- I lost 35 pounds almost four years ago and have maintained about the same weight ever since.
- I learned that losing weight means continuing the same lifestyle.
- Unsustainable weight loss methods lead to unsustainable results.
At the beginning of 2019, I wanted to improve my food relationship, stop eating too much, and lose weight.
During the first six months of the year, I lost 35 pounds, maintained muscle mass and reduced my body fat percentage from 30% to 17%.
According to a survey
Lose weight
And turn it off.One meta-analysis of
Weight loss
Studies show that more than half of the weight lost recovered within two years and increased to 80% after five years.
I’ve been losing fat for the last three and a half years, and I feel good, strong, healthy, and happy, and I want to continue doing so. Here are the lessons I have learned about how to do that.
1. Slow weight loss is more sustainable
To lose weight, you need to be deficient in calories. When I lost weight, I didn’t over-restrict or cut out food groups, and there were many days when I wasn’t deficient in calories.
This meant I was slowly losing weight, but it was easier for me to keep away because I was able to stick to my lifestyle without feeling robbed.
Eat all your favorite foods, such as chocolates and cakes, in moderation. Because they are nutritious and therefore less satisfying than the whole food, I know I can still make progress.
2. Maintaining weight loss means continuing the same lifestyle
If you can’t stick to your method for a long time, you won’t maintain your weight loss. That is, do not try endless aerobic exercise or eat almost anything.
I knew that if I returned to my old life, my weight would return to normal, so I changed my mind about eating and exercising.
I used to think of food as “good” or “bad”, but I learned that there is essentially no bad food and everything fits into a healthy diet. I found my favorite workout, and going to the gym is part of my routine as much as brushing my teeth.
The only change I make when getting out of the weight loss stage is to eat a little more of the same food.
I still eat carefully, walk daily, eat almost all foods, exercise about five days a week if possible, and try to eat plenty of protein.
3. Protein is the key
Eating a high-protein diet played a big role in preventing me from losing fat. Nutritionists recommend that most people aim for 0.9 grams per pound of your body weight.
Protein has many advantages:
I increased my protein intake during the day. This is the best method according to research.
4.4. My weight is still fluctuating
Since I first lost weight, my weight has gone up and down about 8 pounds.
There are busy times when traveling and parties, and I want to relax and spoil my diet a little more, and I can’t prioritize training.
But I now know that gaining weight is not a big deal. Then you can control things and get rid of excess fat. This prevents me from worrying about changes in my body.
5. It is a mistake to rely too much on scale
I also learned that the numbers on the scale can fluctuate daily. Weigh in the morning after a large meal and are often 5 pounds heavier than the day before.
But I know this is the weight of water, not fat.
I weigh myself semi-regularly because numbers are just data for me.
6. No need to track calories permanently
Calories and macro counts aren’t suitable for everyone, but it helped me learn about potion sizes and stop demonizing food.
It’s a tool that can come back if I want, and I like the scientific approach: I know that when I eat a certain amount of food, I lose or gain weight.
That’s not what I do in the long run, and I don’t have to do it to maintain my weight.
7. Having more muscle mass helps
The more muscle you have in your body, the higher your basal metabolic rate. That is, it burns slightly more calories at rest.
The more muscle I built, the less my physique (except for the unavoidable weight of water) was found to have changed, for example, when I weighed myself after a luxurious week. ..
8. Exercise alone is not enough
Studies show that while exercising may help maintain weight loss, exercising alone consumes less calories than people think, so exercising alone can prevent weight recovery if you return to overeating. you can’t.
I’ve been exercising consistently for five years and I gain weight when I eat excess calories.
I also walk a lot. Because you can move without increasing hunger like more intense aerobic exercise.
