Three expert-approved tips to help you maintain weight loss after achieving your goals

Once you reach your weight loss goal, it doesn’t end there. Loss of weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle are the next steps. But what is the best way to approach weight loss maintenance? We discussed this with Andres Ayesta, a registered dietitian and founder. Nutrition Plansprovided three expert tips to help you monitor and maintain weight loss over time.

By keeping your weight down and keeping it slow and sustainable, keeping it focused on the healthy habits you have established and monitoring maintenance in a variety of ways, you can ensure you are on the right path to weight loss maintenance.

Losing weight sustainably is key

One important thing to keep in mind when embarking on your weight loss journey is why you want to lose weight in the first place. Ayesta says many times that people do it so that they can feel better, gain more energy, do more and exercise more easily.

“Energy levels, sleep, ability to play with kids, performance in the gym, they will be really markers of good progress. These are things that are trying to keep you moving, not focusing on the number of sizes.

Setting unrealistic expectations while losing weight has the opposite effect on long-term success. One mistake people make is to continue with a strict, restrictive, trendy diet that causes them to lose weight quickly, but makes it difficult to maintain that weight after the fact.

“A more realistic and sustainable approach is to focus on building strong habits, such as improving your lifestyle, getting enough sleep, getting enough protein and staying hydrated,” Ayesta said. Results can take time to achieve, but it’s easier to maintain them.

Another thing to remember is that faster isn’t good. “One of the biggest things people struggle with is that they want to eat more, but with trendy meals, so it’s better to lose weight by eating a little bit rather than losing it too quickly,” Aesta said. Usually, when it comes to weight loss, it’s best to lose 1-2 pounds a week.

If a person loses weight rapidly and doesn’t have much extra weight in the first place, they not only lose weight, but also lose muscle. “Usually, when this happens, your metabolism is often affected, which is what is known as adaptive thermogenesis,” he explained. “Your body is used to living from different amounts of calories. And when you get off that trendy meal and bring all your normal habits back into your life, your body usually repels and tries to set yourself at the point that it feels comfortable again.” This is how it goes. Yo-yo diet It starts and this allows you to enter a continuous cycle of losing weight and recovering.

It’s also important to have a strong support system that can keep you accountable. Ayesta suggests surrounding yourself with supportive friends and family who are riding your goals, as it can make it difficult for unsupported individuals to stay on your path of hope. Having a mentor who has traveled similarly can be helpful. Because they can provide insights and tips to help you achieve your goals.

Finally, professionals such as registered nutritionists can help you stay by your side. “It’s important that you have someone with an academic background or someone who has the knowledge to point you in the right direction, because people have seen this route many times and know exactly what to do, especially knowing exactly what to do and what to do. Getting this type of support is also useful during the maintenance stage.

Maintain healthy habits

Assuming you slowly and sustainably lose weight and you are at a healthy weight for your body, maintenance is a simple matter of maintaining good habits. You don’t have to count calories or aim for perfection every day. Instead, Ayesta says it’s key to focus on continuing lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight in the first place.

According to Ayesta, five healthy habits that can help you maintain your weight are:

• Get plenty of protein every day
• Maintain proper hydration
• Stress management
• Get plenty of sleep
• Get enough fiber through fruits and vegetables

Another thing to remember is that it helps to look at your weight as a range rather than as a target number because it fluctuates naturally. Ayesta points out that weight is also affected by life stage. For example, around holidays, nutritional choices may be more liberal, but there are other periods of time when you pay attention to consumption.“Creating a range excluding the plus or minus 5% of your target will be a good place, whether it rises or not,” advised Ayesta.

Looking at trends instead of single digits on scale is a more realistic approach when it comes to weight maintenance. “When you step on a scale on a particular day and look at numbers you don’t really like, it’s very important to understand trends and averages, rather than just looking at single digits,” Ayesta explained.

If you realize you’re regaining all or most of your weight over time, it may be a sign that your weight loss method is too dramatic for your individual needs or that medical factors are playing around with it. In this scenario, it is best to meet a doctor or nutritionist including your weight to help you understand what is going on.

Monitor maintenance in a variety of ways

Scaling is just one way to measure weight loss and maintenance phases. “Other markers of success that I like to pay attention to can include objective measures and some subjective measures,” Ayesta said. For example, when it comes to weight loss, it can be helpful to look at body measurements around the waistline, legs, or waist. A more subjective approach is to observe how your outfit actually fits.

Another way to monitor maintenance is to look at the photos and compare them. “We use a lot of photos to compare changes over time. This is a better way to measure success, as if someone puts a little muscle mass and loses a little fat, what is known as body reconstruction, sometimes your body may look a little different, so your weight doesn’t change much,” he explained.

Conclusion

Losing weight and keeping it down can be difficult, but if you prepare yourself in advance, you can set yourself for success. As Ayesta pointed out, it is important that we don’t place much emphasis on a particular number of sizes as much as our bodies are intended to fluctuate. There are other factors to consider besides your weight. If you feel that you’re healthier, more energetic and get plenty of sleep, then they win on their own and don’t distrust them.