To achieve lasting weight loss, we must structure our changes around more than just losing weight. We need to consider making or breaking habits in the long term, which means lifestyle changes continue indefinitely. These six strategies create permanent results for lasting weight loss.
Diet and Exercise
The most straightforward path to weight loss is to live in a calorie deficit. This means your body uses more calories than it consumes daily. Simply put, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns. Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that alternates between periods of eating and fasting. The best nutritional recommendations to do this healthily is to have a deficit of 250-500 calories daily to lose 1-2 pounds per week, eating a balanced mix of fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, and healthy fats.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
If diet and exercise are not your thing, consider working on your eating behaviours and thought processes. Learn your internal and external hunger cues and conscious and subconscious eating habits. Practice mindful eating and small habit changes like drinking more water and taking mindfulness walks.
Intermittent Fasting
If you want to eat what you want as much as you want, intermittent fasting could be better for you. It works best if you eat healthily, but you can still curb calories and boost your metabolism by narrowing the time you allow yourself to eat. Many find that intermittent fasting reduces late-night snacking and curbs calories overall.
Please Don't Do it Alone.
Research shows that people who lose weight as a family, with friends, or with other sources of accountability lose the weight and keep it off. It's hard to be the only person at the table trying to make healthy choices or eating a different meal. A mentality of tackling the challenge makes people feel less alone, supported in their efforts, and more mentally able.
Meal Plan
Meal planning has been shown to work, whether it is making all of your meals at once and portioning them out for the week or planning meals on paper rather than cooking accordingly throughout the workday. Evidence shows that those who stick to a meal plan eat healthier foods, have fewer calories, and are more mindful. Meal planning helps people lose weight while remaining within their caloric and financial budget.
Speak with a Medical Professional
Your struggle to lose weight may be more than overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. Chronic stress, depression, aging, hormonal changes, gut health, thyroid, and more can all hinder weight loss or cause weight gain.
Some diseases like Cushing's Disease, PCOS, Hypothyroidism, and Syndrome X can make it hard to lose weight without the help of a doctor. Even eating foods that are considered healthy can work against you in some cases. If something is wrong medically, you could spend years getting worse before getting better.
These are six strategies for permanent results and lasting weight loss, but the key ingredient is you. Anything you do and any changes you make will have long-term results that will directly reflect your effort and sticktoitiveness.
References
1. Kheniser, Karim, David R. Saxon, and Sangeeta R. Kashyap. "Long-term weight loss strategies for obesity." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 106.7 (2021): 1854-1866.
2. Ramage, Stephanie, et al. "Healthy strategies for successful weight loss and maintenance: a systematic review." Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 39.1 (2014): 1-20.
3. Obert, Jonathan, et al. "Popular weight loss strategies: a review of four weight loss techniques." Current gastroenterology reports 19 (2017): 1-4.
4. Wing, Rena R., and Suzanne Phelan. "Long-term weight loss maintenance." The American journal of clinical nutrition 82.1 (2005): 222S-225S.
5. Jeffery, R. W., Epstein, L. H., Wilson, G. T., Drewnowski, A., Stunkard, A. J., & Wing, R. R. (2000). Long-term maintenance of weight loss: current status. Health psychology, 19(1S), 5.