by Marina Stein

Created on: April 22, 2009

In order to maintain weight loss you need to choose a method of loosing weight wisely in the first place. The best way to loose weight and keep it off is to change the way you live your life rather then going on "temporary diet or plan". If you decide to use one of the "crush diets" or rely on the pills it will be extremely difficult to keep the weight off. On the other hand, if you change the habits of how you eat, rest, exercise, sleep, and relate to stress the question of maintaining weight loss becomes virtually non-existent.

If the change in the lifestyle was successful enough and you lost a significant amount of weight then all you need to do is to follow those excellent new rules of existence. Without a doubt, those new rules include:

~ Drinking a lot of water. ~

Since 90% of our body consists of water it is very important to drink enough water to stay hydrated and help elimination of toxins. 8-10 glasses are considered enough but if you sweat heavily for any reason (be it a sauna or exercise) you may need more water.

~ Eating healthy and well balanced meals. ~

Your diet consists of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds, and fish. Occasionally you eat meat and poultry and you get enough healthy fats in your diet. You always eat your breakfast. You have a green salad almost every day, you eat fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables and you are not afraid to experiment with unfamiliar fruits and vegetables as well. At least twice a week you have fish as a main course and at least twice a week your days are completely vegetarian.

~ Taking care of those cravings before they become a problem. ~

Now and then you allow yourself eat almost everything (in moderation) so you never feel deprived and as a result never go overboard. You eat cheese, dark chocolate and occasional piece of cake or pie without any guilty feelings.

~ Planning for an unexpected. ~

Sometimes things are going in a different direction than expected. You plan in advance for those emergences by having some kind of healthy snack such as walnuts or pumpkin seeds handy. You are also quite an expert on the healthy choices in the fast food industry and you are never confused by food selection at the parties.

~ Understanding metabolism. ~

The amount of calories consumed should be less then amount of calories spent. But you achieve that not by drastically cutting the food intake but by increasing the expenditure of calories so body never goes in the "famine" mode when it saves every calorie and does not use them for proper body functioning.

~ Being physically active. ~

The best way of increasing metabolism is physical activity of any type. You exercise consistently, every day, but not for 3 hours at a time in a fancy gym. 30 minutes of walking daily is enough to stay in shape.

~ Getting enough sleep. ~

It is very important to get enough night sleep (usually 7-8 hours). Sleep deprivation may lead to many health problems and may be responsible for weight gain as well.

Remember that the most important thing in staying slim is the right choice of a method you have chosen for your weight loss.

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