Let’s talk about MAINTENANCE.
But first, an unpopular opinion: diets actually do work. Most conventional diets will put you in a caloric deficit, and, if you stick to them, you’ll achieve fat loss!
The problem is that most conventional diets help you create a calorie deficit using unsustainable methods: drastically cutting back on carbs, only eating in a small feeding window, following a strict meal plan, or eating very low calories, and they don’t actually teach you how to eat for real life (or how to maintain the weight loss).
Sadly, 80-85% of people who lose weight will gain it back, but that doesn’t have to be your reality! Here’s what you need to know about maintenance in order to achieve lasting fat loss:
Expect the scale to go up a little bit. The goal of maintenance is NOT to stay at your lowest weight for the rest of your life. As you transition from fat loss to maintenance and begin eating more food, the scale will trend up a few pounds as a result of eating more food and having more water in your body. Instead of expecting to stay at a specific weight forever, aim for a 5 pound range you feel good in and know that small fluctuations are normal.
In an ideal scenario, maintenance simply means more food. If you used a sustainable method to lose weight where you ate mostly whole foods, prioritized protein and fiber, and didn’t eliminate any food groups, transitioning to maintenance is simply about adding a few calories back in. This can look like making your meals a bit bigger, adding a snack throughout the day, and/or allowing for more flexibility around meals out and fun foods. It shouldn’t look drastically different from the method you used to lose weight in the first place. Note: You’ll want to start slow, adding only a couple hundred calories back in at a time, and adjust, as needed.
If you lost weight by tracking, it does’t mean you have to track forever. Maybe you enjoy tracking your food but want a break, or maybe you’re ready to move away from tracking entirely, either way, you can do so without gaining the weight back. Transitioning away from tracking can take many different forms, depending on what feels best for you: You can reduce the number of days/ week you’re tracking (e.g. only tracking Friday-Sunday since they’re often less predictable), stop tracking the meals you eat on repeat (e.g. if you eat the same thing every day for breakfast and know it works for you), or quit cold turkey and lean on the meal making skills and hunger/fullness cues you have. Here @nutritionwithnicole we believe that tracking is an amazing tool, but should never be something you feel you need in order to make/maintain your progress.
Similar to fat loss, maintenance is a skill! Many people have spent a significant amount of time living in dietary extremes - eating as little as possible/being “good” and going off the rails. Being able to confidently maintain your weight is about mastering the space in the middle - building mostly balanced meals, honoring your hunger and fullness cues, enjoying meals out and fun foods without overeating them, and feeling confident about your food choices without micromanaging or obsessing over them. It takes time, practice, and a lot of patience. Be gentle with yourself and celebrate the small wins along the way.
If you’ve struggled with maintaining weight loss in the past, it’s likely because you didn’t lose the weight in a way you could realistically stick with long-term. Remember: the way you lose weight is also the way you keep it off - with a few additional calories and more flexibility. :)
If you’re looking for a sustainable fat loss solution that allows you to lose weight and confidently keep it off, reach out. We’re here to help.
Whether by way of 1:1 Nutrition Coaching, or our monthly nutrition membership, NOURISH, our goal is to equip our clients with the tools and skills they need to lose weight without dieting or deprivation, so they can confidently keep it off through every season.