Top 3 Healthy Ways To Keep Your Weight Stable
3 EASY Ways to Keep Your Weight Stable (And Why It’s Important)
Weight loss product products are everywhere. It’s hard to escape seeing an ad or commercial selling weight loss products on the daily. Most of us grew up with these radio or TV ads, and nowadays they’re littered across social media too.
There is a TON of information available online on how to lose weight, and the health and wellness industry makes huge profits on those looking for these products and services (with an obesity and health crisis on our hands, this comes as no surprise either).
But what about for those people who have already reached their ideal weight, and are no longer looking to lose any more? Even maintaining weight can be difficult for many (myself included).
As a long-time binge eater, and snacks-before-bed type person, I’ve always struggled with maintaining my weight. Stepping on the scale would sometimes be scary, never knowing how much my weight would fluctuate after a binge of unhealthy habits.
This blog post will give you 3 EASY and HEALTHY ways to keep your weight stable. The best part is, these easy strategies won’t cause major changes within your daily routine, or force you into any kind of calorie deficit (because eating food is soso important – especially protein!).
These easy strategies have helped me step away from the daily struggle and toxic mindset that I was “always gaining weight”.
I’ve finally stopped complaining to my friends and family about the struggle… it’s not fair that I was in the first place! You are the only one who can make these changes in your life, and I hope these easy tips can help you too.
In the blog post we’ll be covering:
Why Can’t I Keep My Weight Stable?
Maintaining a stable weight can be challenging for many people, and several factors can contribute to fluctuations in body weight.
Before getting into how we can try to keep our weight stable, let’s look at some reasons why you can’t keep your weight stable.
Here are some common reasons why people struggle to keep their weight stable:
- Dietary Habits: Your eating habits play a significant role in your weight stability. Consuming too many calories or unhealthy foods can lead to weight gain, while insufficient calorie intake can result in weight loss. It’s essential to maintain a balanced diet that meets your energy needs.
- Lack of Physical Activity: Physical activity helps burn calories and maintain a healthy weight. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to weight gain and difficulty in weight management. Incorporating regular exercise into your routine can help stabilize your weight.
- Stress: Stress can lead to emotional eating or changes in eating habits. Some people may overeat when stressed, while others may lose their appetite. Chronic stress can contribute to weight fluctuations.
- Lack of Awareness: Sometimes, people underestimate their calorie intake or overestimate their physical activity level. Keeping a food diary and monitoring your exercise can help you become more aware of your habits.
Why It’s Important To Keep A Stable Weight
Maintaining a stable weight (especially as we get older) is important for several reasons, as it contributes to overall health and well-being.
Here are some key reasons why it’s important to keep your weight stable:
- Health and Disease Risk: Fluctuations in weight, particularly rapid weight gain or loss, can increase the risk of various health conditions. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, and more. On the other hand, extreme weight loss can lead to nutritional deficiencies and weaken the immune system.
- Physical Well-being: A stable weight often corresponds to better physical well-being. It can improve your energy levels, mobility, and overall quality of life. Maintaining a healthy weight can help you perform everyday activities with greater ease and reduce the risk of joint pain and other physical discomforts.
- Mental Health: Weight fluctuations can affect mental health. Extreme dieting or rapid weight changes may lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, body image issues can arise from drastic weight fluctuations, affecting self-esteem and confidence.
3 Easy Ways To Keep Your Weight Stable
1. Low-Intensity Cardio
A lot of people think you must push yourself to “failure” at the gym to start losing weight or to simply maintain your physical physique. Well, that’s totally not true!
Once you start incorporating consistent low-intensity cardio into your daily routine (which can literally be just walking), you will inevitably begin to notice results. It will just take patience and time (like everything else in life, too).
If you’re looking for super fast results, sure, high-intensity workouts can be great. But sometimes, we want to go to the gym to enjoy exercising at our own leisurely pace. Good thing for us – These exercises are also highly effective.
I recommend a MINIMUM of 20 minutes of walking per day, though the sweet spot for me is about 45 minutes. You may have a different duration that you enjoy better, and that fits into your routine more easily too.
There is no shame in missing days, but keep in mind the schedule must become part of your lifestyle. Over time your metabolism will begin to work more efficiently, and you will shed off unconscious calories with every step!
Daily walking is SUPER easy and is a healthy exercise to incorporate into your routine. It also has tremendous benefits for your body.
If you live somewhere cold, investing in a treadmill or walking treadmill (I have one under my standing desk) is something I will always recommend!
Though walking is my go-to (hot-girl walks are my thing), here are other forms of low-intensity cardio that are just as good:
- Light jogging
- Swimming laps
- Elliptical machine
- Lifting weights – Slow and lightweight
- Cycling at a casual pace
- Rowing at a steady pace
Need some extra motivation on how to fit physical exercise into your routine? Here are 6 ways how.
2. Cut Out Unnecessary Carbs
Sometimes, when I think back to the early 2000s, I remember so many movies growing up with women saying no to carbs, and how I used to frown at those ladies. I’ve loved bread since I was a little girl!
Today, it’s hard to imagine I’ve grown up to relate and understand what those women were saying.
I still eat bread – and I’m not bashing anyone who eats bread. But, I will say, scientifically, bread (especially white bread) has little to no nutritional value. There are often harmful oils put into bread as well (canola oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil).
By cutting or reducing your intake of bread (and other foods in the grain group like rice and pasta) you can introduce other nutrient-dense foods into your diet. This will help you meet nutrient levels while cutting out unnecessary calories, helping you to maintain your weight.
As someone who used to LOVE bread (and eat it like no other), I can’t say that I miss it anymore, because my body no longer craves it as much. I crave foods that make me feel nourished.
If you are going to eat bread, stick to whole grain or multigrain, or my favourite, rye bread. At least once in your life, you need to try and test cutting out white bread from your diet (try to cut it out for 30 days and see how you feel)!
3. Reduce Your Alcohol Intake
While not drinking at all may be the ideal and healthy option, I understand that people like to drink. I, too, enjoy a nice glass of wine or a fancy cocktail from time to time.
Though I enjoy a casual drink, it took me far too long to understand the detrimental effects of casual drinking. I casually drank alcohol every day for nearly two years (which is not crazy long, but for me, it was). I would drink a glass or two (sometimes more) after work on weekdays. On the weekends, I would drink even more.
My partner and I liked to experiment in making fancy or new cocktails to try out too, but that didn’t help either!
A pint of beer is over 200 calories, with a 9oz glass of red wine is even more. Drinking alcohol ramps up your appetite, and it’s often you’ll crave unhealthy food options (remember all those McDonald’s runs we used to make after a few too many!?). You become more impulsive in eating, making it a lot easier to forget healthy options altogether.
By cutting out casual drinking, you will avoid a tremendous amount of calories each day, reduce your chances of eating impulsively, and give yourself a greater chance to participate in physical activity, because no one likes exercising after a drink or two.
Not only does not reducing your alcohol intake help you maintain your weight, but cutting out casual drinking may be one of the healthiest changes you’ll make for your liver, heart, kidneys, and other vital organs.
AND THAT’S IT!
Living your life in moderation can be a good way of looking at your lifestyle and diet. It’s OK to not go for a walk every day, it’s OK to eat carbs and bread, and it’s OK to drink alcohol. Knowing your limits and body will be the best in making the right decisions.
Want to keep elevating your life? Read these 50 easy ways you can level up your life.