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This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive
Countdown to Maintenance
After months of healthy eating and regular exercise, you're this close to getting into that pair of slim-fitting jeans. You're excited, proud, elated -- and, truth be told, a little nervous. After all your hard work, how can you make sure those pounds don't sneak back onto places they don't belong?
"Actually losing weight is the easy part, it's keeping it off that's hard," says James O. Hill, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado.
Not what you want to hear, given that diets aren't exactly a piece of cake.
But dealing with difficulty is easier if you're ready for it. To help you prepare, nutrition and weight-control experts who spoke to WebMD -- along with a dieter who is keeping the pounds off -- offer some advice on transitioning to the maintenance phase of your weight-loss program.
Motivation and Support
First, the experts say, make sure you have a strong support system in place. That can mean family, friends, a doctor or nutritionist, online or real-life buddies who've been in your shoes, or anyone who is supportive and encouraging.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that once you've hit your goal, you'll no longer need help.
"Transitioning from the weight loss mode to the maintenance mode is the part of the dieting process that people usually don't get help with," says Hill.
And with little support available, some people simply try to stick to their weight-loss diet forever -- a recipe for failure. "Some people can do it for a long period, but you're doomed to fail if you try to stay on a 'diet' forever," Hill explains.
Also, you may need to re-examine what motivates you. Keep in mind that you will no longer have the payoff of seeing the scale move steadily downward. Instead, your motivation will be the rewards of a healthy lifestyle -- looking and feeling good, and knowing that you're doing good things for your health.
"The glory days might be over in that you're not seeing any significant changes in your body anymore," says Susan Moores, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Now it's down to the nuts and bolts, and making the lifestyle changes that will stick for life."
Exercise Is Essential
Speaking of lifestyle changes, this is no time to slack off from your exercise routine. Believe it or not, physical activity becomes even more important in the maintenance phase.
"Physical activity helps during weight loss, but by and large most of the loss is through calorie restriction," Hill says. After the diet is over, however, that changes.
"You have a smaller body and your metabolism goes down," says Hill. "Now you require less energy than before you started dieting, so unless you increase your physical activity, you have to food-restrict forever, which doesn't work. The people who succeed after the diet are the ones who make up for the drop in the metabolism by being more physically active."
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