Why You Keep Gaining The Weight Back (+ What To Do About It)

There are three main reasons that I’ve seen in my 10+ years as a Nutrition Coach and someone who has gained and lost weight myself.

But first, why is this such an important topic?

Because, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 80% and 95% of people who lose a significant amount of weight regain it over time.

Why the range?

Because different studies and organizations define successful weight maintenance differently.

For some, maintenance means regaining less than a set percentage of lost weight, for others it simply means staying in a healthy BMI range, and for others, like the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) criteria for successful maintenance includes “having lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for 1+ year”.

So, as always, context matters.

But the bottom line is that losing weight is often the easy part when compared to keeping it off.

Why is weight maintenance so fucking hard?

Biology

When you lose weight, you burn fewer calories than before (metabolic adaptation) - this makes maintaining weight loss difficult if you go back to eating the same quantity of food you before the diet because your body doesn’t need that much energy anymore.

Metabolic Adaptation also involves hormone changes. When you begin losing weight, hunger hormones (like ghrelin) increase, while satiety hormones (like leptin) decrease, making you feel hungrier and less satisfied with the same amount of food.

Psychology

Many people follow restrictive diets that are not sustainable long-term, leading to diet fatigue and eventual overeating. Stress, boredom, and other emotional triggers can also cause people to revert to old eating behaviors if new non-food related habits and coping mechanisms haven’t been formed.

Environment

Many people lose weight through short-term efforts but don’t establish sustainable lifestyle changes. Anyone can lose weight by eating fewer calories, but if you don’t build long-term habits that support your lean body and your healthy lifestyle, you’ll slide back to where you started.

Family habits, social gatherings, and having readily available processed foods within reach can also make maintenance difficult.

What can you do to ensure that the weight you lose STAYS OFF?

Here @nutritionwithnicole we use a 3-part formula because ensuring the results our clients create are results they can confidently SUSTAIN is our superpower.

1. Nutrition education and awareness - when you understand how energy balance and metabolism work, you know what to expect and how to adapt your plan based on biofeedback.

2. Mindful eating skills and habits - when you have a sustainable nutrition strategy and healthy coping mechanisms you can use in high-stress situations, you can confidently navigate nutrition in any season.

3. A supportive environment - the people/places/information you learn from and spend time with that either support or sabotage your efforts

If you’re looking for help losing weight and confidently keeping it off without dieting or deprivation, fill out a 1:1 Nutrition Coaching application and let’s chat about how we can make that happen!

Struggling with fat loss? Your MINDSET might be the missing puzzle piece!

If fat loss, food freedom, and body confidence were as easy as eating the “right” foods and working out enough, my guess is most of us would have achieved our dream bodies a looooong time ago.

How you think about these things matters more than you realize. It’s true that eating goal-supportive foods and moving your body is important, but so is having supportive thought patterns around these behaviors.

Too many women approach fat loss from a place of hate and shame. They focus their energy on restricting food intake and forcing themselves to push through long, sweaty workouts.

The reality is, punishment and shame can only take you so far before you crash and burn. And instead of progress and improved health, you’ll be left with disappointment and frustration that you failed yet again.

Follow these steps, alongside healthy eating and movement habits, for true, lasting change you can actually feel good about:

1 >> Recognize unhelpful or self-destructive thought patterns:

“I’ll never be successful, I might as well quit.”

“It’s easier for her because of X.”

“I have no self-control, if I eat one cookie I’ll eat them all!”

“I hate exercising and vegetables so I’ll never be healthy.”

“I ate some pizza and now everything is ruined. Guess I’ll start again Monday.”

“I have to eat clean foods only. Processed food is bad.”

These are all common but completely unproductive thoughts. Instead of helping you towards your goal, they only serve to hold you back. In order to create change, you must first create awareness.

2 >> Focus on reframes or fact-check yourself. Now that you have awareness of your personal thought patterns, it’s time to do something about them! You can choose to reframe them or simply decide they’re untrue and no longer worth your time. This can look like:

“This process is taking longer than I thought, but every day I’m closer to my goals.”

“Actually, I’m an adult and no one is forcing me to finish the cookies. Eating 2 cookies is great, and now I’m going to put the rest away even though I wish I could eat more. That choice doesn’t align with my goals.”

“I don’t like traditional workouts but I enjoy walking with a friend and playing tennis. I’ll focus my energy there.”

“I overate some pizza today. That’s totally fine, I’m human and allowed to be imperfect. I’ll wait until I’m hungry and then eat a more goal-supportive meal.”

3 >> Practice patience and self-compassion. You’ve likely had some of these thought patterns for years, if not decades! They won’t go away overnight. Expect them to stick around for a bit. That doesn’t mean you’re failing! It’s hard for your brain to rewire them. Stay focused on your reframes and fact checking. Be kind to yourself when you fall back into old habits. The longer you stick with this, the quieter your old thought patterns become.

Creating lasting change isn’t always easy, or pretty. It requires that you get honest and vulnerable about what’s truly holding you back. But rest assured, leaning into that discomfort does pay off in the end!

As always, if you need any help, do not hesitate to fill out a Coaching Application.

We’re always here to help,

Coach Lauren

5 healthy habits to STICK WITH

Now that the 73 days of January have passed, it’s officially love month and according to most research, 80% of New Years resolutions have been abandoned by February.

And while, in some cases, that could be a good thing (like if your resolution was too restrictive or aggressive), here are five healthy habits you definitely want to stick with this season:

Prioritizing sleep 💤 

Skimping on sleep is a great way to ensure you’re hungry more often and feel like working out less often. 😬 So stay up late when it really matters, but make sure you’re still prioritizing sleep whenever possible. 

Gold ⭐️ goal = 7-9 hours/night

Eating veggies 🥗 

There is nothing quite like a happy digestive system and easeful bathroom trips! 🚽 Enjoy your favorite fun foods and beverages, but don’t forget your fiber too!

Gold ⭐️ goal for women = 25+ grams of fiber/day

Gold ⭐️ goal for men = 35+ grams of fiber/day

Getting steps 👣

Inside or outside, fast, or slow, walking is a healthy habit you can (and should) stick with all yearlong. The risk is low and the benefits - blood sugar stabilization, mood boosting, weight management, bone and heart health - are wiiiild. 

Gold ⭐️ goal = 8-10K steps/day

Prepping protein 🍤 

Carbs and fats are always easy to find and can usually be prepared quickly. But protein requires forethought and preparation. Make balanced meals easy by having 1-2 prepared options in your fridge at all times. 

Gold ⭐️ goal ‎ = -.7-1 gram of protein per lb. of ideal body weight or lean body mass

Planning for your faves 🍪 

You can enjoy ALL foods and still make amazing progress, it’s true. But it’s easy for foods hyper-palatable, low-nutrient value foods to add up quickly. In an effort to more easily balance them with the foods your body NEEDS (like proteins, fiber, complex carbs, and healthy fats), plan for them! 

Know weekend cocktails are your jam? Commit a drink max that will leave you feeling good but not hungover. 

Look forward to Friday pizza night all week long? Plan on eating a high protein, high fiber meal beforehand knowing you’ll get plenty of carbs and fats later. 

Need help establishing these healthy habits and ensuring you can confidently maintain them all year long?

We’re here to help.

Your Online Nutrition Coach,

Nicole Hagen