I drink lots of water.
7) I am highly motivated to keep my weight under control. (For more on motivation click here.)
Only you can find a formula that works for you and fits in with your lifestyle. Stick to it as long as it works and tweak it as often as necessary. This may be every six months, every year, or every few years. Your formula may be completely different from mine. For example, you may do better having many small meals throughout the day. But whatever you come up with for yourself, make sure it’s something you can live with forever. It’s the only way to finally stop the yo-yo dieting.
