I think one of the biggest problems people have with not just losing weight, but KEEPING it off…
… is that they tend to think of whatever their weight loss solution is/was as being a temporary, quick fix.
“I’ll go on this diet and then go off of it once I reach my goal.”
That’s the diet mentality.
But what I’ve found out is that in many instances (not all, but some) whatever you did to get the weight off is, either all or in part, how you will have to keep it off.
Now once again, I realize that this is in “some” cases and not all – for example, when people get gastric bypass surgery done. Of course you’re not going to keep getting the surgery to keep the weight off BUT…there is a certain way that you are now supposed to eat in order to avoid undoing the effects of the procedure and therefore, gaining the weight back.
I used to be a raw vegan and during that time, I went from 150 lbs. to 125 and as long as I ate that way, my weight stayed off. Sure it fluctuated (between 125-128) but I never gained it all back. However, once I decided to no longer eat that way, I slowly gained most of it back!
So, simply “going” raw wasn’t enough to sustain my weight… I would have had to continue eating that way.
Same thing applies when people do any other form of diet or way of eating whether it’s Atkins/low-carb, vegetarian, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, of even if it’s taking a product. You are going to have to be willing to commit to SOMETHING for maintenance purposes.
Perhaps in order to maintain your weight loss you won’t have to take as much of a weight management product or take it as often or you may not have to restrict as much from your diet as you did when first starting out and getting the weight off, but you will have to do something that is different from what you were doing when you were putting the weight on in the first place!
This could mean making substitutions in your diet (example: whole grains instead of processed/bleached, etc.) or it may mean incorporating an exercise regimen into your life or it could be committing to substituting one meal a day with a meal replacement shake as opposed to two meals…things of that nature.
So just keep in mind that whatever road you choose to take towards shedding excess pounds and inches, that in order to keep it off, you are going to have to commit to some sort of change in your lifestyle that contrasts what you were doing beforehand – so choose wisely!
