Weight Loss: What To Do After A ‘Fat Loss Phase’?

Picture this: You have lost a lot of weight and have started getting compliments from family members and also that boy you were crushing on has started talking to you. You are excited, after all the hard work, diet restrictions and gym classes have paid off. But now you are anxious about the next phase, how to maintain this weight loss? Phew! That’s a tough one, even tougher than the initial diet phase.

Worrying and anxiety never got anyone what they wanted. So relax and focus on making a transition to a sustainable lifestyle.

Maintenance of the achieved weight or fat percentage

“Once you think you have achieved your weight loss targets, maintaining it is the key and for that you have to keep the calories you eat just the same as you burn. This phase of maintenance will take about 6-8 weeks during which you have to restrict yourself from making sudden changes in your diet plan or exercise schedule. If you wish to change any if this, make only slow adjustments,” says Yash Vardhan Swami, Health Coach, Business Coach, Founder, trained by YVS & Fitness Business Accelerator.

Swami shares some tips to help you embrace a balanced approach that goes beyond the numbers on the scale.

1. Regular exerciseWhether you were following any exercise routine to lose your weight or not, incorporation of exercise in your daily life is always expected as it is beneficial in each and every aspect. Exercising will help you to maintain an energy balance by burning off the calories in case you consumed in excess and helping you to maintain the achieved weight. Recommended exercise is 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity with 2 days of strength training too.
2. Lifestyle changesWhether it is about losing the weight or maintaining the lost weight, one thing is must and that is following that dietary pattern or workout regime that is sustainable. If you follow an extremely restrictive diet, chances of not following it properly rise and also cause hormonal imbalances. Likewise, just to lose weight, following heavy workouts and then completely shutting it off once you have lost the weight upto required numbers, it is not at all healthy. Change the way you live to change the way you look.
3. Reverse dietingThis phenomenon works in a wonderful manner in which you strategically add calories to your diet slowly and steadily so that you don’t regain the weight lost. The aim is to come back to your previous calorie levels and for this you gradually begin to add calories to your diet over a course of weeks or months. While you might have been in calorie deficit to loose body weight, body goes into ‘adaptive thermogenesis’ wherein body’s metabolism is altered. But with reverse dieting restores the body’s metabolism so that it doesn’t gain fat even if the calorie consumption is increased. The suggestion is to raise the caloric intake by 2-3 percent in the form of carbohydrates and fats, by the time you reach your pre calorie consumption target. The main advantage of reverse dieting is shifting from a low-calorie restrictive diet to a more sustainable eating pattern.
4. Diet breakSimilar to cheat meals, diet breaks or refeeds are designated days in which calorie intake is intentionally increased by a specific, predetermined amount, with most (or all) of the extra calories coming from carbohydrates. Some people do one weekly refeed, while others may opt for 2-3 refeeds per week.

Achieving your target weight seems like a blessing, but maintaining it needs a hell lot of strength. Seeking proper care and guidance from a health care professional and not spoiling your weight.