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Many people have difficulty maintaining weight loss long-term. While diets and four-week bikini body boot camps can help you lose weight, keeping weight off is challenging. Research shows that 95% of dieters regain weight within one to five years, with up to two-thirds of dieters gaining weightMoreWeight lost when they dieted (Mann, et al., 2007).
Fortunately, researchers have discovered some of the traits and strategies that can help increase your chances of successfully maintaining a healthy weight. The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) has tracked more than 10,000 people over the past 23 years who have managed to maintain long-term weight loss. These “successful losers” have some common traits that have helped them lose weight over time. These and other long-term strategies discussed below can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Ditch diets for lifestyle change
Diets don't work and can even be harmful in maintaining long-term weight loss (Mann, et al., 2007). For sustainable weight loss, focus on healthier alternatives and lifestyle changes. Diets often represent a black-and-white, all-or-nothing approach. Lifestyle changes are more comprehensive, generalizable, and customizable to your situations and needs. Some examples of long-term lifestyle changes you might adopt include eating vegetables with every meal and snack, or combining carbohydrates with protein or fat to control blood sugar levels. You can also incorporate mindful eating as a sustainable strategy to keep weight gain at bay. While these may not seem extreme enough to promote dramatic weight loss, the power lies in their sustainability over time.
Move it or win it
The NWCR reports that 90% of successful losers train an hour per day on average. Similarly, the American College of Sports Medicine suggests a minimum of 250 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (50 minutes, five days a week) to maintain weight loss. These guidelines may seem daunting, but the activity doesn't have to be strenuous or extreme to achieve weight-related benefits. The most commonly reported form of exercise in the NWCR is walking. Walking and other moderate-intensity activities can help you maintain a healthy weight and achieve many other health-promoting results.
Build your strength
Strength training helps build and maintain muscle mass, which is typically lost with age and calorie-restricted diets. Muscle is expensive tissue – maintaining it costs the body a lot of calories. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn throughout the day, even at rest.
Focus on training all major muscle groups two or more days a week. If you're not sure where to start, seek out a qualified personal trainer to help you build a strength training plan that can be done in the gym, outdoors, or at home.
Self-monitoring
You can only change a behavior if you know what, when and why it is happening. By monitoring your eating and exercise behavior, you can increase your awareness of the antecedents (what causes a behavior) and consequences (thoughts, feelings, rewards, or disadvantages) of a particular behavior. Food or activity logs can be useful self-monitoring tools. An example food log might include:
- Was du gegessen hast
- Wie viel du gegessen hast
- Wo Du warst
- Was du gedacht oder gefühlt hast, bevor du gegessen hast
- Wie viel Zeit hast du zum Essen gebraucht?
- Was Sie während des Essens gemacht haben (z. B. fernsehen, E-Mails beantworten)
- Was Sie nach dem Essen gedacht oder gefühlt haben (physisch und emotional)
- Fülle oder Sättigung nach dem Essen
Self-monitoring can be used regularly to keep track of eating and exercise, or it can be a strategy used when maintaining your healthy behavior is challenging.
Ask for support
Social support is crucial for long-term behavior change. With supportive friends and family, healthy eating and exercise become fun group activities that encourage bonding and enjoyment. If your inner circle finds carrots unpleasant and boring, it's harder to maintain your healthy habits. Find a group of health-conscious people (in person or online) with whom you can identify problems, brainstorm solutions, and offer and receive support. Long-term guidance from a health and fitness professional also improves weight-related results. Staying in touch with a qualified health coach will help you plan and prepare for success and overcome any obstacles that may arise.
Don’t let relapses become relapses
Setbacks are normal. Planning for them will help you overcome setbacks when they arise. Consider possible obstacles that may affect your ability to be active or eat well (e.g., busy schedules, stress, financial problems) and consider solutions to those obstaclesin advance.Instead of berating yourself for falling off the wagon, view setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow. "Ugh, I ate so much ice cream last night. I knew I couldn't do this!" Instead, the question is, "I wonder why I ate so much ice cream last night. Was I bored? Lonely? Stressed? Did I get enough to eat during the day?" With that, nothing is a failure and every "setback" is an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your needs.
Remember your why
Losing weight is never really about weight – it's about reducing any physical or emotional discomfort you're feeling. Once you've lost weight and are feeling better, you can easily go back to old habits. Whether it's playing with your grandchildren, reducing your risk of heart disease, or feeling more comfortable and confident in a swimsuit, find out the "why" behind your weight loss and write it down. Place this note in a simple view where you will see it often. This constant reminder can help you stick with healthy behaviors when things get difficult.
A recipe for success
There is no magic pill when it comes to maintaining weight loss; Rather, several lifestyle factors work together to maintain your weight and your health. Focusing on sustainable dietary changes, regular activity, social support, and self-compassion in the face of setbacks is your best bet for achieving a healthy weight that lasts a lifetime.
reference
Mann, T. et al. (2007). Medicare's search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. The American Psychologist, 62, 3, 220-233.