Lose Weight and Keep It Off

Proven Strategies to Keep Weight Off for Good

If 2011 was a successful year for slimming down, now comes the tricky part: maintaining your weight loss. Here, we reveal the secrets of those who have shed 30 pounds or more and kept if off
By Hollis Templeton fitbie
 

Remember, It Gets Easier Over Time

Here’s something to look forward to: Over time, staying slim will require fewer tricks and less obsessing about your lifestyle. Yet you’ll still reap all the rewards of weight loss success.

In a study of 758 women and 173 men who had maintained a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for 2 years or longer, NWCR members completed questionnaires that assessed the effort, attention, and pleasure they associated with maintaining their weight over the past year.

Results show that as time passed, maintainers used fewer strategies to keep pounds from creeping back on. They were less likely to report keeping a photo of themselves in a prominent place, less likely to record eating and exercise habits, less likely to keep themselves away from restaurants, and less likely to purchase health-related books or magazines. (Related: Good Advice from Bizarre Books) Subjects did, however, report that they continued to monitor their weight by frequently stepping on the scale.

“It’s important to keep in mind that you’re not necessarily doing less, it just takes less effort,” says Thomas. “If you are able to build healthy habits and stick to them over time, they become more habitual and part of your life versus something you have to work at to maintain.”

The bonus: The rewards of successful weight loss don’t disappear when effort levels decline. Passing time did not decrease the amount of pleasure derived from exercising, eating low-fat foods, and maintaining weight loss, according to questionnaire responses.

Next up: We Stuck to Our Weight Loss Resolutions!

3 Comments
More From fitbie
Keywords:
Related Content