_____________________________________________________________
4. Maintaining Your Weight Loss
The diet and exercise program discussed in the preceding three steps is rather demanding. Most of us prefer to eat more and exercise less. But something is needed to shock our bodies into weight loss mode – and for this reason, we have to eat less than we need and exercise more than we have been accustomed to. But once you have reached your desired weight, or more importantly, fat reduction target, you can begin to relax somewhat.
To keep your weight down you need to maintain a more moderate version of the extreme weight loss program you’ve been experiencing. Once you’ve been on the diet for a number of weeks, you’ve become adept at counting calories. You’ll know what a 600 calorie meal looks like and you’ll also know that if you eat more than that at one sitting, you’re definitely eating too much. Be aware of how much you eat and remember the calorie counting tips you’re now aware of, particularly when it comes to supplementary items like drinks. You don’t need to keep track with religious fervour, of every mouthful you eat anymore, but you should be generally aware of what you are eating. This will suffice.
Having already slimmed down, you don’t need to exercise every single day like before. This is not meant to discourage you from exercising; in fact, if you can get a good 20-45 minute walk in every day, it will help you feel good and maintain general health as well. The fact is though, that is time consuming and can be annoying. So why not set yourself the goal of say, three our four days per week? There is no upper limit, it is up to you. But don’t just do nothing. Don’t return to a sedentary life because it simply isn’t good for you and keeping the weight off will be much more difficult.
You’ve become accustomed to doing a lot of exercise, so backing off should almost seem like a vacation. Maybe you could walk to work one way three times a week, or go swimming, or visit the gym at least once a week. Just do something!
Keep away from the sugar as much as possible. Sugar causes your pancreas to produce insulin, which has been dubbed “the fat producing hormone”. Insulin lowers your blood sugar level and causes your liver to metabolise your food less efficiently. Stay away from processed carbs with a high glycemic index, like white bread, cakes, buscuits and the like. Educate yourself about the GI (glycemic index) aspect to foods and choose “Low GI” products.