3100: How to Maintain Your New Weight After Weight Loss

[00:00:00] It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, and I'm Dr. Neal, your host of the show. Welcome back to another special Friday edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I answer your questions. On the other days, I read health and fitness blogs to you like an audiobook. I'm sure you're eager to hear today's question, so let's jump right in as we optimize your life.

[00:00:20] My question is about staying on track after successfully losing weight. Over the past 15 years, I've noticed a pattern. It goes like this. I get on the scale one day and I see that I'm somewhere between 105-110 kg. I resolve to lose weight. Over the next several months, maybe a year, I lose it. I get back to 90 kg. Then, over the next 5 years or so, I gain it all back.

[00:00:51] Over the years, I've proven that I'm pretty good at losing weight, but not so good at keeping it off. I want to get off of this roller coaster. What should I be doing for long-term weight maintenance? Thank you for your question, Curtis. First, I must congratulate you on the fact that you are able to lose the weight in the first place. Many are not successful at reaching their goal weight, ever. So be sure to congratulate yourself on your ability to attain this goal.

[00:01:18] But as you mentioned, maintaining that weight is a whole other story and requires somewhat of a different mindset. But there are also things you can do right now to set yourself up for success. So here are my tips for maintaining your body weight now that you've reached your goal weight. First, continue exercising. Now, you didn't mention this specifically, Curtis, but I'm assuming that exercise was part of your weight loss routine.

[00:01:43] If it wasn't, that's obviously okay because you reached your goal weight. But if you want to maintain it, exercise needs to be a regular part of your routine. Lots and lots and lots of data have revealed that exercise is one of the most important behaviors for losing and maintaining body weight. And it's not just because exercise helps burn calories, but it also helps build and maintain muscle.

[00:02:06] Having muscle helps us stay nimble and active as we get older, which is important for our psychological health as well, to be honest. Remember, exercise affects nearly every cell in our body in a positive way, from head to toe. Plus, when we lose weight, some of the weight lost is sadly in the form of muscle. It's just a natural part of the process. But while we lose weight, we want to preserve that muscle. And one of the best ways to do that is to exercise.

[00:02:32] More specifically, incorporate some resistance training into your routine. Better yet, if you can incorporate some high-intensity interval training, also known as HIT, and resistance training, not on the same day, of course, but on off days, that would be ideal. Alright, next, surround yourself with those that support you. These are folks who are aware of your weight loss efforts and don't try and sabotage all the progress you've made.

[00:02:58] Ideally, they perform the same healthy behaviors that you hope to continue incorporating as part of your new lifestyle. So hopefully, they exercise regularly, they plan their meals, they watch their portions. You know, all the stuff I rant about on this show. Now, speaking of food intake, well, before I even get there, let's talk about setting yourself up for success. By now, you probably know which foods may be quote-unquote problem foods for you.

[00:03:24] Meaning, they're foods that maybe you turn to when you're craving something sweet but aren't really hungry. Or foods that you might overindulge in. Like if you're me, it's pizza, french fries, and donuts. You get the idea. One of the best things you can do is to simply hide those quote-unquote problematic foods. Now, there's no need to waste food unnecessarily and throw them in the garbage. But simply moving those foods from sight will be enough to change your behavior.

[00:03:52] So, you can keep them, for example, on the very top shelf of your pantry or cupboard and in the back behind other foods. The advantage of doing this is that even if you happen to remember where those problematic foods are, the fact that it will take some extra time and effort to have to get to those foods will discourage its consumption. It works like a charm. And let me be clear, this isn't just you. This goes for everybody. Me included.

[00:04:18] In fact, the other day, I made the mistake of watching some baking championship on the Food Network. I say mistake because watching those shows always makes me want to eat something sweet. So, sure enough, halfway through the show during a commercial break, I found myself wandering over to the pantry and rummaging through looking for something sweet. Luckily, though, I had already planned for this. I had put some of those sugary foods in the very back of one of the highest shelves in my cupboard. Now, to actually get to those foods, I have to get out my stepstool.

[00:04:48] And sure enough, once I realized I had to go to the garage, grab the stepstool, then rummage through the top of the shelf of the cupboard to find those sweet treats, I thought to myself, ah, it's not worth it. I gave up. So, I ended up walking away and grabbing a glass of water instead. Again, worked like a charm. Now, this same idea can work to your benefit too. Let me give you another example. Why does Amazon.com make it so easy for you to purchase products you find on their website? Think about it.

[00:05:17] They, of course, have developed an app on your phone because they know that we carry our phones with us everywhere. But in addition to that, they have something called one-click ordering. With one tap or one click, you can order whatever you want. You don't have to go through all of the steps to enter your shipping and billing addresses, then your payment information, then review and confirm your order. Now, you just tap the screen once and that's it. The order is on its way.

[00:05:47] That's no accident. Amazon knows that if it can eliminate any extra steps or barriers, you're going to be more likely to buy and buy more often. So, let's use that same concept when it comes to eating nutritious foods. Keep fresh fruit in plain sight in a high traffic area in your home. Fruit that can be grabbed quickly. Think one-click ordering. Food that can be eaten on the run. That's what you want to have on display.

[00:06:14] When you open your fridge, the first thing you should see are vegetables. Ideally, veggies that have already been prepped and are ready to eat so that you can just grab and go. Again, think one click. Or veggies that you can just quickly toss into your favorite dish. If the vegetables are sitting in plain sight but aren't ready to eat yet, then they may not get eaten. That's because you're going to have to go through all of these steps before eating them. Any extra steps means the behavior may not happen.

[00:06:43] Amazon.com knows this, so we should know this too. Speaking of food, so how much food should you be consuming now? We could perform some calculations and try to figure out how many calories you're burning and then determine how many you should be eating. But here's an even easier way to keep you honest. Write down everything you eat and drink. Do this as often as you can. By tracking what you consume, it slows down the process

[00:07:10] and increases your awareness of what and how much you're putting in your body. A natural consequence of this process will be portion control. That's the trick. That's the secret. Having to write down what you're putting in your body forces you to think about it. Now when you get burnt out on recording your food and drink intake, it will happen. Go ahead and stop. But when you find some of the old habits returning, go ahead and begin tracking again. If you follow these tips, I have a feeling you're going to be able to maintain that weight.

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[00:09:35] And I thank you again for the question, Curtis. Now, if you want to send your questions in and get a copy of our Optimal Living Daily Workbook for doing so, you can email them to health at oldpodcast.com. That's health at oldpodcast.com. Or if you want your voice played on the show, come by oldpodcast.com slash ask. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and call in your question.

[00:10:02] The number is 161-ILOVE-OHD. That's 1-614-568-3643. Thank you so much for sending me your questions. Answering them is one of my favorite parts of this show. All right, that's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for listening every day and all the way through. I hope you have a great start to your weekend, and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits. You're welcome.