To
maintain your weight, it is important to change your
lifestyle in the
following ways:
• Daily physical activity. Daily physical
activity is one of the most important things you can do to
prevent weight gain.
• Problem solving. You must learn to identify
problems that threaten your success and use strategies to
resolve these problems. A typical problem may be attending a
conference or a weekend wedding that involves
several days of sitting around and a lot of food.
• Social support. Reach out to your friends and
family for support. They can help you get through difficult
times and are very important to your success. Some
non-clinical weight-loss programs can provide this
important service.
• Monitoring of food intake and physical
activity. The only way to control your habits is to be
aware of them. The best way to do this is to keep a daily
diary of how much food you eat and your physical activities.
Each day, you can look back on your day and either reward
your efforts or decide how you can do better tomorrow.
• Stress management. It is important to
identify sources of stress and use techniques for reducing
or managing stress. Examples of stress management include
meditation, yoga, deep muscle relaxation, and physical
activity. Physical activity is especially good for improving
mood and reducing stress.
• Lapse or relapse prevention. Identify
high-risk situations (such as dining out, parties,
entertaining, and those which interfere with your physical
activity) and develop plans to avoid or minimize the risk.
It is also
important to learn to forgive yourself. View a temporary
lapse as a
learning experience, and know that you will be back on track
tomorrow.
If you have lost weight, you may have already made some
of these changes in your lifestyle. If you have not made
these changes, now is the time to start! See Appendix III
for materials that can help you take this important
step.
