How to maintain healthy weight?

What is healthy weight?

Healthy weight is defined as a body weight that can be maintained with balanced healthy eating and regular physical exercises, and absence of health conditions. It implies that your Body Mass Index (BMI) is within a weight range that doesn’t increases risks of diseases or health problems associated to weight. A healthy weight is about maintaining energy balance over a period of time. Humans need energy, obtained from food and drinks (energy IN), for bodily functions like respiration, digestion and physical activities (energy OUT). Balance between the energy IN and energy OUT is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight. It can be achieved by following a healthy diet, being physically active and reducing time of physical inactivity.

Importance of maintaining a healthy weight

Overweight or obese people are at higher risks of developing health problems like cardiovascular condition, hypertension, diabetes, bone & joint disorders, breathing problems and certain types of cancer. Losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight is important for good health, as it prevents and reduces risk associated with developing health conditions and diseases. A healthy weight promotes mental wellbeing and improves confidence to take up new challenges. It also provides energy to make other positive health changes. People who are obese, even losing 5%-10% of their body weight is enough to improve their health and overall well-being.

How to maintain healthy weight?

People aspiring to reach the healthy weight range have various options such as fad diets, supplements or intermittent fasting – all of which provide quick result but are difficult to maintain. The secret to attaining and maintaining a healthy weight lies in adopting a lifestyle that sustains the ideal body weight journey. A lifestyle that includes eating healthy diet and regular physical exercises supports any healthy weight management program.

Follow these two steps in your weight loss plan and its subsequent maintenance for optimum result.

Set weight loss goals and monitor it

Set a weight loss goal that is realistic, specific, attainable, measurable and time bound. It has to be a realistic goal – aiming to lose 10kgs in a week is unrealistic by any standards. The goal has to be specific – like aiming to lose 20 kgs. Attainable goals are more likely to succeed than those that are idealistic. It has to be measurable in terms of quantity/numbers. All weight loss plan and weight maintenance have to be time bound – how many kilograms to be shed in 1 week, 1 month or in a year. Write everything down to monitor the progress of the weight loss program. The success of the weight loss plan depends on the goal. People trying to attain quick weight loss with the help of fad diet and quick-fixes (read bariatric surgery and other weight-loss surgeries) find themselves piling on weight equally fast or saddled with health issues. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight by adopting the energy balance principle has been found to be the most effective, as per studies. The concept stresses on burning more calories than the calories consumed for weight loss. It is attained by eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly. Upholding this energy balance is the most sustainable way to lose and maintain healthy weight.

Keep track of your progress

Constant monitoring and reviewing are essential for the success of a healthy weight management program. It’s easy to lose weight, but to sustain the weight loss is difficult as there are frequent lapses and relapses. The journey to a healthy weight requires some self-monitoring of the progress and its maintenance in the long run. Reviewing will help to identify weaknesses that cause lapses. For instance, you have successfully adopted healthy diet, but find difficulties in doing 150 minutes (per week) of physical activity regularly. It helps to make course correction and stick to the plan. Regular review also helps to see whether the goal is realistic. Sometimes it’s necessary to adjust the target to reach the healthy weight goal. Several studies have shown that people who adopt realistic weight-loss goal are more likely to achieve their target and also maintain the healthy weight.

The bottom line

The answer to the oft asked question “how to maintain healthy weight” lies in several factors, including food habit, physical activity, metabolism, environment, genetics, ethnicity and age. Some of these factors can cause difficulties in weight loss and in maintenance of healthy weight. However, adopting healthy habits, like inculcating balanced diet and daily physical exercise, into the lifestyle is the best strategy in reaching an ideal body weight as well as in maintaining a healthy weight.