How To Maintain Weight Loss
Once you’ve reached the proper weight, it is important to keep the new habits you’ve learned during the weight loss process, Otherwise, if you don’t, you will just put those pounds back on.
One of the most important recommendations in the process of keeping the weight off is staying active.
Currently, Adults Need At Least:
150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) every week and muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups; legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms.
If you have not reached this level of physical activity in your weight loss process, it is important to gradually achieve it. For example, it is recommended to increase the time of activity slowly, and go up the intensity of exercise over time, according to your strength and your fitness.
Lifestyle Changes Are The Key
The weight loss process should be understood as a “lifestyle change” that includes a new way of eating, a more active lifestyle and a positive outlook. This ensures you will not regain the weight, and you can maintain the healthier weight you have achieved.
The main reason for failure of fad diets is that they cannot be sustained for the long term. People attempt to eagerly reach a target weight, and when they succeed, they go back to their old eating habits they had before starting the weight loss. Permanent weight loss requires commitment.
Remember; if you want things in your life to change, you are going to have to change some things in your life.
Progressive weight loss is healthier because muscle mass is not lost and basal metabolism does not drop, so the body will burn fat continuously.
Measurements And Indexes
A healthy weight loss can be defined as the loss of 1-2% of your current weight per week (0.5 -1 kg or 1-2 pounds per week). For that purpose, we can use the Body Mass Index (BMI) that relates the height with the weight.
Another index of great utility is the circumference of the waist (measurement at the level of the navel). This indicator gives us an idea of the accumulated fat on abdominal zone that is directly related to the cardiovascular risk and the possibility of suffering from a metabolic disorder (diabetes, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, etc.) Normal range for men is up to 94 cm, and for the women is up to 80 cm. From 102 cm for men and 88 cm for women, excess abdominal fat is diagnosed, and it requires treatment.
Many times people want to lose a lot of pounds, but in fact, they are not so many, and they really need to modify body composition, lowering fat and maintaining or increasing a bit of muscle mass.
To begin the weight loss process, it is useful to replace some foods high in fats and sugars for healthier alternatives. For example, substituting whole milk for skimmed milk, to change hard cheese for a cottage cheese, choice cuts of meat that are lean and to remove visible fat, swap sugary drinks for mineral water or natural fruit juices, etc. You can learn more about small, healthy changes to your diet by reading Healthy food swaps. Generally, eating less while maintaining a balanced diet and being more active will keep weight off.
To start being more active in daily life is useful to get off the bus one stop early and walking, climbing stairs instead of using the elevator, to dance half an hour a day, ride a bike, etc. For adults from 19-64 years old is recommended a physical activity level of 150 minutes per week.
Becoming more active;
- Improves blood circulation in the heart
- Decreases the number of heart beats (heart rate decreases because physical activity raises the efficiency of it)
- Increases the vital capacity of lungs
- Strengthens bones and increases its mineral content (calcium and magnesium)
- Prevents osteoporosis
- Decreases the risk of blood clots (preventing heart attacks and strokes)
For many, brisk walking is a great way to fit activity into daily life.
Embed The Changes
Once you have defined what lifestyle changes you will do, you must find time and motivation to carry them out. At some point, the weight loss that results from these changes will stop, and your weight will stabilize. This is where many people drop everything they did, and go back to old habits, resulting in weight gain. This point in the weight loss process is normal. It is called weight loss plateau. It will be necessary to evaluate the weight loss achieved and, if you continue with treatment, establish new goals and changes in diet and physical activity to reach the desired weight.
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