Do What You Can
Tennis pro, Arthur Ashe, said, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” What an inspiring message! Those words can be motivating to start losing weight, but they’re also empowering in maintaining weight loss over a long period of time.
On the Weigh Down
Most of us want to weigh less so we can feel good about our appearance and create the best health possible. We’re all aware of the myriad of complications that excess weight might cause, including:
- Sleep apnea
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Type 2 diabetes
- Osteoarthritis
- Anxiety and depression
In managing our weight, we hope to manage or avoid some of these chronic, debilitating conditions. Once we lose weight, the next challenge is keeping it off. Although it’s equally challenging, we can use specific tools to do what we can in sustaining weight loss throughout our lives.
Maintaining weight Loss
Maintaining a healthy weight can be tricky. At some point the compliments about your success wane. Perhaps you encounter a highly stressful situation that catapults your hormones out of whack and your eating and exercise patterns threaten to follow. While some stressors and hormonal changes entice us to revert to old habits, there are many practical ways to sustain your weight loss. One study found that 42% of participants found it easier to maintain their weight loss than to lose weight initially, so there are numerous success stories you can turn to for inspiration.
People who have successfully maintained a weight loss of ten percent or more of their initial weight use a variety of strategies to continue their good health. They employ techniques like:
- Journaling (especially when stressed)
- Reminding themselves why they wanted to lose weight initially
- Controlling portion size
- Serving food on a smaller plate to control portion size
- Finding a type of exercise they enjoy
- Eating breakfast
- Removing trigger foods from their homes
- Finding a healthier alternative for a food they love
- Engaging in a supportive community
- Maintaining consistency in eating habits during the week and on weekends
- Checking their weight at regular intervals
While maintaining weight loss for the first year after losing weight may be a challenge, it does get easier to maintain over time. You can be successful in losing weight and in sustaining that weight loss.
HEBE Aesthetics and Vitality Can Help
HEBE Aesthetics and Vitality in the Atlanta, GA area specializes in medical weight loss. First, we do comprehensive blood work to see if you would benefit from balancing your hormones. After we’ve done that, we use a combination of hormone support, weight loss medications, supplements, vitamins, and amino acids to provide the fuel your body needs to not only lose weight but sustain that weight loss. We also recommend a nutrition and exercise program personalized for your needs.
Our team of professionals is led by a physician and a board-certified nurse practitioner who commit to the highest standards of care. Call (404) 261-5199 or (470) 607-3866 for an appointment or email us at admin@hebeaestheticsandvitality.com today. We’ll help you start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can to create your best health.
Disclaimer: The information contained here was not written by a medical doctor and is intended for informational purposes only. This is not a substitute for medical advice.
