Staying Slim: 5 Strategies to Avoid Regaining
Weight
By Katie Jay
Congratulations - you've lost some weight!
Now, how can you ensure that you keep it off?
When you've spent weeks or even months striving
and sacrificing, the last thing you want to
happen is see the scale going back up. But
regardless of the weight loss method, weight
regain is a real possibility for most women.
Follow these five tips, and your scale will
stay put:
If you gain a pound, lose it!
People who are successful at maintaining
a weight loss weigh themselves at least twice
a week. Choose regular times of day, and regular
days of the week, to weigh and keep a chart.
If you find you're up a pound or two, follow
a healthy and structured food plan until the
extra weight comes off again.
Have planned snacks instead of grazing.
To combat rampant, spontaneous snacking,
plan a couple of balanced snacks every day
that you can measure out and enjoy. Be sure
to include some protein and complex carbohydrates
in your snack. If you feed yourself a bit
more frequently, you will be less likely to
graze mindlessly.
Balance your treats with healthy choices.
You can have an occasional treat, but you
need to balance it with healthy choices. Keep
the treat small so that you don't get a big
sugar or unrefined carb "rush."
And if you must eat sugar or an unrefined
carb, eat a little protein with it so that
your blood sugar doesn't crash and cause cravings
for more of the same.
Admit your trigger foods and avoid them.
All you have to do is look at certain foods
and you know you'll eat them. Don't keep those
foods in plain site around your house. Put
them away. If you find yourself going to the
cupboard or refrigerator to peruse snack items,
you'll need to keep the trigger foods out
of your house altogether.
Experiment and use the tools that work for
you.
Many dieters hate the act of writing down
what they eat. Some dislike exercise. Others
abhor weighing and measuring their food. Still
others will not give up sugar and unrefined
carbs. You need to be honest with yourself,
though. These tools are proven to work. Experiment
with all the tools available to you and use
the ones that work.
Weight regain is not inevitable, but you need
to take consistent action to avoid it. Apply
these solutions to your life and you will
find weight maintenance simple and satisfying.
Katie Jay is the director
of the National Association for Weight Loss
Surgery; a certified life coach, and author
of the courageous book, "Dying to Change:
My Really Heavy Life Story, How Weight Loss
Surgery Gave Me Hope for Living." For
more information on the National Association
for Weight Loss Surgery, see http://www.nawls.com