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