The goal will be to maintain your healthy weight, which has been an elusive proposition for most dieters. The large majority of people who lose weight can’t maintain it primarily because 1) they participated in an unsustainable program (e.g. very low calorie diet, excessive exercise, drugs/injections, etc.) or 2) lost motivation to maintain the lifestyle that got the weight off. All that said, when you reach a healthy weight, make sure you start a new maintenance program using the dotFIT program. You will be prompted exactly what to do including how to eat (meal plan examples with the amount of calories needed to maintain weight) and move (complete exercise plans from walking through weight training and cardio if desired).
Successful weight maintainers never stop paying attention to their weight or body fat changes. In today’s world, weight gain DOES happen by accident but weight loss or maintenance DOESN’T – you HAVE to pay attention! Below is a list of a few attributes of successful weight maintainers:
• Consistently record food intake
• Eat at least four small meals daily and often using meal replacement bars or shakes for 1 or 2 meals
• Exercise at least 3 days/wk with walking different speeds being the most common form
• Weigh or measure regularly (generally once weekly)
• Incorporate motivational devices like pedometers or other body sensing devices that capture activities and/or calorie burn