Making the ultimate decision and starting losing that extra weight that has been bugging you for a while is a very big step towards a healthier and happier life. There is not really a thing that makes us feel better than achieving our dream figure. Body positivity is more than okay but nobody should settle for what they currently are if they dream bigger. Reaching your goals and striving to be better needs to happen across the board. That means shedding off some pounds if that is truly what will make your life better and what will make you more confident in your abilities. All of this is of course much easier said than done.
Losing weight needs to be done right if you want it to have long lasting results. Too many people cannot maintain their target weight after they finally reach it. Both those who want to lose some pounds and those who want to gain them struggle to keep things as such for longer. In this article we focus on those who wish to maintain their ideal weight after reaching it following a weight loss regime. Why does it always seem to come back and what do you need to do to prevent it? Keep reading the article to learn more about this so that you have all the right information on maintaining the new exact amount of pounds you always dreamed of.
The Satisfactory Sense of Accomplishment
Once a person manages to go through all the hard work and dedication that go into the typical weight loss regime, they get that amazing sense of accomplishment. They have finally beaten themselves and persevere through months of dieting and exercise. When they step on the scale now, the number is exactly what they wanted. When they look at themselves in the mirror, their physique finally seems perfect. Everyone wants different results and each of us is different, but this feeling is largely the same. However, soon after the initial satisfaction kicks in, people tend to fall back to their old habits, the habits that caused them to weigh more than they wanted.
It is normal to reward ourselves after a job well done, at least when it is moderation. Once a person reaches their ideal target weight and stops dieting and exercising to lose more weight, it becomes hard to continue doing it. Actually, you no longer even have to do it, at least not the same way. Losing weight should become maintaining weight. This is where many people make mistakes. They have had enough of it and cannot wait to stop doing it as soon as they lose the final extra pound. When it happens, they start rewarding themselves and soon go back to experiencing more weight coming their way.
The job is not done. It actually cannot be done as it needs to become the new norm. Stopping everything all of a sudden shocks the body and if enough time passes this rewarding with excessive rest and bad eating habits becomes the new reality. Allowing yourself a breather should absolutely happen, but it needs to be something you do once a week or so.
Everything else needs to change towards maintaining the new you. For more information about this, just click here!
You Need a Different Diet
Resources also found in this article show that losing weight and maintaining weight are not done the same. That much has been covered by now. But how is this achieved? Well, it is done through food and eating the right way. When losing weight, the body needs to burn the stored amount of fat instead of the carbs we take in during the day. This is why most diet plans are quite low on carbs and have the bare minimum the body needs. Instead, protein is the dominant part of the diet as are the vitamins and nutrients from healthy food options like fruits and veggies. Once the desired weight is achieved and you are happy with your new weight, this plan can no longer be the one you use.
To maintain the weight the person has to make a new balance in the way they eat. Carbs need to be increased, fats need to be low, and proteins have to be lowered a bit. This way the body burns the carbohydrates you take in during the day, uses the protein to maintain the muscles, and only has the fat that is needed for the overall health. Maintaining weight is an everyday process, which is why it has to be a conscious effort until it becomes second nature. Dialing back on junk food, giving up smoking and drinking or at least lowering it, and staying hydrated with water instead of fizzy drinks and juices is only a step. It is how you utilize healthy food and the right amounts of it that truly dictate how well you can maintain your physique.
A Different Workout Regime
Similar to how you needed a strict diet plan to burn off the calories and lose weight, you were probably on a very rigorous workout regime too. It was aimed at burning the excess weight by melting off the calories. Building the muscles underneath is of no use until the fat is burned, meaning most of your workout sessions were focused on cardio. Whether it was jogging, running, or cycling, the majority of your time at the gym or outside revolved around moving and using the entire body. There were limited times when you did anything else because cardio was far more pressing. In combination with eating healthy it gives the best results in losing weight.
This needs to change now that the goal is maintaining weight. Just like with food, people either stop working out almost completely or they keep doing what they are used to. One cannot continue doing only cardio to maintain weight. There will be less weight to burn off so the body will use the energy from the carbs. This will result in faster exhaustion and then overeating to make up for it. No. Instead, switch to other types of exercise. Swimming is great because it works out the entire body and most muscles. Isolated workout sessions that target the arms, the legs, the chest, or the back separately are the perfect choice. Picking up a sport to stay active is another good way to maintain weight, and so is walking and cycling everywhere instead of driving.
