Why it is so easy to slip into bad old habits after losing weight?

We put in all the hard work to lose the weight, but then we quickly end up gaining it back. This happens when we reach our goal, and don’t know what to do as we’re there. We’re not prepared for life after success, and that’s why we’ll continue to keep failing and gaining. Until we make “keeping the weight off” part of the weight loss plan, we’ll never achieve lifelong success. Here are some of the reasons why we slip into our bad habits after losing weight, and some of the things we can do to prevent that from happening.

- We spent a lifetime with those habits.

For many of us struggling with weight loss, it’s been a long battle. As the years have gone by, we’ve fallen into many bad habits. It’s extremely hard to break them. When we begin a new weight loss plan, we’re very excited about the possibilities of being thin and fit. If we’re lucky enough, we’ve found a plan that provides us the proper tools to lose weight. As we see results, we have the motivation to stick with it. That motivating factor from those results, causes us to want to follow a new set of habits. Those things we’ve done in the past, are gone “for now,” and are powerfully waiting their return. If we’re lucky enough to have found a plan that doesn’t deprive us in any way, we may be able to fight those habits from returning. If we aren’t armed with the proper tools for losing and keeping weight off, we may not be as lucky as warding them off. This is why we need to be aware of what the program has to offer us on the long-term. If a plan is able to prepare us for life after weight loss, than we’ll be able to succeed. For some, the results cease when they reach their goal, but they always want more, and this discouragement can lead to weight gain. Just because we lose weight, doesn’t mean we’ve learned anything of value from it. What new life tools have you adopted? Have you dealt with your issues that have you battling your weight to begin with? When you’re at goal weight, will emotions drive you to begin overeating again? This is why we have so many factors to consider when it comes to our success, because the moment we’re challenged, we better know what action to take. Make sure that whatever plan you choose, you’ll be able to work on changing your habits for a lifetime.

- We’ve never learned how to deal with temptation.

We don’t think about “all” it takes to have weight loss success. Weight loss is not one dimensional, and if you’re looking to achieve your goals, you need to be on a multi-faceted plan. We make the mistake of thinking that we’ll follow a diet, and we’ll be fine. But, what about having a system in place for when challenges come up that we don’t expect? How do we deal with our emotions, issues, and problems? These things are usually dealt with by overeating and/or binge eating. Doing this is one sure way to guarantee that you’ll gain your weight back. The trouble is, “our weight changed,” but we didn’t change. If we don’t do the things necessary to change how we handle situations, we’ll go back to being overweight, and it’ll continue to be a struggle. This is why behavior modification, and handling our underlying issues is so important. We need to face and challenge anything that comes our way. Behavior modification, is a tool that I use with my clients. It’s a way for them to identify and relate, but then deal with any issue in a positive, constructive manner. Once you learn how to work this aspect into your plan, you’ll be able to handle temptations, or any other distractions that try to interfere with your success.

- Adopt change as a lifestyle.

One of the easiest ways to learn how to keep weight off, is by thinking of it as a lifestyle change. When we do this, we’re much more easier able to “live” the plan. Of course, you’ll want to be on a plan that offers you many tools that’ll help you lose weight, and keep it off. When I finally was able to lose weight in the way that worked for me, I knew it was my new way of life. There are some plans available, which allow people to follow it with such ease, how can we not want to adopt it as a new way of life. When you find something simple, and you’ve gone through so many struggles, you don’t want to go back anymore. I have everything on my plan now that I need, so I don’t need to ever go back to the overweight me. If I can have cookies and things I like, and still be successful, why would I want to jeopardize that? I’ve been able to put all of the aspects of a plan together that has proven successful for me, and I’m so happy with myself and life, that I’m not going to give that up. This has been my new way of life for a number of years, and I refuse to go back to the old me. Put together changes you can adopt over your lifetime, and make them a way of life, and you’ll remain in control of your weight. We don’t need to keep gaining weight once we’ve lost it, we just need to be better prepared.

We don’t need to accept weight gain after we’ve worked so hard at losing it. We need to be aware that if we’re not careful, it’s highly possible it could happen. For most people, the reality is, they won’t keep the weight off. If you know the likelihood is there, you have a better chance of doing everything it takes to stop that from happening. Don’t let up once you’ve achieved your goal, because no successful weight loss plan is temporary. Any result that is temporary, will bring you back to your starting point, so your focus needs to be lifelong. No temporary fix is going to change your weight, or a lifetime of bad habits. Continue to work your plan, adopt multiple tools, and deal with everything that can possibly derail you, and you’ll stay away from those bad habits that caused your weight gain to begin with.