Congratulations! We both know how much willpower, work and commitment it takes to make it to this point, now the most important thing is to maintain that weight by using a combination of right diet and exercise and good mental attitude.

Maintaining weight is very important because experience shows that most dieters regain a third of what they lost within the first year and two-thirds of it in the second year. It's important to understand what is needed when maintaining weight; it is really a matter of energy balance! But know also that the hardest part is now over, because maintaining weight is actually easier, not harder, than losing weight.

At this point it's important that your lifestyle is balanced and you want to avoid all unnecessary stress that could cause old habits to surface again. Success in gaining, losing, or maintaining weight is dependent upon a combination of factors; I always used to say that losing, gaining or maintaining weight is a result of the "freedom from the obsession and compulsion to eat," not the other way around, but there is more to it. You also need to establish some important new routines in your life, because the main thing about maintaining weight is to keep exercising and burn calories each day. This is your magic formula from now on:"best approach for maintaining weight is to ensure that one's physical activity level is high enough to balance the number of calories consumed".

Weight

You know those weight charts? I bet you do, where your weight ranges are shown in the chart and people of the same height may have equal amounts of body fat but different amounts of muscle and bone... Don't look at them too much now, go after your own gut feeling and your good friend; the mirror! There are also many weight loss groups and organizations if you feel you need support, maintaining weight is an intimate personal and difficult struggle, but it's not one that anyone needs to go through alone. In this modern world weight loss has become an essential objective for several people, but only a few are succeeding in their task. You have gone through that already, but know that for many, weight gain or regain is embarrassing, and seeking help is delayed. If you join a group and your weight is monitored weekly, the purpose of this assessment is to provide an evaluation and recommendations for maintaining a healthy weight based on your individual needs - groups can be helpful but they are not for everyone.

One of my students recently said; "I've struggled with weight issues for most of my life, and aside from the occasional slice of molten chocolate cake, I finally have it under control. Now I basically follow a weight loss group point system and strive to keep my dry carb intake to a minimum".

For her it's ok to do it alone, but she is using a weight chart every week.

Health

I think everybody agrees nowadays that the key to losing weight is to burn more calories than are consumed, either by increasing physical activity or consuming fewer calories - or preferably both. Health professionals judge a low-calorie sweetener to be of benefit for weight control.

What are the dangers at this point when you are in a situation where the main battle is won, but you look for safe and healthy ways to maintain you weight?

Usually they are psychological issues. How balanced we are emotionally and how we can see ourselves in a new positive light. It's very important to be aware of the potential purposes of anger, how anger impacts health, and learn assertive methods of dealing with anger. Health and fitness experts all know this and the most recent research related to emotional and physical health has found that there are pitfalls and the old feelings might come back from time to time. Feelings of unworthiness fear of rejection, bad self image etc.

These feelings can be triggers - for bad habits again - so it's very important to stay alert, that is why I always recommend some kind of group or/and family and friend support.

Now that you have come this far, make it even better! You probably see now that anything is possible, you only need a positive attitude and you are ready to recreate yourself.

Visit also my blog where I give every week new tips and strategies for all kinds of weight loss situations.

Good luck and stay fit!