What’s interesting about weight loss is that many people think that it’s just a process that begins when you make changes to lose weight and ends when you’ve lost all the weight.
However, if you’re not continuing with the changes that you’ve made, you might find yourself back at the original weight that you were. Instead of going up and down on the scale, here are ten secrets that you can use to keep your slim figure.
- Weight training works – Studies have shown that people who have more muscle mass will burn more calories, even at rest. Because of this fact, you will want to incorporate some weight training into your maintenance plan so that if you increase your calorie intake, you’re able to burn those calories off without any gain.
- Food journaling – When you write down what you eat, you will be able to control the amount of food that you are eating. Even if you only write down your food intake for a few days a week, keeping an eye on how you’re eating can help alert you of problems before they become pounds.
- Daily exercise – When you want to keep the weight off, exercise will need to become a part of your life. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to workout for hours each day. Work out by doing something you enjoy… dancing, hiking, skiing, kick boxing…
- Allow yourself treats – Life isn’t about deprivation, and neither is your new figure. When you’ve lost weight, you have learned about how many calories you needed to eat in order to achieve weight loss. Once you’ve learned this, you can also learn to have a treat every now and then, enjoying it instead of overindulging in it.
- Look at making changes rather than dieting – When you’re looking to lose weight, the ‘sprint’ approach isn’t a long-term fix. You need to permanently change your eating habits in order to ensure that your weight stays at its new position.
- Learn to make favorite recipes healthier – If you have a favorite cheesecake recipe; why not learn how to make it lower in fat and sugar? This way, you can still enjoy the foods you love.
- Get support – You don’t have to join a weight-loss club to do this, but telling your friends and family about your goals can help get everyone into supporting your efforts. When you do this, people will start to recognize that family gatherings should have healthy options as well as not always revolve around food.
- Keep the stress away – Many people eat when they are stressed, but when you’ve lost weight, you want to avoid this kind of trigger. Instead, figure out ways that help you deal with stress. What can you do instead of eating to help calm down and relax?
- Watch your weight – Studies have shown that those that regularly monitor their weight tend to keep off weight better than those that don’t. You don’t have to get on the scale every day, but weighing in once a week can help alert you to when you might need to rethink that second slice of pie.
- Recognize a slip up and forgive yourself – When you start to get angry about mistakes, you can backslide into old eating habits. You will have times when eating right will be more difficult, but you will persevere. Acknowledge that you made a poor eating choice (or several) and then forgive yourself and eat better at the next meal. There’s no need to punish yourself.
Keeping the weight off can actually be more difficult than losing it in the first place, but when you’re committed to keeping trim, these tips will make sure that you do.
Consider working closely with a weight-loss expert. S/he can provide you with a safe and effective weight-loss program while keeping you motivated. There is no better time to make this decision for yourself than right now.
About the Author
Ginny Grupp is the owner of AlaskaFit, LLC, Anchorage’s premier fitness and fat loss center. If you’re ready to begin your fat loss journey please call 783-1241 right now to receive a complimentary nutrition and fitness consultation (valued at $97).
If you’re not yet ready for our free consultation offer, please fill out the form to the right and start working on weight-reduction right now!
