Why Not Maintain Your Weight Like the Rest of Your Life?
What do I mean by why not maintain your weight like the rest of your life? Think of the things in your life, such as your job, your home, your hair; anything that you are sure to maintain. What would happen if you neglected to maintain those?
Let's see. At your job you run the risk of not advancing, getting a piddly bonus or no bonus at all, or getting let go. Your lawn would look like skinny dying trees and the inside of your home would look like clean was not in your vocabulary. Oh, and the hair. You would look like a troll doll or a matted mess, assuming of course that you have hair.
But none of that describes you, does it? Why not? Because you are sure to maintain such things. The question is, do you give your health the same type of attention, including the area of weight loss maintenance?
Weight Loss Maintenance Should be No Different Than Other Life Maintenance
It is important to draw a parallel between your weight loss maintenance and matters such as your job, home, and even your hair, in order to draw attention to the fact that weight loss maintenance is a part of your life. Many of us often forget or do not realize that. Take the “I see you're still on a diet” comment when someone sees you eating healthy and losing weight as a result of it. If they understood weight loss maintenance is like other matters you maintain in your life, they would not make such statements.
That is why, no matter if your weight loss journey only recently began, if you are well into the journey, or if you have reached your weight loss goal, weight loss maintenance should always be present. Here is what weight loss maintenance looks like when you put it into practice:
Weight loss maintenance for those whose journey only recently began: Your goal is is to maintain a healthier lifestyle by starting to change your eating habits and adding exercise and intense movement to your life. Whatever form of movement works for you do that. The change may be a challenge at first because you are doing something new and possibly uncomfortable, but maintain focus on your goal.
Weight loss maintenance for those well into the journey of losing weight: You have been grinding it out with the types of exercises that work well for you. You have successfully changed your eating habits to healthy, nutritious options from fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. You maintain these routines to reach your weight loss goal.
Weight loss maintenance after reaching your weight loss goal: What did you think would happen after you reached your weight loss goal? People around you will think and tell you that you no longer need a weight loss maintenance program like the two above. Smile at them, educate them, but whatever you do, do not listen to them. As diligent as you were in getting the weight off, or as you are with maintaining your job, home, and your hair, be as diligent with your maintenance to keep the weight off, for life.
How Do You Practice Weight Loss Maintenance for Life?
Start your journey with a plan: Go into your weight loss journey knowing that it does not end when you reach your goal. When you do, you set yourself up for success. Why? When you focus on the long-term you will not seek out short-term quick fixes that are not maintainable. Forget about the Atkins Diet, the Slimming World Diet, and the 10 Day Smoothie Cleanse. You cannot maintain those types of programs forever. The former two diets may even cause you more harm.
Continue with what you did to lose weight: About a month, or two, or less, what happens after most people reach their weight loss goal? You guessed it. They go right back to the habits they had before starting their journey. It may happen gradually, but it happens. With weight loss maintenance you will be certain to continue the good, for the long-term habits, that you instilled in your life.
Maintain accountability: Let's face it, temptations are all around us. Slacking on workouts, especially after having significant weight loss success is a real possibility. Knowing these to be true, enlist a friend or a community such as a Facebook group to help you stay accountable.
What Changes Will You Make to Maintain Your Weight Like the Rest of Your Life?
If after reading this post you admitted to yourself that you are not maintaining your body and health as well as you are your job, your home, or your hair, start today by taking the time to maintain a healthy lifestyle for weight loss maintenance that will last you a lifetime.
What changes will you make to be sure that happens?
Start the Discussion How do you approach weight loss so that your changes last a lifetime? Share in the post comments, on Facebook or Twitter.