Weight Maintenance

Recently Answered

• QWhat causes me to hit a weight loss plateau while I'm on a slow-carb diet?

  1 Answer

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  A Tim Ferriss , Fitness, answered

  

  Eating too late, not eating enough protein, drinking too little water are the three most common causes of hitting a weight loss plateau.
  
  The total percentage of bodyfat lost per month naturally decreases over time. The number of mitochondria in your muscle tissue largely determines your rate of sustained fat-loss. Targeted exercise, even just 20 minutes per week, will often double fat-loss that's plateaued, and
  should do so for at least two to four months.

  

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  The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman
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• QHow can I get rid of those last pounds to reach my weight-loss goal?

  2 Answers

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  A Dr. Ramani Durvasula, PhD , Psychology, answered

  Here are some tips to help shed those last pounds in your weight loss goal:
  
  1.Zig-Zag your calories! Your body will adjust to food (calories, really) just as it does to the mundane routine of walking on a treadmill day in and day out – yawn – and when it does, it stops working as hard as it could to burn fat and calories. So crank it up! How, you ask? Well, you must keep your body guessing. Say you’re consuming 1,200 calories a day, you’ll want to start the week by consuming 1,100 calories a day, then 1,050 calories, the next day 1,100 calories, then 1,200 calories, and so on. The trick is to keep the body guessing by reducing or increasing 50-100 calories each day. Eating this way turns up the body’s energy-burning power and kicks your metabolism into high gear.
  
  2.Eat your water! Eat high-volume foods like veggies, fruits, lean protein (grass-fed meats), fish and poultry that contain lots of nutrients and water. Eat more of the foods that are high-volume and contain high-concentrations of nutrients instead of those that are calorically-dense and have few nutrients (candy, cakes, pies, cookies, soda, chips, corn curls and highly processed foods).
  
  3.Start your day with a sundae! This sundae is made with fresh fruit: strawberries (half-cup), half of a banana, low-fat Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp ground flaxseed, and sprinkled with my favorite secret ingredient – matcha green tea.

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• QHow can exercise help me avoid hitting a weight-loss plateau?

  4 Answers

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  A Chris Powell , Fitness, answered

  

  The foundation of weight loss is based on nutrition, but exercise is the next key step that helps you reach your goals. In this video, celebrity fitness trainer Chris Powell explains how you can use exercise to break through a weight loss plateau.

  
  

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• QI have hit a plateau in losing weight, what can I do next?

  7 Answers

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  A Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered

  

  When you can't lose weight even though you are exercising and eating right, you may have hit a weight-loss plateau. In this video, Dr. Oz explains the reasons behind plateauing and how a following a method called "carb cycling" may get you over the hump.

  
  

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• QHow can I break a weight-loss plateau?

  15 Answers

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  A Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answered

  You've lost weight, hit a snag, but still have that upward attitude about sending your weight downward. Rejoice in the other signs that show that your body is changing. Do your clothes fit better? Do you feel stronger? Yes means you’re swapping out fat for lean muscle and building your cardiovascular fitness, even if you're not dropping a pound.
  
  There are some ways to unstick your stuck scale. You may need to challenge your body more, which means you'll have to work a little harder. No, it's not fair. But the less you weigh, the fewer calories you burn doing the same thing. Here's how to up the ante:
  

  • Walk a little longer. If you’re walking 30 minutes a day, add 5-minute increases over a couple of weeks.
  • Walk a little harder. Throw in some hills, or kick up the incline on that treadmill. Add a few bursts of high-speed walking or jogging; the intensity helps burn fat.
  • Get a little stronger. Increase your strength training to one session every other day. No more, though; the in-between days are when you build muscle.
  • Choose smaller plates. Portion sizes will be smaller, and that makes your waist smaller.

  
  

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• QCan I maintain a healthy weight if I eat only when I'm hungry?

