Maintaining A Healthy Weight
Why, when we lose weight we struggle to maintain it? Re-gaining weight after weight loss is more common than you may think, even when the weight loss has been gradual. Initially it may be easier to maintain your weight if you have lost it gradually than with a rapid weight loss program, in the long term, old habits are likely to creep back in.
The longer you can maintain your reduced weight, the less likely you are to revert to square one. Understanding how your body reacts to weight loss will help you understand why this happens.
How much you can eat without putting on weight is not determined by metabolism alone. It is the brain that plays a major role in how much we can and cannot eat without gaining weight. The brain has an idea of what your minimum weight should be and will work overtime to try and regulate your body to stay at that weight.
Weight loss whether voluntary or involuntary may lead to conflict. If for example you have been around 12 stone for most of your adult life and reduce to 10 stone, the body will fight to get back up to the weight that it is prior to the diet. This may also apply to involuntary weight loss.
One popular theory which seeks to explain the difficulty in maintaining weight loss is that we have a built in mechanism that has been passed down through generations. This mechanism determines how much fat we store and, in times of famine kept people alive.
Nowadays food is somewhat plentiful in the developed world rendering this mechanism obsolete.
Gradual weight loss is the best way to trick your body into thinking that your normal weight is lower than it first thought. With rapid weight loss, any deviation or indulgence will be taken as an ideal opportunity to adjust your weight to what your body sees as ideal.
It usually takes about 3 months before your body sees your new weight as 'normal' and regulates around that weight. At this stage if you decide to treat yourself every now and again, your body won't punish you too much, which will vastly reduce the chance of your weight yo-yo'ing. When you get down to what you consider to be your ideal weight why not view our maintaining weight loss tips
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