- Restrictive diets or fad diets often result in people gaining back the weight they’ve lost.
- Sustainable habits, like prioritizing protein, are helpful in maintaining healthy weight loss.
- Experts recommend focusing on general health-promoting goals, like eating more vegetables, instead of fixating on calories or restrictions.
Maintaining healthy weight loss is a difficult, but crucial element of overall wellbeing.
It's easy to get caught up in the fads surrounding weight loss. Losing weight quickly and easily always sounds like the best way to do it—until you gain the weight back.
Yo-yo dieting, or “weight cycling,” is a pattern of losing weight and then gaining it back. This pattern is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Some studies show that this pattern can increase body fat and decrease muscle mass, which makes losing weight in the future even harder.
“The body doesn’t like when you lose a lot of weight really fast,” weight loss dietitian Lainey Younkin, MS, RD, LDN, told Health. “It signals something is wrong and fights to return to your starting weight.”
Short-term thinking can prevent long-term changes, so it is important to think in terms of sustainable lifestyle changes instead of fad diets.
Here’s what registered dietitians say are their best tips for sustainably maintaining weight loss.
Getty Images / miodrag ignjatovic
Slowly Adapt New, Healthy Habits
Hopping on a new diet trend or engaging in restrictive methods to lose weight is a setup for future failure.
Instead, it’s best to start small, implementing goals like adding a fruit or vegetable to a meal or increasing exercise by 10 minutes per day. The most sustainable habits are those that feel doable and don’t completely overhaul your life
“Overhauling your entire diet overnight is usually a recipe for burnout,” Miranda Galati, MHSc, RD, a registered dietitian who focuses on simple recipes and doable nutrition tips, told Health. “Instead, focus on one meal or one nutrient at a time so the change feels doable and sustainable. When you change your habits slowly, your results are more likely to be permanent.”
Let Your Diet Evolve With You
Just because you’re making some lifestyle changes doesn’t mean food has to be a chore. You can still enjoy fueling your body with things you like that also make you feel good—the main thing to consider is a reasonable number of calories and the correct amount of protein.
“If you slash calories while you’re losing weight, you’re more likely to experience cravings and return to old habits when it’s time to maintain,” Galati explained.
It is more effective to start with a small daily calorie deficit that will be realistic to maintain. This may mean slower weight loss, but it will help facilitate a much easier transition to weight maintenance.
Protein is imperative for weight loss and maintenance. A high protein diet is satiating and, along with fiber, helps to reduce hunger and cravings, making it easier to stay in a calorie balance.
Protein also helps preserve muscle mass while boosting metabolism.
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Don’t Forget to Stay Active
While diet is the most important aspect of weight loss, exercise is critical for maintaining it.
According to current research, 90% of individuals who maintain weight loss also exercise an average of one hour each day.
But this doesn’t mean you have to do an hour of cardio every day.
Younkin explained that the best kind of exercise for losing weight and keeping it off is adding strength training to consistent daily movement.
“Daily movement is referred to as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT),” she said. “Then strength training builds muscle, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.”
Align Your Goals and Accountability
Making sustainable changes can also come in the form of choosing the right goals. Instead of fixating on weight, choosing general, health-promoting goals can be a healthy shift in forming sustainable habits.
Instead of micromanaging the number on the scale, focus on goals like including more foods that directly promote wellbeing. Eat more fruits and vegetables for more fiber to influence digestive health, eat more healthy fats for heart health, and move more for better blood pressure and blood sugar.
Oftentimes during the weight loss phase, individuals use tracking apps and tools to stay mindful of food choices. This type of self-monitoring can be just as important in weight maintenance, as when people move away from these tools, it can be easy to lose awareness and return to old habits.
“Many clients find that setting and reflecting on weekly goals, keeping a mindful food journal, or continuing to weigh themselves to be helpful,” Galati said.
Understand When Weight Loss Becomes Disordered
Lastly, it’s important to remember that dieting and engaging in intentional weight loss is one of the biggest predictors of disordered eating.
Seeking help from a registered dietitian who will not restrict foods while you work on your weight loss goals is recommended so that you can maintain a good relationship with food. If you’re feeling like your diet might be disordered, it’s a good idea to speak with a therapist, too.
Signs you are heading in a disordered direction include constantly thinking about food and exercise, hyper fixation on the scale or the weight affecting your mood, cutting out too many foods or groups, and not engaging in social activities due to fear of food.
The healthiest weight for you is whatever the scale says when you are following a nutritious, balanced diet and moving your body in ways you enjoy.