We all know the majority of people are forever trying to lose weight. If and when they do reach their goal, it is highly likely that their weight shoots up again and then they realise they need to start the whole process again. Their weight just yoyos continuously. It is really damaging for your body to keep living life this way. The more you do this, the more messed up your hunger hormones and by working inefficiently, you are more likely to put on more weight quickly post diet and even end up heavier than the previous time, making it even slower to lose it the next time round. Not to mention some research has shown it can lead to a higher risk of diabetes and high blood pressure as well as other diseases. Dieting in this way can be so hard on you mentally; you feel out of control, unhappy with yourself, feeling like you have failed as well as the guilt when you put the pounds back on and overall, very bad for your mental health. If this is you now, please stop. Just give it a go trying to maintain your weight. You are only setting yourself up to failure because you are not concentrating on what really matters: small lifestyle changes that are embedded in your everyday, long enough to become a way of life, as well as your relationship with food which is certainly a factor if your weight continuously yoyos.
To stop any of this from happening to you, just remember to avoid the biggest mistake people make after they have reached their goal: not attempting to maintain their current weight.
THE FIRST TIME I EVER MAINTAINED MY WEIGHT
Believe it or not, until this year, I had never actually maintained my weight properly and long enough. Hands down, it was harder than prepping for a show (to me). My ‘why’ in the first place was because my show dates kept moving due to COVID. So, I had no choice but to do a couple of rounds of maintenance (anyone who has dieted for a show knows timing is everything and I couldn’t keep dropping weight with show dates being so uncertain). I did it for 7 or 8 weeks and it was so hard. Although my calories were higher, I still had to track and keep good quality of food but one thing I really enjoyed was having a takeaway every weekend whilst saving myself calories. Being my first time, I still messed it up in the last 48 hours. Struggling to get out of the mindset of on a diet off a diet (which is very common when you only associate dieting with dieting for a show) within my last 48 hours I had a takeaway on the Saturday night as usual and some home made brownies and then went to my mum’s for a roast dinner the next day and had some cake-a second dessert the second day in a row. Knowing I was starting my cut again on the Monday, you could say I was a bit too laid back with the tracking. My horror when I hopped on the scales on the Monday to find I was 8lbs heavier!!! I couldn’t believe it! After maintaining my weight for this long, letting my guard down for 48 hours caused this. I’m pretty sure I nearly cried that morning.
What I failed to realise was that the longer you are dieting for, the more prone you are to water retention, the more prone you are to bloating, the more sensitive your stomach becomes. My arms looked huge in that Monday session from all the carbs. The excessive sweating was something I was not used to either it was horrible and I felt horrible- I felt like a fat pig. By the end of the week hitting my deficit calories again it was hilarious to look at my weight tracker that I had dropped 7lbs, proving it wasn’t fat but in fact water retention that added to the number on the scales.
So, when you try, you will find it hard, it may not even go as smoothly as you would like it to, but regardless, it is vital you try it at least once, ESPECIALLY after you have reached your goal.
WHY IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO MAINTAIN YOUR WEIGHT
Sometimes you just need a mental break from losing weight. By practising maintenance, you are putting less pressure on yourself. You are also ensuring you are eating the same amount as you’re burning so you are less likely to be hungry (as long as you’re eating the right foods). Your body is re-setting itself from all the yoyo dieting. Yes, you are probably going to feel a bit meh because you are so desperate to keep trying to lose the weight, but chances are if you are trying to maintain, you are stopping yourself from going in the opposite direction like you usually do where you overeat and then put on the weight you’ve lost. Lastly, you can still build muscle with maintenance calories. Having made the mistake myself, it is so vital to move away from the bodybuilding mentality that you need overeat to gain muscle or be in an extreme surplus. Trust me, having done it myself, you only end up in a worse position because when you want to cut again, you only have more to lose. Some people also think that when their weight does increase drastically from ‘muscle building’ what they fail to realise that most of it is probably fat.
HOW TO DO IT
I would still advise logging your weight (minimum x3 a week) so you can properly track that your weight is staying the same on average week by week. You will still need to track your calories to know you are not overeating. To be honest, you can eventually come away from tracking especially if you have practised hitting your maintenance calories long enough and especially if you’re eating similar foods daily. To stick at your maintenance weight, you must also be mindful of your output. For some sedentary people, you could probably get away with just increasing your steps or overall output and keep eating similar amounts of foods- you will soon know because you will be observing what your weight does. Keep going for walks, keep hitting the gym.
Most importantly, I would try and focus just on your daily habits and your relationship with food. Having struggled myself with binge eating, overeating and improving my relationship with food, as soon as I understood that my body did need a break from dieting, I then had the opportunity to focus more on improving the other things that caused me to spend years putting on weight then losing weight. I reminded myself of my non-negotiables: to prioritise 3-4 healthy meals a day above snacking (because snacking I realised would always trigger my overeating). To always hit my protein so I was never hungry and to ensure I was eating enough fibre as well as sticking to all my gym sessions.
Sometimes, maintenance is vital because it is not the right time for you to diet. Look at it as a positive that it is a way of you developing a better relationship with food, a way of you practising the good habits that you have when you diet effectively and an alternative to doing what you usually do which is letting the pounds creep up on you.
If you want help developing a better relationship with food or learn how to do a maintenance phase, DM me now! at @natashakostalas on Instagram
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