You’ve exercised, dieted, sweated, worked out, and all the likes. you are beginning to see results, the extra weight is beginning to go off,………Finally, you reach your desired weight target, but you need to maintain this weight so you don’t go over board again.
Find below are 9 critical behaviors and 1 additional shift in thinking that make up the 10 most important things to do on maintenance. While I believe that all 10 are important, the first 4 are critical for success.
1. Wear form-fitting or tight clothes!
When you reach maintenance, you should have one size, and one size only, of clothing. I’ve found that nothing sounds the warning siren faster or motivates people to act with greater haste than when their clothing gets too tight!
Think about what motivated you to start your diet. If you’re like many of my clients, you were uncomfortable with your clothing (or you couldn’t fit into it) and appearance. When you have only one size, you have no choice but to stay trim. If you save larger sizes, you are making it easy to just switch to a larger size instead of acting to correct any errors.
I insist that all maintenance clients discard all clothes that no longer fit, with one exception: I ask them to save the outfit that’s their largest size (preferably one they disliked ever having to wear) as an eternal reminder.
2. Keep problem foods you have a history of abusing out of your home.
Almost all the women and a very large percentage of the men I have worked with who regained weight started the slide in their own homes. The slide often began with a food they had a history of abusing but had avoided while they were losing weight.
A study by researchers at the National Weight Control Registry found that two out of three people who lose weight and keep it off keep problem foods out of their house. Although that food might not tempt you at this moment, I can’t urge you strongly enough to remove it from your home or at least keep it permanently out of your sight. You’re always vulnerable to the foods that have tripped you up in the past — even on maintenance.
3. Set a weight ceiling, and defend it.
Pick a number — typically about 3 pounds for women, 5 pounds for men — and don’t let your weight go above it — ever. No matter what happens, don’t let yourself off the hook. Most of my clients expect increases in weight on weekends because of higher-calorie maintenance meals at home and out. Monday is typically the “high number” day of the week, but by Friday, they bring the weight back down to their goal weight, via changes in eating.
4. Weigh yourself every day.
Your bathroom scale can’t weigh your behavior. However, it will tell you when you gain a pound or two. If you step on the scale the morning after a big meal at a restaurant or special event, your weight could be up. Don’t be alarmed. If it’s water weight, it will dissipate in 24 to 48 hours. You should expect slight variations during the week, especially after maintenance meals.
If it’s real weight (3 or more pounds that remain over a period of several weeks), that should be a warning to you to take immediate action.
If you find it a bit maddening to follow the daily fluctuations of the scale even though you are eating properly, pick three days of the week on which you will always weigh yourself.
5. Weigh yourself on the Maintenance New Scale.
This is a nearly foolproof way to predict the scale of tomorrow (full explanation contained in my book, The Thin Commandments Diet).
6. Exercise.
It gives you structure and control. It gets you thinking about calorie burn and health consciousness and directs you away from obsessing about food. It’s been shown that dieters who exercise regularly succeed the longest at keeping weight off. A study of more than 32,000 dieters by Consumer Reports magazine found that “regular exercise was the number one successful weight-loss maintenance strategy” of more than 81 percent of the long-term maintainers. In second place, at 74 percent, was the related strategy of increasing activity in daily routines.
And remember: Exercise generates endorphins, increases energy, and elevates mood.
Exercise provides you with a healthy outlet for stress, so it shortcuts mood eating.
7. Keep a photo of yourself at your heaviest weight.
For added emphasis, place it next to a picture at your lightest weight. Many of my clients put the photo in a place where they feel most vulnerable — the refrigerator door or kitchen counter, for example. Others elect to carry the photo in their wallet or purse.
Some of you may find it upsetting to stare constantly at a picture of yourself at your heaviest weight. Instead, carry a picture of what you look like at your lightest weight to motivate you even more to protect your accomplishments.
8. Keep a food diary.
Keep a diary for at least the first 90 days on maintenance. I ask my own clients to keep a diary for a full year. I want them to be certain they can manage the entire cycle of the year, with its holidays, vacations, special events, birthdays, summer versus winter eating, and so on. Since the same events and seasons come up year after year, once you get through the first year, you should be well prepared for the coming ones.
A diary will serve as a daily reminder of the extras and/or negative eating habits. Writing out your meals and snacks a day in advance will help structure your thinking and help you steer clear of potential trip-ups.
9. Give yourself clear boundaries.
Boundaries are a strong structure for your eating behavior. A major study of the winners found that 88 percent limited some type or classes of food. Another 45 percent limited the quantities of the foods they ate. If you don’t have a good history of limiting a particular food, avoid it.
Most of my winners reinforce their boundaries with the techniques of Box It In and Box It Out. Many decide to Box Out a certain category or type of food. For some, it’s baked goods. Others avoid sweet baked goods (but may indulge in another type of sweet, such as a chocolate mousse). They don’t do this to make their lives difficult or to deprive themselves of something they want. They do it to make it easier to succeed at weight control — which is something they want more.
10. Go beyond the food reward system.
My winners enjoy the pleasure of fine food. Many of them dine regularly at fine restaurants. However, they’ve evolved beyond the childhood programming that views food as a reward or a treat.
They understand that no matter how beautiful a food looks or how enticing its aroma, if it’s a food they have a history of abusing, it’s no reward at all.
Some of my clients reward themselves with new clothes. Others enjoy a trip to a spa, a new necklace, or a weekend getaway with friends.
These are material rewards. A far more meaningful reward occurs each morning when they look in the mirror and see a trim body. There’s no greater reward you can give yourself than to live the vision you have for your own life.