If you lose enough weight to achieve your ideal body weight, that's great! Now, you want to maintain it, don't you?

On the other hand, if you're on a weight loss program, after losing several pounds, it is a good idea to maintain your weight for certain period to allow your body to adjust to that of your new base weight.

In fact, I know someone who achieved his ideal body weight and then gain back every pound of it and worst of all, he became obese in a few short years.

This person completed his first marathon which helped him to shed around 10 pounds to achieve the ideal body he wanted. And then in a matter of months, he was celebrating, enjoying, traveling, eating and drinking without caring about his body!

All his efforts for the intense nine months training for his first marathon went down the drain in a few months! He stopped running altogether, and eating like there's no tomorrow.

Here's five steps you can take to maintain your body weight:

STEP 1 - Set your goal and write it down

Many self development gurus advocate that to achieve something, you must first set your goals and to write it down.

You must be thinking what goal is there to set since you merely want to maintain your weight. But the truth is that even maintaining your body weight itself is a goal. Because your weight can actually swing the other way and you start gaining pounds!

STEP 2 - Find out how many calories your body need

As you probably know, how many calories your body need depends on many factors like your basal metabolism rate, age, sex, job, activity level. In fact, it is almost impossible to be precise due to these variables.

However, there is a rule of thumb based on your level of exercise:

- Light Exercise: Multiply your weight in pounds by 14

- Moderate Exercise: Multiply your weight in pounds by 16

- Heavy Exercise: Multiply your weight in pounds by 18

For example, Kelly weighs 140 pounds. She is moderately active. Her calorie needs are 140 x 16 = 2240 calories/day

Again, remember that this is just an approximate guideline.

STEP 3 - Record your food intake

Now, it is essential to record your food intake for at least three days.

Next, you need to check out from some reliable sources the calories for the amount and type of food you consume.

The idea is to take a sample of the foods you consume for three days so that you would know your typical calorie intake. If you need 2240 calories per day to maintain your body weight as in the above example and you find yourself consuming 2600 calories, at least you know where lies the problem and begin to take the necessary action.

STEP 4 - Focus on aerobics rather than fat burning

To lose weight, we focus on the fat burning zone of 55 to 70% of our target heart rate (which is equal to 220 less our age in years).

However, since your objective is to maintain weight, focus on the higher range of 70 to 80% of target heart rate when you exercise. This is the aerobic zone where you build up your aerobic fitness rather than burn fats.

CAUTION: Please consult with your doctor/physician before embarking on any form of exercise.

STEP 5 - Check your weight regularly

Now it's time to make friends with the scale. Form a habit to check and record your weight at around the same time everyday such as in the morning.

STEP 6 - Adjust your eating and exercise level

Note that your weight will most likely vary from day to day. So, what you're checking is a trend, not the minor fluctuations of half a pound either way.

For instance, if your weight goes up for 3 to 5 consecutive days, you would know that you have to eat less and exercise more.

Now that you know how to maintain your body weight, it's time to take action to make it happen so that you can enjoy a healthy life.