3 Ways to Lose Weight and Keep it Off for Good

3 Ways to Lose Weight and Keep it Off for Good

Have you tried different diet and exercise trends in an attempt to reach your goal weight, but you find yourself struggling to lose weight and keep it off? You’ve probably noticed that as the years go by it’s even more challenging to drop those unwanted pounds. This is because as you age, your metabolism changes. Menopause also affects your ability to lose weight.

“It is obesity which makes menopause a miserable time, not the other way around,” explains Svetlana Kogan, M.D., author of Diet Slave No More! “Obesity worsens hot flashes, increases risk for heart disease and lowers sexual libido significantly. Losing unwanted pounds and keeping them off creates a balanced mind-body state in which menopause is a naturally smooth ride for most women.”

It can be discouraging when you feel like you’re doing everything right but your weight won’t budge. Don’t lose hope! Dr.  Kogan offers insight on how to not only lose weight but keep it off for good.

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Find Your Starting Point

In order to make any real and lasting progress, you need to have an honest starting point to work from. Dr. Kogan suggests asking your doctor to check your body mass index, or BMI, and your body fat percentage. This tells you if you’re in the normal, overweight or obese category.

With this information, you can make a truthful, educated decision about how much weight you want to lose and formulate a plan of action.

Understand Your Why

The reasons why you want to lose weight and keep it off are very personal, and it’s important to fully understand them. One reason may be medical.

“As a doctor, I can tell you that weight loss improves a multitude of health aspects, including blood pressure, sugar metabolism, and lipid profile,” Dr. Kogan says.

Beyond that, there are myriad reasons women want to drop excess pounds.

“As a woman, I’ll tell you that losing unwanted weight will make you feel more energetic, focused, and sexy,” Dr. Kogan adds. “As a matter of fact, your sex life will improve on more levels than one, because now you are not only freer to move your body around, but you are also less self-conscious about how you appear to your partner.”

Whether your goal is to have an improved sex life, feel better about your appearance, be healthier or have more energy, focusing on your why helps you stick with lifestyle changes and keep the weight off for good.

Take a Holistic Approach

According to Dr. Kogan, all of the factors that made you gain weight in the first place are the same things that will cause you to regain weight over time. She suggests taking a holistic approach to weight loss and educating yourself on what’s unhealthy about the relationship with food, so you can fix it for good.

“The reason most diets eventually fail is that they are essentially software programs which try to override the original blueprint we are born with,” Dr. Kogan explains. “That is a conflict of interest as far as our bodies are concerned.”

Once you understand your body’s inner tools and how they work in relation to food and exercise, you can make the necessary lifestyle changes that create a lasting balance. From there, the weight loss will follow, and you’ll be better prepared to keep the weight off for good.

It’s also important to remember that progress is more than just a number on the scale. So often, women, in particular, get caught up in reaching a certain weight. When the scale doesn’t reflect that goal number, it can be discouraging. In addition to weighing yourself, take your measurements. You might not lose as many pounds as you want, but losing inches from your waist, thighs and arms means your clothes fit better. This will give you a boost of confidence about your appearance.

Also, take stock of your energy levels and happiness. Feeling more energetic and happy? You’re making progress!

Allegra Gallian is a freelance writer and blogger who specializes in lifestyle, health, wellness and fitness. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

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3 Ways to Lose Weight and Keep it Off for Good
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