Complete guide to maintaining your weight

Maintaining your weight can be quite complicated as many factors have an impact on your average weight.

This guide helps you when you want to maintain your weight.

This guide has three sections.

1. General weight maintenance.
2. How to maintain weight after weight loss.
3. How to maintain weight after weight gain.

Each section concisely discusses best practices and provides general examples of how to manage your weight in your situation.

How to maintain your weight (Part 1 of 3)

If you are reading this article, chances are you have reached your goal weight.

Well done!

Losing or gaining weight is not a walk in the park. It takes time, dedication and patience.

So applaud yourself for making it this far!

Once you reach your goal weight, you have reached the next stage, not the final destination. Yes, maintaining weight can be really interesting and fun.

Maintaining your weight: influencing factors

To maintain your weight, you need to make some adjustments for long-term results. Some factors will change over time. You'll need to consider:

Your age. As you age, you will have to adapt to maintain your weight because your metabolism changes.

• Physical activity may increase or decrease, changing your energy balance and possibly your lean body mass.
• Your health status may change. As in, hormonal or metabolic. Medication may also have an effect.
• Your dietary patterns change. Whether voluntarily or involuntarily (food allergies, intolerances, etc.).

As Forrest Gump said: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”

What do I need to know to maintain my weight?

As with weight loss or gain, you need to recalculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

To know exactly how many calories you need to maintain a healthy weight, you'll need to know how high your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is.

It will be higher or lower than your initial weight. You can calculate it using this calculator:

Once you have the new numbers, you can plan the next steps.

Do you maintain your weight after gaining or losing weight? This makes a difference in how you approach weight maintenance.

What did you do initially to reach your ideal weight?

What were the winning factors?

As in, was there a certain exercise protocol or nutritional agenda?

The more you know, the better and easier it will be.

When you reflect on this, you identify patterns and triggers more easily. Preparing yourself for different scenarios or even setbacks will help keep you on track.

How many calories do I need to maintain my weight?

If you don't want to stop losing or gaining weight, you must increase the maintenance calories you calculated.

For example, if you burn 2,000 calories on average per day, then that is what you want to aim for.

This can of course change over time, so we would like to give you an overview on how to maintain those results and your ideal weight under control.

Maintaining Weight After Weight Loss (Part 2 of 3)

So you have achieved your weight loss goal. Amazing!

Achieving your goal is one thing, maintaining your weight loss is another.

Did you know that only 20% of dieters manage to achieve their weight goal in the long term? This may sound discouraging, but don't worry! We've prepared this section so that it can help you successfully maintain your achievements. [1]

Why do people gain weight back?

Good question! Here are three common reasons:

1. Lifestyle changes were not sustainable. Weight was achieved through strict rules and willpower rather than new habits that are easily maintainable in the long term.
2. Weight loss was achieved through a (very) restrictive diet with no real knowledge of long-term healthy nutrition. High calorie restriction can downregulate your metabolism and throw your appetite regulating hormones into a spin!
3. The wrong mindset. The weight goal was achieved using short-term goals (physique, peer pressure, etc.) instead of health or performance-related goals. If your purpose is not solid, willpower will diminish over time.

Do calories still play a role?

Yes. You will have achieved your goal by having a negative caloric balance over time, by restricting food calories and/or burning more.

For example, you lost weight by eating a healthy diet of about 1600 kcal per day, instead of the required 2,000 calories. If your daily needs are now about 1900 kcal after recalculating your TDEE with this calculator:

you should start closing the gap so as not to lose even more weight.

Most people typically don't do well going straight back into eating more calories, as this can increase appetite and could lead to eating more than you intended.

That's why you should carefully increase your calories week after week.

For example:

• Week one: daily intake of 1700 kcal
• Week two: daily intake of 1800 kcal

…Until you reach your maintenance calories.

Be careful: an increase in carbohydrates and food in general can lead to water retention, which is short-term.

