What Happens Once You Reach Your Weight-Loss Goal?

When you have a weight-loss goal to strive for, you have something to concentrate on that stops your mind wandering. Without a goal there to motivate you to watch what you eat and exercise regularly, the temptation is always there to go back to what you're used to. Unfortunately, if this involved eating huge tubs of ice cream and bars of chocolate whilst watching television you're only going to end up gaining weight. That is why it is so difficult to maintain your weight once you've reach your weight-loss goal; because there seems to be nothing to gain from it.

At least when you're losing weight you can enjoy the buzz you get when you realise you've lost a couple of pounds. It makes counting calories seem worth it, because you are able to watch your body shrinking and it gives you the motivation needed to continue onwards. Once you have reached your goal weight, though, it can be difficult to know what to do. You may decide to move the goal posts a bit further away, so that you end up losing more weight than you need to or you may decide that it is time to focus on weight maintenance and take the necessary steps to achieve this.

Clearly, if you want to avoid a situation where you need to lose weight again, you have to learn to maintain a healthy weight. It is can be easier said than done, though, because although you would think that losing weight is the hardest part, for many people it is actually keeping the weight off which proves to be more of a challenge. The trouble is that you don't want to think about having to count calories every single day of your life forever and to worry whether or not you've been to the gym. It therefore does not take long for some of your old, unhealthy habits to make a return.

It doesn't have to be this way, though, as long as you don't simply give up on healthy eating and exercise as soon as you reach your goal weight. You may not like the idea of balancing your calorie consumption against your calorie needs, but if you didn't enjoy being overweight either, you obviously have to get over it. You can still indulge yourself now and again, but the fact is you have to know when to stop and to realise that if you eat what you want all day, every day, you will only end up right back at the start – feeling miserable because you've got lots of weight to lose.

Consequently, when you reach your weight-loss goal, you should pretty much carry on doing what you have been doing over the previous weeks and months, as long as you lost weight in a sensible way. If you went on a crash diet, then clearly it isn't a wise idea to continue in this way. Just because you no longer have a goal to aim for doesn't mean you can't stay on top of your weight and prevent it from becoming a problem again. You just need to keep an eye on your weight and make a few adjustments to your diet or exercise regime if you notice your weight is starting to creep up and thus halt weight gain in its tracks.