by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: July 13, 2010

If you want to avoid joining the ranks of people who have lost weight only to regain it all within a few months then you have to adopt certain practices that will enable you to keep the weight off. Losing weight isn’t something you can rush and so you need to have patience when on your weight-loss journey. If you try to lose weight as fast as you can you’re unlikely to take the sensible steps you need to take, which means that it won’t take long for you to go back to your old habits and, thus, pile on the pounds again.

Consequently, when you decide to lose weight you have to decide upon a sensible long-term goal to aim for and then break this up. You should be able to lose one or two pounds a week, which may not seem like a lot, but soon adds up. If you stay focused on reaching your miniature targets it becomes easier to stay motivated and so you may want to look ahead to the day you have lost ten pounds, for instance. As you reach your targets you can then reward yourself, which will help keep your mind focused on your ultimate goal.

Impatience can be a problem when you’re trying to lose weight, as obviously you want to see the results of your hard work straightaway, but unfortunately that is not how weight loss works. You therefore have to chill out and focus on adapting your lifestyle to help you lose weight, without adopting a routine that forces you so far out of your comfort zone that you are unable to remain there for long. Since it’s going to take you awhile to reach your goal you have to start getting used to doing things differently so that once you’ve lost weight you can keep it off.

In the end, it comes down to calories. If you’re trying to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume, while if you want to maintain your weight you have to balance the two. Thus, you have to learn to count calories during the weight-loss process so that once you have reached your goal weight you will know what you have to do to keep the weight off. You need to get used to reading the nutritional guidelines and measuring out food so you don’t eat too much; you have to reduce the number of snacks you eat and avoid eating too much junk food.

As well as your diet you also need to embrace exercise, as keeping active gives you an opportunity to burn more calories, which is helpful when you’re either trying to lose weight or maintain a lower weight. If you learn to manage your calories you shouldn’t find it too difficult to achieve permanent weight loss.

Learn more about this author, Michelle Wilkinson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.