8 Ways To <em>Maintain</em> A Healthy Weight

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that my shorts seemed tighter than usual. And then a few days ago, the same thing happened with my jeans. I’m generally not a fan of the scale, but I weighed myself because there were so many questions running through my head. Had I gained weight? Why did my clothes not fit the way the used to? Did my clothes shrink in the dryer? It turns out that I did gain a few pounds. No big deal, but where the heck did those pounds come from?

At first, I thought the weight was due to marathon training, but when I started to think about my diet over the past few months, I noticed that my eating habits were a lot more “laid-back” on the weekends. During the week, my eating habits were pretty healthy. I ate lots of fresh produce, whole grains and low-fat protein, but I let loose on the weekends. All I could think about is the fancy multi-course meals, happy hours, barbecues, wedding celebrations … let’s just say, I had a really fun summer. I guess I embraced “eat, drink and be merry” to its fullest!

When I was losing weight, I noticed that the scale would plateau every few weeks. I wouldn’t lose any weight, and special events were likely to blame for those plateaus. Even when I was losing weight, I never deprived myself. I’d enjoy a beer at happy hour or a piece of cake at a wedding. Those splurges were worth it to me, so I just accepted that those special times would stall my weight loss a little bit, but I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Eventually, the weight came off -- and stayed off.

Looking back on my weight loss and maintenance over the past several years, I know that I have the most success when I eat consistently. Not necessarily consistently healthy, but consistently balanced with mostly nutritious foods mixed with some fun ones.

Here’s how I stay consistent with maintaining my weight loss.