How to Maintain Your Weight Loss After a Big Loss

Losing weight is never easy… but if you’ve ever struggled with your weight you’ll know what an understatement that is. Getting those extra pounds off can be one of the most gruelling things you’ll ever go through. Thanks to obesity medications, it’s now possible for people who have struggled with their weight pretty much their whole lives to get down to a healthy physique. However, unfortunately the work doesn't stop there. Learning how to maintain weight loss comes with its own challenges.

This is even more so if you’ve lost a significant amount. More people than ever are now discovering this after reaching their goal weight. After previously thinking it wasn’t possible, thankfully there are things you can do. These help support your losses and stay at a happy healthy weight without too much of a battle.

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Medication

If you’ve used weight loss medication to reach your goal, it’s important to know that you won’t necessarily be able to come off it. While some people can, the majority will need something to keep their hunger signals at bay and blood sugar stable to ensure you can maintain weight loss.

If you don't want to stay on a high dose, then titrate down. Find the sweet spot where you’re eating the right number of calories to maintain your goal weight. This is crucial for maintaining loss over time.

The reason it can be such a struggle to maintain your weight after a large loss is that your hunger hormones can go into overdrive. Just because you’re in a smaller body doesn't mean they’re suddenly ‘fixed’. If you’re someone that always struggled with high hunger levels before, more than likely this will continue at your goal weight.

Plus, extra signals fire because your body is aware you’ve lost weight. It is driving you to regain it as an old survival mechanism. Understanding how to maintain weight loss is key to succeeding.

Healthy Habits to Maintain Weight Loss

Keeping up with any healthy habits you’ve built is so important once you reach your goal. If you have the attitude that you’re now slim and can do what you want, then you’ll quickly regain. Make it part of your lifestyle to exercise.

Maybe find a hobby that gets you moving and that you actually enjoy or look to find a gym. Regularly going even a couple of times a week gets you into a routine. It makes it a lot easier to maintain your weight, as you’re burning calories and building muscle.

Exercise is not only good to maintain weight loss, but it is so good for your mental health too. Getting enough sleep helps more than you might realise. When you’re tired your hunger hormones naturally get disrupted and fire at you to eat more. That's why some days carb cravings and such are just harder to manage. 

Also READ - How to Find the Right Fitness Coach

Be accountable

You don’t need to weigh yourself every day or even every week, but keeping tabs on what the scales say is no bad thing. Don't become obsessed. Of course, there’s always going to be natural fluctuations, but if you stand on them and see you’re piling pounds back on then it makes you accountable.

You know you need to rein it back in. Keeping track of your calories can help, too, even if it’s just a mental note. In maintaining weight loss, aim to stay within your calories most days and you’ll stay at your goal.