6 Things to Know about Weight Maintenance

Weight Management Tips

1. Continue Eating the Same Way

2. Stress Management

3. Sleep

4. Track your Food and Weight

5. Do Activity that You Enjoy

6. Figure Out Your Why

1. Continue Eating the Same Way

The greatest success to maintaining your weight at its current place (if you've experienced a significant loss or gain) is to continue eating the same way you always have been. Don't change your macros necessarily, but do calculate your maintenance calories. Generally, it's just your weight x 11 to get your maintenance calories. However, if you've been gaining weight, you need to maintain your surplus calories. 

Don't start slacking off thinking the occasional sweet treat can now be tripled in size because you've achieved your goal. Don't go on a drinking binge and feel horrible the next day. Many people just want to look good on the beach and do crash diets before a vacation, only to let it all go during the vacation and upon return. None of these things are sustainable or healthy. Let's do this the right way and get off that hamster wheel of yo-yo weight gain/loss.

2. Stress Management

The worst thing for gaining belly fat and inability to lose it is cortisol. If you are unable to control your stress, you will always have a spare tire. Remember to have a good sleep hygiene routine where you wind down before going to bed. Do meditation, exercise, journalling, and seek counselling. There's no point in achieving an ideal weight if you can't maintain it.

Don't undo your hard work by letting stress take over your life. Consider if there's a toxic job, coworker, friend, or partner who could be hampering your efforts. If you can, consider making changes in your relationships and setting up healthy boundaries.

If the stress is financial, start looking for money advice from a financial planner or advisor. Many banks have these services in-house and a good accountant can also help you budget. There are lots of money apps available to help you budget as well.

If you are overwhelmed, there are a lot of community resources available. Call the Distress Centre and they can guide you to these resources, or just talk to them. Sometimes we just need someone to listen to us judgement free. No, it's not just for people who feel suicidal, it can be for anyone if they are going through hardship of job loss, grief, death, or relationship breakup. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. If you are scared, feeling low, unable to focus, you need to reach out to your support network. 

3. Sleep

Speaking of cortisol, if you are not sleeping through the night, your body can be inflammed. Sleep helps us to repair and restore our cells and brain function. Some people say that you need 7-9 hours of sleep, but that is really dependent on what your own individual self needs. Some people operate just fine on 5 hours of sleep. Not saying that's for everyone, but there are some people who if they oversleep are groggy and have a tough time getting through the day.

Whatever your sleep requirements are, try to consistently go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time every day. For people who work shifts, that may not be possible. Try your best to have a regular routine by turning off the tv and devices at least an hour before bed.

4. Track Your Food and Weight

Tracking in a food journal app is a great way to stay on top of your weight management goals. You can continue to track your macros and calories once in a while. Doesn't mean you need to do it daily, but track at least a couple weekdays and a weekend day in your app to see where you are at. If you find that you're maintaining your macros and calories, that's great. But if you see a pattern of eating more or less than you expected, you can tweak it before it gets worse.

A lot of coaches out there know that obsessing over your weight can be very unhealthy and tell you to toss out the scale. If that happens, grab your favourite pair of pants and see if you can still zip them up comfortably. Can you get them over your hips? Is there a muffin top coming out the sides that wasn't there before? If they are tight, you might have gained 10-20 lbs. Don't let your weight get that far out of control again. Check at least once a month.

5. Do Activity That You Enjoy

If you don't enjoy working out, don't do it. There are so many kinds of activities that don't feel like working out. Hiking, walking, playing sports, swimming, and dancing are amazing ways to get your exercise! Don't do something that makes you dread going to the gym. If you hate lifting weights, you can do other weight bearing activities like pilates or power yoga that will also get your heart rate up but use mostly bodyweight. 

6. Figure out Your Why

If you don't know why you started in the first place, it's hard to maintain good habits long term. You need to know was it because of your health, did you want to feel better in your clothes, look a certain way, prepare for an event, or something else? All reasons are valid and can help motivate you if you feel like you can let go of your good habits. Remind yourself what will happen if you stop doing all the right things. Do you want to start the process all over again? Probably not. 

Weight Management Requires Effort 

Having someone hold us accountable to ourselves is a great way to maintain your weight where you need it to be. A personal trainer can coach you into healthy habits and mindset. A strong mental game is really important in driving key results in your health journey. We aren't always motivated to go to the gym if we're tired or having a rough week. If you keep reminding yourself of your WHY that can help move you towards your goals. 

We offer nutrition coaching, small group training and 1:1 training to help the busiest individuals incorporate a love of movement into their lives.  Please call/text us at 1-825-945-7733, or fill out the online contact form today!