Don't be scared.

If you've gotten comfortable tracking your food, consider doing it for a longer period of time. After a while, you'll feel like you've got it all under control!

Pro Tip: If you feel like you have bigger changes affecting your lifestyle, it's always safer to ask a nutritionist for help and feedback.

Maintaining Your Weight After Weight Loss Summary

To make this as easy as possible for you, we have created this summary.

Exercise regularly

Make workouts part of your weekly routine and don't miss out on resistance training. Lean body mass increases metabolism and BMR.

Studies show that people who exercise for 30 minutes a day, and include lifting weights in their routine, are much more likely to remain successful in maintaining their weight [1] [2]!

Eat healthy

Keep your protein intake high, stay hydrated, eat vegetables, and be mindful of your sugar and refined carbohydrate intake. Let's break this down.

• Protein keeps you full and helps reduce overeating. It is also linked to an increase in hormones that help keep appetite at bay [3]. Additionally, high protein intake (aiming for about 1.5-1.8 g per kg of body weight) can help boost metabolism thanks to its thermic effects through digestion [4].
• Vegetables keep you full and are low in calories and high in dietary fiber. You can eat a lot of them without worrying about the amounts consumed. However, the vitamins and minerals they provide us are important in helping our body function properly on all levels.
• Limit sugary foods and refined carbohydrates. The latter are very low in vital nutrients and fiber, leading to less satiety. You'll feel hungrier and could exceed your calorie recommendation without even realizing it!

Track your food intake and prepare for setbacks

Anything you can measure is manageable. The more you learn about your habits and food intake, the easier it will be to react to changes or even minor setbacks.

Planning ahead will prevent you from being surprised if you encounter a setback. [5]

If you don't prepare, you're preparing to fail.

Manage stress and get enough sleep

Increased stress levels elevate the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone is linked to increased appetite and food intake and can cause you to eat impulsively [6].

Lack of sleep will also affect the success of weight loss maintenance due to two other hormones: leptin and ghrelin.

Ghrelin can be elevated due to lack of sleep, causing increased appetite.

Leptin, on the other hand, is a hormone related to appetite control and sleep deprivation tends to decrease it [7].

What a combo!

Practice mindful eating and focus on lifestyle changes rather than restrictive rules

Mindful eating includes learning to understand your body.

When do I feel full?

How do certain situations affect my behavior?

Are there triggers that make me do things a certain way?

In the long run, mindful eating and sustainable changes can help you maintain your weight without having to track calories, as it builds trust in your body and its needs. [8]

Restrictive rules tend to lead to deprivation and negative feelings about food. Be realistic about your goals and lifestyle changes.

Checklist for weight maintenance after weight loss

We suggest implementing these one by one, building and strengthening the new healthy habits as the weeks go by.

• Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Brisk walks count too. Do things you enjoy!
• Get enough rest: Try to sleep for 7-8 hours a night.
• Keep a journal to reflect on your habits and progress.
• Eat 5 times a day: lots of vegetables, green leafy vegetables and seasonal fruits.
• Eat enough protein by adding some to every meal! See how you feel eating 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight! [example: for a person weighing 70kg that would be 105g of protein]
• Stay hydrated! Try to consume at least 30-35 ml of unsweetened tea or water per kg of body weight [example: for a person weighing 70 kg, that would be a minimum of 2.1L]
• Enjoy your favorite foods and take your time when eating.

A word of encouragement from our nutritionist

“The more sustainable and gentle your lifestyle behaviour changes are, the more successful you will be at keeping the weight off. Make sure you stay vigilant for a little longer by monitoring your food intake (in a way you enjoy and find interesting) and step on the scale from time to time to make sure everything is under control. Every extra exercise will also help you maintain those amazing results.”

“Focus on living the life of a healthy person with a high life expectancy instead of cycling through weight loss diets. Instead of trying to get rid of the “bad stuff,” integrate more of what’s good for you. A long-term healthy lifestyle still has room for your favorite snacks and foods.”