  1 Answer

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  A Dr. Joel H. Fuhrman, MD , Family Medicine, answered

  

  To consume the exact number of calories necessary to maintain a lean body mass that will prolong life, you must get rid of toxic hunger (physical addiction to an unhealthful, low-micronutrient diet) and get back in touch with true hunger. If you eat when hungry and don't eat when not hungry, you will never have to diet or be overweight again. You do not have to carry around a calculator and a scale to figure out how much to eat. A healthy body will give you the correct signals. You only will desire the amount of calories you actually require.

  

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  Eat for Health: Lose Weight, Keep It Off, Look Younger, Live Longer (2 Volume Set)
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• QWhat are the signs that a thin person is not healthy?

  1 Answer

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  A Dr. Elise McCormack-Granja, MD , Internal Medicine, answered on behalf of Baptist Health South Florida

  It’s difficult to determine whether someone who has a low body mass index (BMI) is healthy based solely on the number, which is just a calculation. If that person has always been thin and other measurements (such as red blood cell count and nutrients in the blood) are normal, it may not be a concern. 
  
  But when there are signs of malnutrition, loss of bone density, anemia, heart problems, hormonal imbalances or cessation of menstruation in a woman unrelated to some other cause, doctors recommend a comprehensive evaluation, including a referral to a dietitian for instruction on how to eat to reach caloric and nutritional goals.
• QWhat can I do to regain some healthy weight?

  1 Answer

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  A Natalie Castro-Romero, MS, RD , Nutrition & Dietetics, answered on behalf of Baptist Health South Florida

  It is important to work with both your doctor and a registered dietitian to regain healthy weight. A registered dietitian will assess your nutritional status by performing a complete nutritional assessment on you. From the assessment, the registered dietitian will develop a meal plan that is adequate for your nutritional needs and health goals. During or before the appointment, the registered dietitian will collect a food recall from you (1 week, 3 days or 24 hours) to get a better idea of your typical caloric intake, eating habits and food preferences. The registered dietitian will work with you to determine how to increase your daily calorie intake with foods that have the best nutritional value. Your individualized meal plan will be tailored to your specific health goals and food preferences.
• QHow can I best manage my weight?

  9 Answers

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  A Dr. Mike Clark, DPT , Fitness, answered on behalf of Sharecare Fitness

  Controlling your weight comes down to one thing: managing calories. Your body is a complex machine that requires fuel to run your metabolism and perform all movement. Calories from the food and beverages you consume provide this fuel. If you burn all the fuel you take in, your weight will remain stable. If you end up with excess fuel that isn’t burned, it will be stored as body fat and your weight will increase. Similarly, if you burn more fuel than you take in, you’ll lose weight, it’s that simple. By managing the calories you take in and the calories you burn, you can successfully control your weight.

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• QWhat happens when I reach a healthy weight?

  2 Answers

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  A dotFIT answered

  The goal will be to maintain your healthy weight, which has been an elusive proposition for most dieters. The large majority of people who lose weight can’t maintain it primarily because they participated in an unsustainable program (e.g. very low calorie diet, excessive exercise, drugs/injections, etc.) or they lost motivation to maintain the lifestyle that got the weight off. All that said, when you reach a healthy weight, make sure you start a new maintenance program using the Sharecare MILI application. You will be prompted exactly what to do including how to eat (meal plan examples with the amount of calories needed to maintain weight) and move (complete exercise plans from walking through weight training and cardio if desired).
  Successful weight maintainers never stop paying attention to their weight or body fat changes. In today’s world, weight gain DOES happen by accident but weight loss or maintenance DOESN’T – you HAVE to pay attention! Below is a list of a few attributes of successful weight maintainers:

  • Consistently record food intake
  • Eat at least four small meals daily and often using meal replacement bars or shakes for 1 or 2 meals
  • Exercise at least 3 days/wk with walking different speeds being the most common form
  • Weigh or measure regularly (generally once weekly)
  • Incorporate motivational devices like pedometers or other body sensing devices that capture activities and/or calorie burn

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