You've Reached Your Weight Loss Goal - Now What?

Now that you’ve lost the weight, it can be an even greater challenge to maintain that loss. It’s estimated that about 20% of people who lose weight end up maintaining their new weight. So how can you keep the weight from coming back? To maintain weight loss, you must continue the work you put in as it requires a long-term commitment to health and wellness. The combination of healthy eating habits and regular physical activity does not stop once you’ve reached your optimal weight. 

MyJourneyMD understands the challenges associated with weight loss and the maintenance thereafter. Our team of medical professionals are here to help guide and support you whether you’re looking to lose weight or need help maintaining your weight loss. If you’ve recently benefited from our Medical Guided Weight Loss program or are new to MyJourneyMD, below are tips to maintain weight loss as part of our continuous support in your health. 

Keep the Weight Off

Stay Hydrated
Water is an essential part of life and is vital to your overall health and weight. Water not only burns calories as it metabolizes fat and carbohydrates. It helps us to have the energy to stay active, stabilizes our heartbeat, regulates our temperature, maintains electrolytes (sodium), aids in digestion, and much more. Proper water consumption varies for each individual and recommended to consult your MyJourneyMD team or physician.

Sleep
Quality and adequate sleep is essential to weight loss as it balances our hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that increases our appetite while leptin suppresses our appetite. Poor sleep habits contribute to weight gain or the inability to lose weight as it prevents these hormones from working properly when balanced. Poor sleep contributes to an increase of ghrelin and a decrease of leptin. Sleep schedules vary for each individual. Between 7-9 hours is recommended for most adults. 

Portion Control
Overeating affects the whole body and is responsible for future health issues. When you overeat, the stomach expands and pushes surrounding organs along with forcing them to work harder. Taking in more calories than your body can burn causes slow digestion, turning food into fat. Overeating disrupts your circadian rhythm causing sleep deprivation and can lead to obesity and severe risk of chronic disease. It’s recommended to eat 4-5 small meals a day in place of 3 large meals.

Healthy Snacks
You may be tempted by high calorie snacks that will inevitably leave you hungry. Instead, opt for snacks like yogurt, whole-wheat crackers, nuts, fruit, and vegetables which are filled with vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants to keep you energized and satiated.

Exercise
The more active you are, the easier it will be to keep the weight off. Physical activity, such as a brisk walk, 30 minutes every day, can help maintain your weight loss. Exercise helps burn the calories needed to manage weight but is also beneficial for your overall health which prevents risk of obesity and chronic illness. Proper physical activity varies for each individual and recommended to consult your MyJourneyMD team or physician.