The Secret to Weight Maintenance

If you’re fasting or following a Keto/Low Carb diet to lose some weight - great job!

But you may be wondering, what about when you reach your ideal weight?

Many people can be successful at losing the fat, but where they mess up is with maintaining their goal weight. 

They end up gaining all the weight back and then some. 

So, what’s the secret to maintaining your ideal weight? How do you maintain that weight once you’re there? 

Let’s take a look at some key pointers: 

The first thing you need to understand is that fasting is not a diet. 

It’s not something you can do until you lose the weight and then stop. 

You can’t just go right back to eating around the clock and expect to keep the weight off.

Bad eating habits keep insulin levels constantly spiked which is what caused the problem in the first place. 

Fasting isn’t just about losing the fat; it’s about losing the mindset and the habits that made you want to start in the first place.

Fasting is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.

Same principle applies to diets like Keto and Carnivore.

Successful weight loss doesn't mean going back to your pre-Keto high-carb eating.

You will need to incorporate these healthier eating principles into your ongoing lifestyle.

But you do need to keep some kind of fasting regimen incorporated into your life to maintain your ideal weight.

Once you have reached your ideal weight, find a fasting schedule that keeps you there. 

Maintaining your ideal weight means not continuously losing fat, but you’re not gaining it either. 

You will have some fluctuations; the scales might go up or down a few pounds now and then.

But you should be staying pretty close to maintaining your ideal weight once you find a fasting schedule that suits you. 

Some people like OMAD (One Meal a Day) for maintenance. 

Others prefer something like an 18/6 schedule, where they have a six-hour window each day to eat, and then they close the eating window. 

And there are some people who eat in their normal fashion most of the week but include a couple of fasting days. 

The best thing to do is play around with it and find a plan that keeps you at your maintenance weight and is a plan you can live with.

In other words, it needs to be a fasting plan that you can fit into your lifestyle and that you will stick with. 

Again, fasting is not a diet. It’s a return to a way of life that is most natural to us. 

If you are following a Ketogenic or Low Carb diet on your eating days, then I highly recommend that you continue doing that. 

In the same way that you can’t just go back to eating around the clock, you also don’t want to go back to a diet filled with sugar and nasty ingredients. 

You don’t have to be “strict Keto” but try to at least stay low carb.

Choose low carb veggies like broccoli or green beans over starchy ones like potatoes. 

And berries instead of fruits. 

You can still help to maintain your ideal weight by aiming for whole foods and staying away from sugars and junk food. 

Think NUTRITION. 

And think, “Is what I’m about to eat going to fuel my body?” 

If the answer is no, then it shouldn’t be in your diet if you want to maintain a healthy weight. 

And I realise there are going to be special situations like holidays or dinners out where you might go off plan.

Life happens, so it’s important not to beat yourself up on these days.

But for the most part, you should be eating for health and nutrition. 

If you’re overweight, moving around can be difficult. 

And in fact, strenuous exercise is not really recommended if you’re more than 40 pounds overweight because it can keep cortisol levels too high. 

But now that you’ve lost the weight you can start adding some exercise back in!

Walking is great to start with. Aim for at least 10,000 steps a day. 

Weight bearing exercises are also a great idea because you’ll gain more muscle, and that’s what you want. 

More muscle is another tool to help keep you maintaining your ideal weight. 

Keep in mind that as you gain muscle, the number you see on the scales will go up a little. 

That’s totally fine, it’s muscle, not fat and is therefore denser and heavier.

Check here for exercising during fasting Exercise during Fasting 

It’s vital that you get right back on track. 

Don’t allow too much time to pass. The more time that passes, the harder it is to jump back in. 

Just hop back on plan. 

Losing fat, and the lifestyle that got you there, is a journey.

But it doesn’t end at goal weight. 

Stay true to yourself and embrace this brand new you with love and support. 

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