Congratulations on graduating from our foundation course – what a journey we’ve been on so far!
We’ve got our mindset straight by setting effective goals, tracking our progress and learning to embrace failure.
We’ve created healthy nutritional foundations by focusing on meal balance, eating behaviours and emotional eating.
We’ve supercharged our energy burn by moving more, exercising and staying motivated when times get tough.
We’ve got our stress levels under control by tackling acute stress, chronic stress and building our overall resilience to stress.
And we’ve ensured we’re getting plenty of rest to be able to put our new healthy habits into action by identifying whether we’re sleep deprived, optimising our bedtime routines and incorporating pro-sleep habits into our days.
So what’s the plan now?
Hundreds of studies evaluating thousands of people who successfully lost weight and kept it off found that there are a few key habits that support weight maintenance:
- Weighing yourself regularly (a minimum of once a week). Set up a reminder to track your weight here.
- Making movement a part of your everyday life. Researchers recommend that those who’ve lost weight should do at least an hour’s physical activity every day.
- Listening to and honouring your internal hunger and fullness signals by eat slowly and practising mindful eating.
- Using a smaller plate to aid with portion control.
- Moving away from relying on food prepared outside the home (like takeaways, restaurants) and towards more home cooked meals.
Having the right mindset becomes even more important as your weight-loss journey progresses. With time, people will be less likely to comment on your changing appearance and the scales may start to stall – without these external rewards it can be challenging to stay focused. At times like this it’s important to remember how far you’ve come – comparing old and new photos is a great way to see your progress clearly. And think about some non-food-related rewards you can give yourself for sticking with your new healthy habits.
It’s also normal, and to be expected, that there will be bumps in the road ahead. It’s important to anticipate and plan ahead for challenging situations (eg. office parties, buffets, travelling). And don’t worry if you get it wrong sometimes, just learn what you can from what didn’t go to plan and use that information to do things differently when you come across a similar situation in the future. Lapses are part of the process – they’re only an issue if you don’t learn from them and they become a relapse.
So for now, no more weekly emails but don’t forget that we’re still here for you whenever you need us! We’d love for you to stay in touch via WhatsApp on +44 7709 979683 (our office hours are 09:00-17:30 Monday to Friday). Ask to speak to a coach and we’ll be delighted to help and support you. Don’t be a stranger now 🤭
Wishing you all the best,
Madeleine,
Clinical Lead for Weight Loss
¹The National Weight Control Registry, Brown Medical School/The Miriam Hospital, Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center. Accessed 13/02/23. Available at: http://www.nwcr.ws/research/
³Hurst Y, Fukuda HEffects of changes in eating speed on obesity in patients with diabetes: a secondary analysis of longitudinal health check-up dataBMJ Open
2018;8:e019589. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019589
⁴Dunn C, Haubenreiser M, Johnson M, Nordby K, Aggarwal S, Myer S, Thomas C. Mindfulness Approaches and Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance, and Weight Regain. Curr Obes Rep. 2018 Mar;7(1):37-49. doi: 10.1007/s13679-018-0299-6. PMID: 29446036.
⁵Hall KD, Kahan S. Maintenance of Lost Weight and Long-Term Management of Obesity. Med Clin North Am. 2018 Jan;102(1):183-197. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2017.08.012. PMID: 29156185; PMCID: PMC5764193.
⁶Koutras, Y., Chrysostomou, S., Giannakou, K. et al. Weight-related behaviors and weight loss maintenance: a cross-sectional study in Cyprus. BMC Public Health 21, 1115 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11153-5
While we've ensured that everything you read on the Health Centre is medically reviewed and approved, information presented here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your doctor.
