YOU’VE BEEN WORKING HARD to shed those excess pounds. You’ve forgone all your favorite snack foods, exercised religiously, and finally reached your target weight. You can even fit into your “skinny pants” without cutting off the circulation to your lower extremities. Now that you’ve comfortably reached your weight-loss goal, you can heave a sigh of relief, congratulate yourself on a job well done, and start eating like a normal person again, right? Wrong! That is, unless you’re in a hurry to put all the weight you’ve lost right back on with interest.
The biggest mistake people make when they lose weight is treating their new diet and exercise regimen as if it’s a temporary arrangement. But, as every yo-yo dieter knows all too well, weight loss won’t last unless you make a permanent lifestyle change. Here are some tips to keep you on track now that you’re tipping the scale just right:
Weigh in weekly
The bathroom scale is just like a mirror. When we’re at a lower weight, we like what it shows us. But when we’ve packed on a few pounds, we’d prefer to avoid the unforgiving feedback that it provides. Don’t fall into the scale-avoidance trap! Confront that tyrannical contraption head on. Weigh in at least once a week so that you can catch an upward trend—and make modest lifestyle modifications to reverse it—before it gets out of hand and you’re right back where you started.
Reassess your reward system
If, in the past, you rewarded and/or consoled yourself with food, you’ll need to reassess your reward system as you go forward with your new lifestyle. Don’t make life’s triumphs and tragedies an excuse to overindulge. Instead, choose to reward or comfort yourself with non-food items or experiences that are equally gratifying to you. A good non-food reward might be a new outfit that you could never have worn at your maximum weight. Or what about taking the family on a fun day trip? An activity that incorporates a little healthy exercise, such as hiking, biking, or canoeing, would be ideal.
Trash the “trigger foods”
Every overweight or obese person has them—certain foods that are absolutely irresistible and almost always trigger overeating, even when consumed in small quantities. For some, cookies, candy, ice cream, or other sweets are trigger foods. For others, triggers take the form of salty, flavor-enhanced snack chips or a gooey pizza. Though “everything in moderation” is generally a good rule to live by when it comes to the foods we eat, if you can identify a specific “trigger food,” you should keep it out of your house.
Go natural
The closer foods are to what nature intended, the better they are for you. After all, how many people have ever gotten fat from eating too many apples or too much cauliflower? Eschew the refined, processed, and prepackaged foods found in the center of every supermarket. Instead, shop the perimeter of the store where all the fresh, whole foods tend to be located. Whenever possible, choose whole-grain breads, pastas, and other foods instead of those containing refined flower.
Plan your meals
Before doing your weekly grocery shopping, write up a meal plan that accounts for each day’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Then, shop for the items or ingredients included in your plan. Not only will planning your meals minimize impulse buys at the grocery store, but it will also help prevent “mindless eating” as well as the unplanned takeout meals that are inevitable when “There’s nothing in the house to eat.”
Don’t take days off
While it may be tempting to allot one day each week to eat whatever you want or to take off holidays or special occasions, this is a slippery slope to weight gain. One day inevitably leads to two, two days lead to three, and so on. You’re better off working occasional treats into your diet plan and scheduling a little more exercise on those days to account for the extra calories rather than removing all constraints.
Keep moving
Just as better eating habits should remain part of your newer, lighter lifestyle, so, too, should exercise. No doubt, regular physical activity helped you reach your weight-loss goal, so continuing to work out will help keep you from faltering. That doesn’t mean you have to train like an Olympian to keep the pounds from piling back on, but a modest exercise regimen that incorporates both cardiovascular and strength-training activities will be a powerful asset in your ongoing battle of the bulge.
