How to Maintain Fast Weight Loss

Many dieters follow a familiar pattern in which they begin a new diet, lose several pounds quickly and struggle to shed excess remaining weight. The failure to maintain fast weight loss is both physiological and psychological in origin. After losing weight, your daily caloric need decreases but you may still feel very hungry, causing you to regain weight or stop losing additional pounds. Some people lose the motivation to diet and exercise after several weeks. To maintain fast weight loss, create a concrete plan to lose the weight and keep it off.

Instructions

• 1

  Set a long-term weight loss goal. Create a series of smaller goals that you can achieve over the short term to keep yourself motivated to lose weight. Consider making goals about healthy eating, quitting bad habits or exercising more often. Set realistic, achievable goals with a specific end date.

• 2

  Determine your daily caloric needs using a calorie calculator that takes into account your height, weight, gender and physical activity level. Burn 1,000 calories more than your daily intake to lose 2 pounds per week, according to the Mayo Clinic. Create a 1,000-calorie deficit through a combination of dietary changes and increased exercise.

• 3

  Incorporate healthy, low-calorie foods into your diet. Choose foods with a low energy density, meaning that they have relatively few calories per gram. Eat three servings each of fruits and vegetables, 3 ounces of whole-grain products, less than six ounces of protein and 3 cups of nonfat dairy products daily.

• 4

  Eat breakfast every day to boost your metabolism. Choose whole-grain foods, such as oatmeal or buckwheat, and a protein source such as peanut butter to keep your energy levels high.

• 5

  Incorporate frequent exercise into your daily routine. Exercise at a moderate intensity for at least 30 minutes per day. Choose enjoyable activities that make your heart beat faster and cause you to break a sweat. Brisk walking, swimming, dancing, step aerobics, jogging or bicycling are moderate-intensity activities that promote weight loss. Vary your routine to keep yourself motivated to lose weight.

• 6

  Join a weight-loss support group, as The University of Chicago Medical Center suggests. Share your experiences with other people in the group to get helpful advice about losing weight quickly. Find a group member to act as your exercise buddy or diet motivator. Use the support group resources to keep losing weight at a steady pace.

• 7

  Recalculate your estimated daily caloric needs after losing 10 to 15 pounds. Your body likely needs fewer calories, meaning that you must eat less or exercise more often to create a 1,000-calorie deficit each day.

• 8

  Examine your eating habits and exercise routine if your weight loss slows. Some people lose motivation after the first few weeks of a diet. Identify problematic habits, such as emotional eating or eating out of boredom, that hinder your weight loss success. Find areas in which you can boost your physical activity or cut calories to keep yourself on track.