Live It, Don't Diet

Keeping it off

Long-term weight maintenance is possible for everyone. That's almost one of the first beliefs that should become your weight watchers mantra (the first being that you believe you deserve the weight-loss.) Because without believing that this will work for the rest of your life, you're more likely to believe that this is only temporary. It cannot be and should not be temporary, that's why it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.

In order for this to work you should remember to eat wisely, be active and regularly attend the meeting. If you're like me, I knew that I wouldn't keep true to attending the meeting, so I decided to get hired by Weight Watchers and become a leader. This way, I'm accountable to a lot more than just myself.

Try and think about what has lasted for a long time in your life and ask yourself what helped to make it endure. Was it persistence, paying attention to it and giving priority? Think about what has made it last and if there is any correlation to how you can make the weight loss last.

For some people it is difficult to keep the weight off long term, but long-term weight maintenance is possible and you are worth it. Weight Watchers Lifetime Members report that they have maintained an average of 87% of their weight loss two years after completing the maintenance phase, and 72% of Lifetime Members maintained a 5% or greater weight loss after two years.

Remember too that for every 1 lb of weight loss it's 3lbs of pressure relived from your knees. ;)

Strategies for successful weight maintenance will not stray far from what you are doing right now. Eat wisely, make movement a part of your life, stay connected to support systems (like blogs), maintain a positive outlook, adjust behaviors (you should examine your successes and slip ups), track your weight and attend meetings. Combining all of these strategies are the basic tools you need to keep the weight off for good.

All too often I see members lose the weight, only to stop attending meetings and then rejoin once they put it all back on. It's the members who have really embraced the lifestyle and continue to come to meetings once a month who I find are the most successful. For them, it's the coming to the meetings and holding themselves accountable to others and themselves that ultimately allow them to keep the weight off long term.

posted by Snowman @ 7:11 PM