Introduction

Weight loss is an achievement that many people strive for. After the hard work of participating in a wellness program, you want to ensure that you maintain your results. It may seem like a taxing challenge but with the right bag of tricks you can do it. In this blog post, we aim to provide must-try tips on how you can maintain weight loss after a wellness program. It can be anywhere between incorporating healthy eating habits to avoiding a sedentary lifestyle.

What is the Maintenance Phase of Weight Loss?

This is an important part of any successful weight loss program. It is the period of time after you have reached your desired weight and are now ready to maintain it for the long term. During this phase, you need to develop healthier habits that will enable you to keep the weight off for good.

The primary focus of the maintenance phase includes the following:

• Continuing healthy eating habits

• Staying physically active (avoiding sedentary lifestyle)

• Being aware of emotional triggers (or stimuli) that triggers unhealthy eating or lifestyle behavior

You may find this phase difficult because it requires a significant change in lifestyle and attitude towards food and exercise. However, if you are committed to achieving your weight loss goals, it’ll be worth the effort.

There are several approaches when it comes to the maintenance phase of weight loss. Studies we reviewed include the following:

• Financial motivation (a study found that financial incentives effectively help in maintaining weight)

• Treatment with medication (once-weekly subcutaneous injection with Semaglutide with 2.4 mg has resulted to continued weight loss)

• Behavioral approach (it plays the key role in the maintenance phase according to a study)

• Exercise (a study found that after a four-month active weight loss followed by maintenance phase has a continued effect on resting energy expenditure)

One of the most important phases is to start setting realistic goals that are achievable over a longer period of time. There is no quick fix when it comes to weight loss as this could be detrimental to your health and skin. Talk to your healthcare provider how much weight you should shed in a month and work onwards from there.

Is It Possible to Lose Weight Permanently?

Yes, it is possible to lose weight permanently.

To do so, however, requires commitment and dedication to a lifestyle change. This means making changes to your diet and activity level that are sustainable over the long-term. You can achieve this through –

• Establishing a regular exercise routine

• Eating healthy and balanced meals (avoiding processed foods)

• Lifestyle modifications (quit vices such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption)

Focus on small successes instead of looking for end results or significant milestones. This is important especially if you want to stay motivated in your weight loss regimen.

How to Maintain Weight Loss After a Diet?

As established earlier, maintaining weight loss after dieting is possible with several strategies mentioned above.

However, earlier we also established that you need to set realistic goals and commit yourself to them. It’s important to consider your lifestyle and schedule when setting these goals so that you can make sure they are achievable. Once goals have been established, creating a wellness program can help keep motivation up and ensure that you stay on track.

In order to maintain weight loss, making healthy nutrition choices is essential. It means avoiding processed foods and eating balanced nutrient-rich meals. Staying active is another key factor in maintaining weight loss. Making time for exercise four to five times per week can help increase metabolism and burn calories.

Does Weight Loss Maintenance Become Easier Over Time?

There is no real consensus as to whether weight loss maintenance becomes easier over time.

As we all know, it is easier to slip and return to our usual diet and lifestyle than to maintain what has already been obtained. However, with commitment and perseverance, you can overcome this challenge. You just need to establish your own wellness program with realistic goals set. Things will only get harder if you try to attain bigger goals in a short time.

You have to remember to keep your own pacing. It is not a race and drastic changes will only lead you to short-term results. Long-term success can only be attained with consistency and some of the benefits are the following:

• Overall physical health

• Foster improved mental health

• Increased self-esteem

• Overall well-being (reduced stress)

Developing new habits for successful weight loss maintenance need to be broken into smaller goals to keep you motivated. As established earlier, there are several strategies to keep motivations up.

Why is It Hard to Maintain Weight Loss? Why Do People Regain Weight? 

There are various factors that make it hard to maintain weight loss. It isn’t just motivation or the idea of keeping up with the habit. Several factors are the following:

• Physiologic (normal) adaptations – another right term would be metabolic adaptation according to a review. This includes changes in metabolic rate (reduced), increased hunger, and decreased satiety hormones.

• Lack of support – a study found that maintenance of weight loss challenges include lack of family support and self-blame. In another study, it found that emotion regulation impacts long-term maintenance of weight. This just shows that social support and continued mediation are important in the maintenance phase. Apart from this, environmental factors also play a significant role.

• Behavioral pattern – one of the core challenges of maintaining weight is the associated behavioral pattern, particularly eating habits according to a study.

• Lack of motivation – intensive motivational approach is needed to maintain the weight off, according to a study.

So, maintaining weight loss is no easy feat. It takes an ongoing commitment to dietary and exercise changes. It also involves lifestyle modifications that support a healthier way of life. For many, the challenge begins with sticking to a successful wellness program in order to achieve weight loss goals. Even when the program is effective and the goal is achieved, there’s still the tricky task of keeping it off long-term.

Several studies have established that weight regain is possible. If you’re half-hearted in your commitment to weight loss then it would really be hard to maintain the weight off.

Tips Restart Weight Loss After Gaining Weight

Restarting your weight loss journey after gaining some pounds can be frustrating and daunting. It is crucial to remember that weight gain did not happen overnight and could be a normal part. In fact, it happens to many people – not just you. In order to reset, here are some tips that could help:

• Reassess your goals – more importantly, focus on a long-term goal of maintaining the weight off rather than on short-lived successes. This should help you avoid crash dieting or even doing drastic changes. Also, reassess your current habits (lifestyle and nutrition) because you may have reverted to old habits unknowingly.

• Back to basics – what made you lose weight in the first place? Of course, you did not lose weight overnight. It took effort and perseverance to do so. This means, you need to restart from ‘one’ all over again.

• Consider a different approach – earlier we have established an intensive behavioral approach as one of the strategies to maintain the weight off. If you find this hard, seek help from a trained and qualified healthcare professional.

• Increase physical activity – many people make the mistake of reverting to a sedentary lifestyle after they have achieved their goal. All you need to do is increase your physical activity in return.

Furthermore, it is important to make small changes over time instead of overhauling everything at once. Small changes will lead to bigger results over time. Focus on things you can control instead of those you cannot (i.e., genetic makeup).

Conclusion

Maintaining weight loss after a wellness program requires commitment and dedication. It involves making lifestyle changes such as getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising regularly, managing stress levels, and drinking plenty of water.

In addition to these tips, it is also important to have regular check-ups with your doctor in order to make sure that you are on track with your health and wellness goals. To further support your journey towards long-term health and well-being, schedule an appointment with ReplenishMD Aesthetics & Wellness for information and high quality cosmetic services you can avail.