Losing weight is generally considered to be the Once someone loses weight, however, the next stage starts: keeping that weight off without constantly being on a diet. Yash Vardhan Swami, founder and transformation coach at TrainedByYVS, knows all about this journey because he had to undergo it himself.
He had struggled with obesity for 18 years and managed to lose 44 kg. Through this experience he learned that losing weight and keeping it off are two entirely separate phases of the journey to good health.
Why it’s more difficult to shed pounds than maintain them
You're on a diet. You're trying to lose weight. This could be things like monitoring their food intake, exercising regularly and having a set routine. The problem often starts when the plan ends. People might stop keeping an eye on what they eat, exercise less and gradually slip back into their old habits, says Swami. This does not mean that they have necessarily failed. It may just mean that the lifestyle that they followed to lose the weight was too difficult to maintain over the long term. The goal, then, should not be to stay on a strict diet forever. It should be about building a food and exercise regimen that fits your real lifestyle.
You can eat your favorite foods
You don’t have to give up everything you love to keep your weight in check. Swamisays people can eat out and enjoy their favorite foods without guilt And what comes next is what matters. One indulgent meal doesn’t need to spiral into days of overeating.
This lifestyle will make it easier for one to live healthy as they do not see some foods as completely out of bounds but try to create a habit that is sustainable.
Working out is not always hours at the gym
Physical activity is no different. You don't have to spend hours in the gym every day to keep your weight in check.
A person can make walking more and just being physically active part of their routine, adding strength training. The important thing is to find things to do that can be kept up as part of everyday life, not an exercise regime that feels impossible to maintain.
Don’t panic every time there is change in the weighing scale
Just because the scale went up a bit, doesn’t mean you put on body fat. Swami says weight can change due to things like water retention, digestion and what someone ate the day before. Hence it is important to have a broader perspective rather than reacting to every little change. It might also help with the tendency to do everything or nothing for a small change.
Biggest Mistake After Weight Loss
One of the biggest mistakes is thinking that if you lose weight, you can go back to your old lifestyle,” Swami says. If you go back to the habits and lifestyle that caused you to gain weight, they can ultimately lead to the same result. To maintain weight, then, is to maintain a lifestyle, even after the magic number is reached on the scale.
Sustainable habits matter more than perfection
The real measure of success is not simply reaching your lowest weight. It is reaching a stage where healthy choices no longer feel like a punishment.
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