Keeping Weight Off Takes Commitment

Healthy weight loss isn’t a matter of seeing how long you can suppress your appetite and sustain hunger. Unsatisfied hunger can lead to regaining the weight you worked so hard to lose. To lose weight and keep off, learn to eat the right foods. Sustainable weight loss depends on satisfying your appetite and avoiding feelings of constant hunger. This can require you to eat the right foods as well as focus on every bite you eat. Being mindful when you eat is crucial.

Unfortunately, it is easy to eat distracted by things outside of your body. That you honor your appetite by truly experiencing the pleasure of eating food, which encourages your brain to trigger the ideal metabolic response for optimal digestion and efficient calorie burning. Hunger doesn’t have much to do with burning stored fat, but what you eat can make a difference. When your appetite indicates you are running low on the nutrients you need to fuel your body, it signifies that it is time to eat.

Even if you’re able to attain your goal weight, don’t let up. The reward of shedding pounds is keeping it off. Check out the tips below to avoid weight regain:

• Don’t Skip Meals – Skipping meals can lead to snacking more throughout the day because of appetite and hunger signals.
• Eat Whole Foods – Fruits and vegetables are high in fiber, which increases feelings of fullness and may automatically reduce the number of calories you consume during the day.
• Be More Active – When you are more active, your body uses more energy and is important for losing weight as well as long-term weight maintenance. Add a little resistance training to rebuild lost muscle mass.
• Drink Lots of Water – Water can do more for your body than just quench your thirst. Studies have shown a water-weight loss connection where the calorie-free liquid can help your body burn body fat.
• Never Stock Junk Food – Since most junk food is extremely high in calories, it is easy to exceed the calorie limits you’ve established to lose weight. It’s a no-brainer that an easy way to avoid the temptation is to not stock junk food at your home or office.

One myth about weight cycling is that a person who loses and regains weight will have a harder time losing weight later but recent studies suggest losing and regaining weight does not affect how well you can lose weight in the future. If you catch yourself stress eating or have noticed an increase in appetite when you are dealing with tense situations, remember that people react differently to stress and you can learn techniques to put stress to work for you.

Acute stress can actually decrease your appetite. It is important to get to and stay at a healthy weight to get the most benefit from shedding unwanted pounds and to avoid weight cycling due to weight regain. Nonetheless, expect that keeping the weight off will take effort and commitment. Truth is some people will have more difficulty managing hunger and will be more susceptible to having food cravings. Enjoying foods in moderation might be more effective than completely depriving yourself. Contact MRC to learn more.