If you recently reached your ultimate goal weight loss, Congrats! Given that you've done your victory dance, you are probably wondering how to prevent the numbers on the scale from creeping back up.
The most recent research into weight-loss maintenance indicates that it pays to stick using what you know. You may be thinking you no longer require the tools that kept you accountable while you were losing. However, those tools, from the bathroom scale to your food scale, seem to be central to long-term weight-loss success. "Closely monitoring your weight-and taking quick action if it creeps up-seems to be the secret to keeping the weight off," says Rena R. Wing, PhD, director of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at the Miriam Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Brown Medical School, both in Providence, Rhode Island.
Weigh Yourself
In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Wing and her colleagues found that stepping on a scale regularly can be as important when you're attempting to maintain as when you're looking to lose. In fact, study participants who weighed in daily were 82 percent not as likely to regain lost weight compared to those who did not weigh themselves every day. If a daily weigh-in seems too extreme, try weighing in weekly: Although Lifetime members aren't needed to step on the scale each week, doing this will help keep you accountable. Test out daily, weekly, and monthly weigh-ins to see what is most effective.
Weigh Tour Food
In addition to making use of your bathroom scale as a motivator, you should continue to use your kitchen scale.
A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that continuing to weigh and measure the foods you eat will let you keep weight off. An encouraging 30 percent of the study's 2,000 participants maintained their weight by using a food scale, along with measuring cups and spoons, to monitor portions.
Set Non-scale Goals, Too
Now that your progress can no longer be measured by pounds lost every week, the key is to think beyond the scale by challenging yourself in new ways. The challenge can be physical (e.g., walking a 5K or completing a half marathon), but it doesn't have to be. You can sign up for a cooking class, join a web-based dating service, go shopping for a clothing item you previously avoided, or volunteer at a local food bank. A study published in the Oxford Journal of Health. Education Research provides support for what had long been assumed: Setting frequent and particular goals that transcend the "I want to lose weight" or the "I want to keep it off" mind-set reinforces your commitment to long-term success while also strengthening your resolve. In a nutshell, these non-scale goals help you stay motivated for day-to-day challenges as well as the long haul.
Weigh Yourself
In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Wing and her colleagues found that stepping on a scale regularly can be as important when you're attempting to maintain as when you're looking to lose. In fact, study participants who weighed in daily were 82 percent not as likely to regain lost weight compared to those who did not weigh themselves every day. If a daily weigh-in seems too extreme, try weighing in weekly: Although Lifetime members aren't needed to step on the scale each week, doing this will help keep you accountable. Test out daily, weekly, and monthly weigh-ins to see what is most effective.
Weigh Tour Food
In addition to making use of your bathroom scale as a motivator, you should continue to use your kitchen scale.
A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that continuing to weigh and measure the foods you eat will let you keep weight off. An encouraging 30 percent of the study's 2,000 participants maintained their weight by using a food scale, along with measuring cups and spoons, to monitor portions.
Set Non-scale Goals, Too
Now that your progress can no longer be measured by pounds lost every week, the key is to think beyond the scale by challenging yourself in new ways. The challenge can be physical (e.g., walking a 5K or completing a half marathon), but it doesn't have to be. You can sign up for a cooking class, join a web-based dating service, go shopping for a clothing item you previously avoided, or volunteer at a local food bank. A study published in the Oxford Journal of Health. Education Research provides support for what had long been assumed: Setting frequent and particular goals that transcend the "I want to lose weight" or the "I want to keep it off" mind-set reinforces your commitment to long-term success while also strengthening your resolve. In a nutshell, these non-scale goals help you stay motivated for day-to-day challenges as well as the long haul.
