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.
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.
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.
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!