How to have long-term weight loss success

The general perception of weight loss is that most people can’t keep it for the long term.  In this article, We will discuss how to have long-term weight loss success.

Weight regain is a common issue following weight loss.  Most people who use various methods to lose weight can achieve certain progress, but only a few are able to sustain the changes to avoid subsequent weight regain.

The medical journal Obesity published a study in 2016. It followed up with fourteen participants on a former NBC weight-loss reality show “The Biggest Loser.” It found that after six years, 13 of the competitors had regained weight of an average of 90 pounds, out of an average of one hundred and twentyish pounds lost over the course of the show.  So 93% of the people in the show regained most of their lost weight.

It just shows how hard it is to keep the weight after going through a weight-loss program.

How to Predict if the Weight Loss is Sustainable?

The most accurate predictor of the chance to regain weight is how long the participants had successfully maintained their weight loss.

Research shows that individuals who had kept their weight off for two years or more had substantially increased odds of continuing to maintain their weight over the following years.

The next predictor of successful weight loss maintenance is the participant keeps a lower level of dietary disinhibition.  It measures how much the person has periodic loss of control of eating.

High levels of habitual disinhibition were direct associated with substantial weight regain and obesity, particularly in older women, Emotional disinhibition had a significant but modest association with these outcome factors.

On the other hand, if you apply flexible, but not rigid, control of dietary restraint, it reduces the influence of habitual disinhibition on weight regain. The result of a study shows that greater success may be achieved on the reduction of habitual overeating.

And then a very important factor of avoiding weight regain depends on the person’s ability to maintain healthy eating habits and exercise habits over time.

How to Maintain Long-Term Weight Loss

We will discuss below how you can have a better chance to maintain your weight for the long term:

Psychological Influence on Weight Loss

Dieting is about depriving yourself and is intended to be temporary, meaning there should be an end date when you theoretically go back to the status quo. And with willpower being fallible, many people return to the bad habits that caused them to gain weight in the first place.

The real question is why do people who try to lose weight regain the weight they lose? They are motivated to maintain their lost weight in the first place, and they do really want to keep the status from gaining the weight back. 

So why do they regain weight, is it because their will is too weak to continue restricting what they eat, or is it because their body physiologically follows a genetically determined weight? 

Research shows that the answer is somewhere in between those assertions.  In brief, when you are on a diet, calorie deprivation leads to changes in hormones, metabolism, and cognitive/attentional functions that make it difficult to dictate the behaviors that are required to keep weight off.

The most fundamental physiological adaptation to calorie deprivation is a reduction in the number of calories burned.

There are primarily two reasons.  First, after eating fewer calories, you lose weight, and since your weight is less, your body needs less energy to operate. Secondly, and beyond the changes resulting from the smaller body, metabolism in your body becomes more efficient.  That means your body can survive on less energy because fewer calories are needed to provide the necessary energy for your body.

In sum, if you want to use willpower to self-control yourself to lose weight, it works . . .  to a certain extend.  It is not as powerful as one might expect to achieve. Additionally, it is generally not pleasant (or painful) to force yourself not to eat.  When something is not pleasant, it is hard to last long.

Research shows that the strategy to promote vegetable eating without worrying about reducing calories serves better for people who want to lose and then maintain weight because psychologically it is easier to accomplish.

Peer Support Effect

A sense of community among like-minded individuals with similar goals helps each other to achieve the goals. Online peer support groups are becoming increasingly popular.  It fulfills similar needs to in-person groups and has additional advantages in saving time, accessibility, and access to a larger peer network.  It facilitates long-term adherence.

Have Inner Motivation

Losing weight is a personal decision to make. Certain efforts have to be paid such as appropriate diet and exercise.  With a strong desire as back up can help you achieve your goal.

You can make a list of things of what's important to you and why do you want to lose weight.  A list that helps you stay motivated and focused.  When there is time becomes challenging to stay on track, take a look at your list and get motivated.

Set Realistic Goals on Weight Loss

It may seem obvious to set realistic goals. But do you really know what's realistic in terms of weight loss?

There are long-term and short-term goals.  A long-term goal helps you focus on the big picture. It draws your attention from simply being diet to diet to having lifestyle changes. But a long-term goal sometimes seems too far away and you may lose sight of it. It may benefit you by breaking down a long-term goal into a series of smaller, short-term goals.

If your goal is to lose 20 pounds in four months, you may break it down into separate goals for each month, perhaps 8 pounds for the first month. 5 pounds for the second month, 4 pounds for the third month, and 3 pounds for the fourth month, as early months are easier to lose weight.

In the long term, it's good to shoot for losing 1 to 2 pounds a week. Generally, to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you eat each day, either through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity, or both.

Eat Healthy but Tasty Foods

Losing weight generally means you have to have a lower calorie intake than you burn. But that does not mean you need to give up food taste and satisfaction.  On the contrary, you should enjoy your food and lose weight at the same time, that way you can stay on track for the long term.

A good way to lower calorie intake is by eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  Look into how to use those elements to have tasty foods, it will ease up your journey to lose weight.

Have a Habit of Being Active

While you can lose weight without taking exercise, there is a great benefit to having a habit of regular exercise.

Taking regular exercises provide additional benefit on top of counting calories.  It helps burn off the extra calories you can't reduce through diet alone.

Exercise offers additional health benefits such as a healthier cardiovascular system, and a good mood. Exercise can also help in maintaining weight loss. Even the easiest exercise provides great benefits. 

A brisk walk of 30 minutes can help you a lot.  Some people may require more physical activity than this to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. Studies show that people who maintain their weight loss over the long term get regular physical activity.

Develop Long-Term Good Eating Habit

It is essential to replace unhealthy eating habits with new, healthy ones. For example, when people eat alone, they tend to eat too fast and eat more. So, mane arrangement to share a lunch each week with a colleague, or invite friends over for dinner one night a week. 

Another good strategy is to put your fork down between bites. Also, reduce distractions during meals, such as watching the news while you eat. While you are paying attention to the news, you pay less attention to how quickly and how much you’re eating, and you eat more.

The idea is to at more slowly. If you eat too fast, you are working on cleaning your plate instead of paying attention to whether you have eaten enough.

Eat only when you’re truly hungry instead of when you are tired, anxious, or feeling an urge to eat besides hunger. If you find yourself in the habit of eating when you feel like eating but not because of hunger, such as nervousness or under stress, try to find a non-eating activity to do instead, like taking a walk. 

Plan meals ahead of time to ensure that you eat a healthy well-balanced. After you accomplish your goal of weight loss, you should slowly add back fats or carbs until they reached a level they felt could be maintained for life. In addition, you should eat as many vegetables as possible, choose high-quality, nutritious whole foods and limit anything processed, prepare food by yourself at home,  avoid trans fats, added sugars, and processed food.

Success Takes Good Tracking of Your Weight Loss Status

The best way is to weigh yourself on a daily basis.  The scale gives the most honest evaluation of the current status.

There was a study found that those who weighed themselves daily lost much more weight compared with those who weighed themselves less often.

Another very useful method is to regularly take measurements at set points around the body.  It is a great way to check if you’re losing sizes, even if you’re not losing weight.  The checkpoints can be like upper arms (mid-bicep), waist, hips, and mid-thigh of legs.

People who make consistent measures of these points tend to lose more weight and last for a long term.