Your heart will be healthier if you reach and maintain your best weight, and don't go up and down the scale like a yo-yo. If you've been able to lose weight, good for you! You've taken the extra strain off your heart and lowered your risk for heart problems. You should be proud of your success.
Keeping extra weight off can be as challenging as losing it. Many things will tempt you to go back to your old habits. You'll find that support from others is very helpful in this phase.
It takes commitment to stick to your new, healthy lifestyle. When you do, you may
- have more self-control with food.
- feel stronger.
- have better eating habits.
- have fewer mood swings.
- be in better overall shape.
Whether you're planning ahead or you've successfully lost weight, the following Hold It! features will provide you with the easy, practical why's and how's of maintaining a healthy weight.
Congratulations! You've changed your diet and your eating habits, and you've successfully attained your weight-loss goal! So, what happens now?
These tips will help ensure that the pounds stay off and that you continue eating the most nutritious diet possible.
- After you reach your best weight, add about 200 calories of healthful, low-fat food to your average daily intake.
- After a week, if you're still losing weight, add a few hundred more calories.
- If you change the amount of exercise you do, adjust your eating.
- Keep a record of what you eat and how much exercise you do, so you'll know how to make adjustments.
As you lost weight, you probably adopted new changes in your diet and eating patterns. Now that you have lost the weight you needed to lose, many of these same tips and eating habit changes will enable you to retain a healthy weight. Here's a collection of the most helpful:
- Remember that eating smart doesn't mean "dieting"; it just means eating some foods in smaller amounts and eating high-fat foods less often.
- Always keep fresh, low-fat foods around. Use a shopping list, and don't shop when you're hungry.
- Plan all your meals. When you're going to a party or out to eat, decide ahead of time what you can do to make it easier to eat healthfully.
- At a buffet table, choose wisely. At a friend's house, control your portions.
- When you're hungry between meals, drink a glass of water or eat a small fruit, and stay out of the kitchen.
- When you really crave a high-calorie food, eat a small amount and forget about it, instead of resisting until you give in and gorge on it. If you don't trust yourself with just a little, don't eat any at all.
- Stay active! Don't give up on your physical activity plan. Find an exercise partner or a class to help you stay interested.
Sometimes finding the motivation to stick with a weight-reducing diet and healthy lifestyle is difficult. You may lapse back into old habits. This can happen when you have a bad day and overeat or skip exercise. A relapse is when you go back to old habits for several days or weeks.
If you go back to your old habits, try these motivational pick-me-ups to renew your weight-loss efforts and return to your new and improved, healthy lifestyle:
- Remember that having a lapse is not failing. If you go off your diet, don't quit and don't get mad at yourself. Just get back on track.
- Think about your eating habits. Do you eat out of habit instead of hunger? If you find yourself automatically snacking in front of the television every night, it may be helpful to pick a certain spot in the house and not let yourself eat anywhere else.
- Decide how to handle temptation. When you're offered high-fat foods, turn them down nicely, but firmly. Try to dine out at places where there are low-fat, low-calorie foods to choose from.
- Plan ahead. If a bad mood makes you want to binge, decide in advance what action to take. You could go for a walk, call a friend or read a book. It could help to make a list of things to do when you get food cravings.
- Think about whether you feel hunger (gnawing in your stomach) or urges (mental cravings for food).
- When you feel an urge, set a timer for 15 minutes and wait, or do something else before eating. This will help you delay your desire for food.
- Respond in other ways to life's stresses. For example, take a brisk walk, start a new hobby, or meditate.
- Seek support from others, including social groups.
- Physical activity is good for your heart, and it helps you lose weight. Ask your doctor or health professional for an activity plan that's right for you.