Those who have lost weight often feel the hardest part of the battle of the bulge is not losing pounds and inches but maintaining the goal weight. Maintenance can also be a concern for those who have never been heavy but find themselves starting to put on a little extra weight as they age. Successful accomplishment of maintaining a particular number on the scale can be accomplished with sound strategy. This plan includes crafting a healthy eating plan that will help you maintain the best weight for you.
Find Your Number
Determine the amount of calories you need to consume per day to maintain your optimal weight. You can consult a guide such as the "Weight Maintenance Calculator" offered by the "Calorie Control Council" to find your number (see Resources). Remember the number of calories you need also depends on how active you are. Very active individuals will need more calories than the calculator calls for, while extremely sedentary people may need less to maintain. You will need to experiment over a couple of months to learn the best range of calories to maintain your goal weight. Weigh in only once a week so that the natural fluctuation of "water weight" will not discourage you.
Study Nutrition
You don't have to be a nutritionist to learn about healthy foods and eating. Check out the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) food pyramid and guidelines concerning consumption of the various food groups (see Resources). There is also a wealth of information can glean from learning to read the labels on food packages and knowing what they mean. For example, you need to know that the "bad" fats are saturated and trans fats which are often found in shortening and beef while the "better" fats for you are polysaturated and monosaturated found in such oils as olive and canola while the best are omega 3, common in fish (see Resources).
Learn to Cook
Develop your healthy eating strategy by being in control. If you do not know how to cook, or can only cook a relatively few dishes, it's time to learn. By preparing your own meals you will know exactly what ingredients you are using and can choose the freshest vegetables and fruits and the leanest meats. Cooking from scratch will cut out much of the hidden fat and calories that prepackaged meals often contain. You can also learn to make healthy substitutions such as using yogurt instead of high-fat creams and applesauce to sweeten rather than pure sugar.
Think Small
Eat six small meals a day rather than three large ones. This will not only help keep your metabolism revved up but will keep you from becoming overly hungry during the day. When you become too hungry you are likely to overdo it once you do get a meal. Also, if you are famished you may reach for the less than healthy choices simply because they are more convenient. Plan for these little meals and prepare as much as possible ahead of time. You do not have to cook six times a day because you will likely be choosing some fresh fruits, salads and sandwiches on whole grains for some of these meals. Make enough when you do cooking so that you can have left-overs for the next day. Just because you cook a big "meal" does not mean you have to eat it all in one sitting.
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