Maintenance.

This is NOT the way I
have gotten to goal!! LOL.

No, I am not there yet!! LOL. But I am only 1kg off it... YAY!! So, for 2 reasons I am thinking about how to maintain my weight before I get there.

1. Heaps of people put weight back on - usually plus MORE after they lose it.

2. I have been losing weight for so long now, I am not really sure what to do to stop losing it!! (In a healthy way that is - I know all about chocolate and pizza.. LOL). I do what I do; which is the same thing every week and I lose a kilo... I am assuming I will need to do something different to stop this!! Which is a strange thing - and not a bad problem some would say - LOL!!

The equation should be simple - eat more / exercise less... but how much more and how much less?? Anyway, while I am contemplating these things I did what I do best and googled - and I found some interesting things. (Well - I found them interesting anyway!! LOL) Most of them are common sense but it has given me some numbers to work with in regards to the calories eaten and calories exercised...

In the National Weight Control Registry, successful long-term weight loss maintainers (average weight loss of 30 kg for an average of 5.5 years) share common behavioural strategies including:

- eating a diet low in fat and calories.

- frequent self-monitoring of body weight (allows them to catch weight gains before they escalate). Decreasing self-weighing frequency is also independently associated with greater weight gain. 75% of successful maintainers monitor their weight.

- monitoring food intake (around 1450 calories a day on average).

- eating breakfast. 78% of successful maintainers do this.

- high levels of regular physical activity (one hour per day OR 3000 calories expended on exercise per week). 90% of successful maintainers do this.

- a consistent eating pattern across weekdays and weekends.

-watch less than 10 hours of TV per week. 62% of successful maintainers do this.

Weight loss maintenance may get easier over time. Surprisingly, 42% of the sample reported that maintaining their weight loss was less difficult than losing weight.

Once these successful maintainers have maintained a weight loss for 2-5 years, the chances of longer-term success greatly increase.

Nearly all registry members indicated that weight loss led to improvements in their level of energy, physical mobility, general mood, self-confidence, and physical health.

The weight problem goes like this:

Not paying attention to how much we are eating

Planning to exercise and failing to do it…enough

Denying how heavy we are

The solution.

Pay attention to how much you eat.

Exercise!!

Weigh yourself frequently. Weekly should be fine in the beginning; then perhaps fortnightly or monthly.

How many calories do I need to eat?

http://www.caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/weight-maintenance-calculator-women