Anyone who has tried losing weight knows that dropping pounds is only half the battle. The real trick isn’t losing the weight, it’s keeping it off – permanently.
When you change your diet and begin an exercise regimen, your body responds quickly. You can see and feel the physical changes over time. The numbers on the scale go down, and you feel better yourself across the board.
But once you reach your weight goal – and sometimes even well before that – a whole new set of challenges arise. First, there is temptation EVERYWHERE. Sweets and treats are in abundance, and it’s a slippery slope when you have ‘just one bite’. What’s more, the body itself actually resists sustained weight loss. An overweight body is primed to burn a lot of weight quickly. When you lose those pounds, though, your body is more efficient because it burns fewer calories.
Crucially, this shift from losing weight to maintaining weight requires a whole different mindset. Being mentally able to stay at your target weight is a function of priming the motivation part of your brain. You need to understand how your brain works, and learn techniques to stay on point so you can support keeping the weight off and avoid yo-yoing up and down.
Another important factor is modifying the healthy habits you learned while trying to lose weight. Once you lose the weight, you can’t just go back to the old habits of snacking or larger portions. You’ve got to truly think of it as a lifestyle change. Also, being part of a supportive community that is in line with your new lifestyle offers a tremendous resource in times of weakness or doubt. It’s extremely effective to know you are not alone in your efforts!
As with any goal in life, when it comes to weight loss and maintaining it, to truly be successful, meeting your goal is just the first step – you have to build the right habits to make it stick.
Originally published @ My Neuro Gym
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