“Weight management is not just about calories, but also about physical activity and mental health! So, always remember to enjoy and prioritize the things that are more fun and make you feel good!

Thanks Holly !

How to maintain weight after weight gain (Part 3 of 3)

Well done for reaching your weight goal by putting on those hard-earned pounds! Most people find gaining weight easier, but if you do it the healthy way, you need to be just as committed as the people trying to lose it!

We would like to give you some guidance on how to maintain this new physical state that you can be very proud of!

Below you will find an answer to the following questions:

• How many calories do I need to consume?
• Why do people lose weight?
• Do I need to change my exercise routine?
• How do I plan for long-term success?

See what works for you and what doesn't

Once you've reached your goal weight, you'll need to make adjustments to your diet and lifestyle to ensure you maintain your weight gain. This means understanding how you got to where you are with your body.

It really helps to reflect on all the big and small details that led to your success. You need to know how many meals per day have worked well for you. Also, how much you have been sleeping and training will help you understand what to do next.

A new calculation of your daily needs is the starting point.

How many calories do I need to consume?

The amount of calories your body burns to maintain a certain weight depends on quite a few factors!

Now, some things won't change, like your gender and height. Obviously, before you started gaining weight, you (hopefully) calculated your daily calorie consumption! With a few extra pounds, you'll burn more now!

First, let's take a look at how many calories you burn now.

For example, you started burning 2,000 kcal per day before weight gain. To gain, you then started consuming 2,500 kcal to have a surplus!

You may have put on some good quality body mass, leading to a new daily calorie burn of 2,300 kcal.

If you continue eating the 2,500 kcals, you will probably gain even more weight!

So, to stay where you are now, you'll need to get back to your real numbers. It helps when you know what you've been eating.

Cutting out those extra 200 kcal may have resulted in simply eating one less snack or reducing the portion size of one of your meals.

Why am I losing weight?

It can be very frustrating to see your weight in a different place than you would like it to be. Weight loss can have many reasons.

• Stress and a hectic lifestyle can easily lead you to skip meals, resulting in you not getting enough calories for your needs.
• Caffeine can go hand-in-hand with a busy schedule. Not that coffee is a problem, but for many people coffee can reduce appetite. We are less likely to remember our meals and snacks if we are not hungry. It is worth reflecting on your coffee drinking habits if weight loss is a concern.
• Smoking reduces appetite and can cause weight loss (aside from black lungs...).
• Time management and prioritization are also factors. If eating your meals isn't as important and you let other things get in the way, you're missing out on opportunities to refuel and collect those necessary calories.

Do I need to change my exercise routine?

The muscle mass you have developed and gained needs constant attention. Lean body mass burns more calories at rest than other tissues.

Therefore, we suggest that you continue with the routine you have established to achieve your goal. Resistance training and weight lifting is a great way to maintain the body mass you have gained.

For example, you can increase your exercise by going for a run if you like. Just keep in mind that you may need to compensate for the extra calories burned with an extra snack!

How do I plan for long-term success?

Let's make sure we have a good guide on how to maintain everything you've accomplished so far! The worst thing you can do is just expect everything to stay the same, without putting in any work.

Don't worry, it's not as much as it seems. This checklist will give you the right direction to stay on track!

• Keep doing the things that work well for you. If you documented the journey to your goal weight, you will have seen actions that have been successful. Do the things that work for you, there is no need to start experimenting without a good reason :-)
• Plan ahead. When you know what's happening on your schedule, you can make sure you're prepared and have everything you need on hand! You don't have to prepare a whole week, but planning every 2-3 days in advance helps a lot.
• Share your goals with people who support you. Talking about your actions and goals helps you stay on track and increases long-term success because you'll get others to cheer you on.

Jimmy Joy Plenny Family

 It's not a joke, it's joy!