4 Ways to Maintain Weight Loss and Continue Meeting Your Health and Fitness Goals

Beyond transforming your appearance, weight loss comes with multiple health benefits — from improving your cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose levels to lowering your risk of developing chronic conditions like heart disease. However, many struggle with losing weight and keeping it off long enough to reap these benefits.

Recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals the risk of weight regain among patients who discontinue weight loss drugs like tirzepatide (Zepbound), signaling long-term dependence on the obesity treatment. Meanwhile, those who lose weight through lifestyle changes like diet and exercise also risk gaining all the weight back when they lose motivation and return to unhealthy habits.

While such struggles in weight loss maintenance are common, they aren’t completely unavoidable. Below, we outline effective strategies to manage your weight in the long term and continue meeting your health and fitness goals.

Seek professional and community support

A crucial thing most people forget is that you don’t have to embark on your weight loss journey all by yourself. By searching keywords like “weight loss workshops near me” online, you can access a support system to help you sustain progress in your weight and overall wellness goals.

Whether you opt for a virtual or in-person workshop, professional support can come in the form of private weigh-ins and coaching sessions where you can learn nutrition and behavioral techniques. Additionally, you can discuss common challenges and find solutions with fellow workshop members who can relate, allowing you to stay accountable and on track.

Manage your stress levels

Aside from monitoring your weight itself, it also helps to pay attention to your stress levels in light of its role in weight management. An article linking stress and body weight explains that the stress hormone known as cortisol can affect your eating habits and lead to overeating. 

Specifically, elevated cortisol levels can increase sugar cravings and slow down your metabolism, which are both drivers of weight gain. Fortunately, there are many stress management approaches you can integrate into your daily routine, from practicing mindful eating habits and keeping a food journal to going on a relaxing walk and doing yoga.

Get enough sleep

Besides diet, exercise, and stress, the amount of sleep you get can also influence whether or not you can maintain lost weight. Similar to how chronic stress impacts your eating habits, the lack of sleep can disrupt the balance of leptin and ghrelin, the hormones responsible for satiety and hunger.

To avoid poor sleep from increasing your appetite and craving for sugary and fatty foods, a previous post highlights sleep hygiene practices you can consider adopting. These include reducing caffeine intake, following a consistent sleep schedule, and disconnecting from devices right before bedtime.

Find an exercise you enjoy

By now, it’s well-known that exercise aids in weight loss by stimulating your metabolism and burning calories. Your choice of exercise matters for consistency, so stick to a workout that you enjoy instead of a restrictive regimen that makes exercising feel like a punishment.

For those who don’t exactly enjoy working out at the gym, you can try outdoor exercises like running, cycling, and hiking, as these can still burn calories depending on their frequency, intensity, and duration. Exercising with friends can also make cardio and resistance training more enjoyable and something to look forward to every week.

Regardless of which workout you incorporate into your long-term weight management plan, Handful offers a wide range of activewear to ensure you can be physically active without compromising comfort and security. Handful’s collection consists of sports bras, leggings, biker shorts, and more — make sure to explore the website to learn more about our products.