The Toughest Year of Weight Loss

If you have lost weight then “congratulations!” is well in order. But for those who have lost weight truly know that the toughest year of weight loss is not actually losing the weight, it is the very first year of maintenance. Many people think that because they are thin they can go back to their old habits and suddenly they are overweight again. It comes as an awful surprise that they need to stick to their diet routines and healthy habits to maintain a healthy figure. The first year of maintenance brings many challenges.

People often react positively when we are losing weight. They are excited and happy to see us getting thinner. Maybe they give us extra attention. Or ask us how we are doing so well at our diets. Maybe they are even a little jealous of our success. You feel so proud knowing you are doing well at your diet – and this gives you a great feeling. But in the first year of maintenance there is no one there to say “hey, you are still thin — way to go!” The excitement of your losing weight has died down. People are now paying attention to other things.

Even though you are thin now – you may still struggle with food issues. Just because you are thin doesn’t mean a magic wand has been waved and food is no longer a problem for you. When your mother in law bakes brownies, you are going to be tempted. And because you are thin now, you’ll hear “Well you’ve lost the weight. Can’t you just have one or two brownies?” People simply don’t understand that in order to stay thin you need to keep all of your good weight loss habits in action all the time.

It can be very exciting to shop for clothing as a thin person if you’ve lost weight. Sometimes it can be a little too exciting and you can wind up spending too much money for awhile. Over time, this will balance out – but during the first year you need to accept that you may be in and out of stores, treating yourself to new clothes you simply haven’t been able to wear before. Your wallet and credit cards can get quite a workout!

Life can be quite stressful and when it throws you a curveball, you’ll be tempted to go back to your old, comforting habits. You’ll have to remind yourself consciously that you want to stay healthy and to not eat cheesecake or other fattening things. During the first year of maintenance, this is one of the biggest challenges as you learn to maintain your good habits during any type of pressure that you face.

Every dieter has the secret fear that they are going to gain it all back. This is not too far from the truth because some of them do. As horrific as that sounds, it is important to keep this in mind. If you feel yourself slipping into gaining weight – you need to stop yourself and go back on to your diet so you can re lose weight before you gain everything back again. It is better to be conscious of a small failure than to wind up regaining everything.