I Gained Weight and Here's Why
Have you gained weight recently after losing all the weight? Or even worse, you gain more than the weight you lost in the first place?
Do you want to finally get to your goal weight and stay there without gaining it back?
Check out these three KEY things you need to know if you want to maintain your hard-earned weight loss.
#1: Do Not Get Cocky!
Let’s see it like this. Someone is finally at their ideal weight. They are so excited that they got there. So, what do most people do at this time? They stop doing whatever they did to lose it! They get a bit lax and the cookies start sneaking back in... a little here and there isn't a big deal at first...but by the time you realise it is the damage is done!!
Obviously, without maintaining the habits, all the weight lost will come back sooner than later.
Even with small progress it's easy to ease off. So, you start to eat some late-night snacks or start to eat out with your family or friends. Slowly, you start to eat more calories than you need and get back into a calorie surplus. Which will end up in some extra pounds on your scale.
It's so easy to do, but if it's not going to be a massive waste of time, maintaining that is as equally as important as losing the weight in the first place.
#2: Do Not Let Your Environment Change You!
When you hit some scale milestone and get to maintain it for a while, you tend to let your environment change... and now the habits that got you here aren't default anymore. If you want to maintain your weight, those habits need to be done by default. Not relying on motivation.
The environment that you need is the one that doesn’t have “temptations” for YOU.
Let's look at it this way: If you have a chocolate bar in your pantry, and you want a snack at any time of the day, that chocolate bar will be an option for you. Most likely, you will end up eating it, well I would anyway!
So, this is what I meant by not letting your environment change you. You need to “clean up” your environment of high-calorie trigger foods if they're constantly derailing your progress.
Next time when you go to the supermarket, instead of getting a “you deserved” high-calorie snack, choose foods that help you get where you want to go... make life easier for yourself not harder and then wonder why you 'lack motivation.'
#3: Do Not Rely On Future You To Save The Day
It’s easy to imagine your ideal self and daydream how perfect/toned/dedicated/fit/hardworking/successful you are, there's this MASSIVE disconnect between the person you are now and someone who always does the right thing.
Sometimes we're relying on this perfect version of ourselves to have it all together at some point, so we procrastinate change!!
Future you never happens if NOW you don't start putting in some hard work... focus on what you can do RIGHT now, TODAY, not tomorrow. There are no such things as 'starting tomorrow.'
Start to find a way to get to your goals without focusing on a future you. Focus on who you are now and how your habits can change to get to the right track for losing weight. You don't morph into superwomen a week from now.
Consistency is KEY for weight loss.
So many people obsess about the calories in their 'good meal' like whether a salad has 400 or 500 calories... but will go and blow an entire weekend on burgers and alcohol.
Get some perspective in your life, identify what your REAL issues are and then make a plan to work on them.
One tip I have for you to see your real consistency is keeping track of what you are eating. Start taking pictures of every meal you have for 1 week or 2 weeks. With this, you will see how consistent you are. Also, it would help you to get on the right track know where you need to change.
Now, what next? What can I do instead? Well, you need to:
Identify Your Problem Areas
As I said before, consistency is the biggest thing holding most women back from reaching and maintaining their body composition goals. So focusing on developing that consistency is KEY.
Also, keep in mind that real weight loss is not going to be fast, it is a slow process! And it will slow down even more over time.
Focus On Permanent Change:
Get this 👉 Work smarter, not harder!
You need to do these:
- Keep trigger foods outta your house, its not IF you'll eat them it's WHEN. Don't leave your progress to something as simple as setting your environment up for your success
- Communicate with your other half know about your goals
- If you choose not to clean up your house, at least put your problem foods up high, out of your line of sight.
Your environment has to stay clean. And, it would definitely have to change if you want to maintain your weight loss. You're gonna be tempted by processed foods... that's what the are DESIGNED to do.
Focus On Progress Not Perfection
Even with all the best intentions and habits in place, you're still gonna go off plan sometimes. It's ok!! Try to set small realistic HABIT goals that will lead you incrementally closer to your goals.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Do not try to lose 50 pounds in 2 weeks. Instead, set habit goals like "I will talk with myself about weight loss matters to me and I will ask him not to bring home my favourite pizza."
Or "I will set my alarm and prep sweet potatoes every two days."
You don’t need to get everything right all the time. If you get lost along the way, don’t sweat the small stuff. Get back on track as soon as you can.
I hope this will help you! Let me know what your thoughts are and don't forget to check out my podcast Lean With Plants 🎙 for juicier episodes like this!
🎙 Key Takeaways From This Podcast 🎙
[01:49] I talk about the 97% of people who lose weight will gain most of it, if not more back.
[08:35] Why your habits have to get to a point where you do them by default.
[20:40] Why you need to be aware of when you're trying to make a longterm permanent change, you should not be future-focused.
[28:20] The power of mindset shifts in weight loss.
🤙 Find me on:
Instagram âž” https://www.instagram.com/chelseamaecullen/
Youtube âž” https://www.youtube.com/ChelseaMae
