4 Rules For Maintaining Weight Loss

If you’ve been on a diet more than once, you know that it can be harder to maintain weight than to lose weight in the first place. Here’s help to keep off the pounds you worked so hard to shed.

Some research suggests that being more mentally relaxed about eating helps with weight management by boosting your psychological wellbeing. While it’s okay to relax some strict diet rules, sticking with positive lifestyle changes counts. That means adopting a “forever” eating approach rather than a diet that you go on and off.

The National Weight Control Registry tracks over 10,000 people who’ve lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off for long periods of time. Sticking with exercise is their number one tip.

A 10-year study of 3,000 registry participants found three more essentials: Weigh yourself regularly, limit fat portions and avoid overeating. One way to do this is to always focus on your food. If you’re distracted, chances are you’ll eat more than you intended. Also remember that it takes fewer calories to maintain your new weight than it did your old weight. By not returning to old eating habits, the battle to stay slim will be won more easily.