What to do after weight loss???

Sustaining weight loss is as important as losing weight to begin with. After having achieved weight loss most people simply get back to eating what they were before staring the weight loss diet. The result is a regain in both weight and fat to the level that was prior to the start of the weight loss or even more than before in certain cases. While this is certainly not the case with everyone losing weight, these are some who do experience it. During a weight loss diet, the calorie intake is reduced well below maintenance levels and thus as the diet gets over most people just jump back to their maintenance level intake while some even surpass this level taking in a lot more than would be needed.

Another aspect to take into consideration is the hormonal status of the individual during weight loss. Cravings are at their peak and resisting food especially high calorie foods is just not that easy after the weight loss diet ends. Not to forget the fact the during weight loss phase, as intake of food is less thus intake of nutrients such as minerals and vitamins is also less (unless one is taking a multivitamin regularly). This can potentially lead to deficiencies of certain nutrients, thereby causing more issues.

After a weight loss diet is over following are some options which one can choose and their respective consequences:

1. Slowly increase calories and get back to maintenance or higher calorie intake levels taking few weeks. It is a slow approach and requires more mental strength and self control. It minimizes the fat gain as calories go up slowly. Checkout Diet and Fitness -3 (Reverse Dieting)
2. Bounce back to maintenance calorie intake and stay at this level for some time. Now the catch here is that if one is dieting at low calories and their maintenance level is high enough, i.e. the gap is too high, some amount of fat may be gained depending on the weight loss calorie deficit and how fast one makes this jump. It is usually followed by those who do not have any issues with gaining some fat again.
3. Immediately increase calories after the weight loss to levels way above the maintenance levels. This is surely going to make a part of the lost fat come back, but from a psychological prospective especially for someone who’s been dieting for a long time or who may have depressed their hormonal response, this is most likely a good option.

The body works most efficiently at a specific body fat set point. When on a weight loss diet, body fat percentage is lowered as body fat is lost. If too much fat is lost and one ends up getting too lean, like someone you may see on fitness magazine covers, it not a good state to be in and sustaining that look for a very long time is both difficult and unhealthy. Everyone will perform their best at a certain specific body fat set point and as such this set point cannot be generalized for everyone.

It is better to choose a new fitness goal after the weight loss program is over. After all, sustaining that weight loss is going to be difficult as it would require remaining in a calorie deficit state forever. Some other fitness goals include gaining strength, building muscle, increasing speed and agility, increasing endurance and stamina, learning/playing a sport, etc.

The above mentioned information applies for most people who have lost or want to lose a moderate amount of weight. For someone who may be too much overweight or suffering from obesity, things would be a lot different and as such may not relate much with the information mentioned above.

Feel Free to checkout: Calculating Current Macros and Calories

Note:Before starting/changing an exercise and/or dietary program consult a qualified doctor/health care professional.