You have done the work to lose the weight. Worked out regularly, ate the right things, and now that dress that has been hanging in the closet for months finally fits. Go you! Stop now and do a happy dance (but come back and keep reading). Now that those excess pounds are gone, how do you keep the weight off? The last thing you want to do is spend the time and the enormous effort to lose weight and then gain it all back. Here I will share several useful tips to help you learn how to lose weight and keep it off.
How To Lose Weight And Keep It Off
Losing weight and keeping excess weight off is about making a series of conscious decisions. It is not about deprivation or starving yourself. Given that most people gain one to two pounds each year (depending on activity level and diet) we should all make an effort to be more conscious of how we treat our bodies.
One of the most successful ways to lose weight and keep it off is by making simple changes to our everyday lives. For example, you can help to reduce your chances of gaining that extra one to two pounds a year by consuming less bad calories each day. This method will not help you to see drastic results, but making small changes like this one will help you to keep the weight off over time.
Watch Your Portion Sizes
Have you ever noticed how much food is on the plate at certain restaurants? The portion sizes are sometimes significantly bigger than what we should consume in one sitting. Seeing such a large amount of food on a plate can sometimes trigger us to feel like we must clean our plates. In some instances we end up eating more than we need or want just because it is there.
If you are going to a restaurant that serves large portion sizes, try to switch it up and order from the appetizer menu. If the main course portion sizes are really big, there is a great chance that the size of the appetizer will be enough to fill you up. Watching our portion sizes and the amount of food we put into our bodies is one of the most successful to lose weight and keep it off.
As a rule of thumb try not to allow yourself to feel obligated to eat a huge portion just because it is in front of you. If you find yourself with a large plate of food you can always ask to have half packaged to take it home to eat at another time. The key here is to avoid overeating in a single sitting.
Avoid The Sugary Drinks
Who loves fancy coffee? Waves hand in the air, because I definitely do! But, those fancy concoctions contain tons and tons of calories sometimes they can contain almost as much as a lunch portion.
Instead of opting for the mocha java chocolate whatever, stick to regular coffee and use coconut milk or almond milk as the creamer to avoid the excess calories and sugars.
It is ok to have the fancy coffee every once in awhile, but if you are working to keep the weight off, you will want to avoid drinking these sorts of drinks on a regular basis. My go to coffee drink is a chai with a shot of espresso, but it is super sweet, so I only buy them about one or two times a month total. Remember what I said about everything in moderation?
Develop Good Habits
Losing weight is not just about our physical appearances, it is about developing healthy habits and making lifestyle changes that will help us to keep the weight off long term.
Whenever we make a food choice, it is a very conscious decision. If you opt for the salad over the fries, you made a decision based on knowing what is best for you. It all starts with developing healthy and sustainable habits.
Sustainability is key here. Starting a new habit might be good for you, but if you do not enjoy it, it will not be sustainable.
If you know that you do not like to lift weights or go for 5 mile runs, think about what physical activities you enjoy. By picking the things you enjoy, you increase your chances of making it habit versus it being something you do short term. The goal is to keep those excess pounds off, but to also enjoy yourself in the process.
Avoid The Fad Diets
There are so many diets out there that seem to work, but they are extremely hard to follow. The first diet that comes to mind is the ketogenic diet. While I have never tried it myself, I have known many people who have and the common theme is that is was very hard to stick to and restrictive which caused them to give up on it after a very short while. See above where I talked about developing healthy and sustainable habits.
Instead of hopping on the next big thing diet trend, focus on eating clean and healthy. Avoid mistakes like eating the same thing every single night because it is not going to give your body the diversity in nutrients that it requires. What is most important is to learn the difference between what is healthy and what seems to be healthy.
There are many health foods that are labeled as healthy like certain granola bars, cereals, and frozen lunches that actually do our bodies more harm than good. Try to stick to foods with natural ingredients. The fewer ingredients involved the better because this means that you are not eating processed foods.
Check out this post for healthy snack ideas.
Avoid Excuses
You have already done the hardest part – losing the weight. Weight loss is the biggest part of the journey, which required a level of discipline and consistency. Now that you have taken the weight off and the focus is on how to keep it off, you cannot switch to a mindset of making excuses.
I have seen it many times in the past where people lose weight for an occasion and the make excuses like “everyone in my family is overweight” or “its my genes”. Avoid excuses like these because if you were able to lose the weight, you are capable of keeping the weight off.
Understand that being healthy and fit is not an elite club that only certain people can join.
If you make good food choices and avoid making excuses for yourself, you will be able to keep those excess pounds away. I will continue to say that weight loss is a series of conscious decisions.
Easy Tips To Help You Lose Weight And Keep It Off
Move Your Body
We spend so much time sitting and it is not healthy for our bodies to just be stationary all the time. Get your body moving even if you are not able to make it to the gym. Ideally, you will want to incorporate regular exercise into your lifestyle, but moving your body will help to keep the excess pounds at bay.
Taking a walk is better than sitting down all day and doing nothing.
Eat More Meals At Home
When we dine out the food tastes amazing, but generally we have no idea how the food is prepared and what was put into it.
Learn to cook more meals at home so that you are in control of what you are putting inside of your body.
Drink More Water
Water does not get nearly the amount of credit it deserves. Water keeps our bodies hydrated, helps to combat fatigue, and it can help us to stop craving bad things.
If you spend your days working at a desk for 8 or more hours, try to fill and drink your water from your water bottle at least 3 – 4 times a day during the work day. I also recommend drinking water as soon as you wake up in the morning and also before you go to bed at night.
Trust me, your body will thank you.
What to do next
Get a water bottle and start drinking more water each day. I love this water bottle and I keep one at home and one at work.
Make sure you are getting your body moving regularly, whether you are taking more walks or choosing to get to the gym more often. Try this workout plan if you are a newbie at working out.
With consistent behavior, you will be able to lose weight and keep it off. You can do it!