From Weight Loss to Maintenance

There are three phases to any weight loss plan.  The beginning, the weight loss phase, and the maintenance phase. 

The beginning is the phase where you are all pumped up and ready to get out there.  You are starting to change what you eat.  You may not have seen a significant change in your weight. Maybe only a pound or two.

The next phase is the weight loss phase.  For me this started after about 2 weeks in.  All of a sudden, I lost 4 pounds in a week!  This was the momentum I needed to push me to continue.  After this sudden drop, my weight loss went back to about a pound or two a week.

 

This happens until one day you just stop losing.  This is called a plateau.  There are three things you can do when you reach a plateau.  1.  You can eat less.  2.  You can exercise more.  3.  You can be happy.  I was happy at my plateau.   I reached my goal weight of 160 pounds and for a while, I was under it.  I used to joke that I wanted to drop to 155 and then eat my way back to 160.   

If you decide you are happy, then you have reached the maintenance phase.  This is the hardest phase in my opinion.  I have been in this phase for 8 months.  This is the place where you exercise and eating habits become part of your lifestyle.  This phase is a challenge.   What helps me to continue to get through it is remembering how hard it was for to get there.

Which phase do you find the hardest?  The Start, Weight Loss, or Maintenance?