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You have gone on a journey and achieved what you always wanted to achieve – weight loss!

Firstly, well done, It’s a huge achievement. If you have struggled to lose weight in the past and finally taken the stages to be accountable and acted, then you deserve a pat on the back. But what now?

Often the weight loss has been down to a very specific goal (weddings, birthday milestone etc) or a major lifestyle awakening such as a doctor telling you that you need to lose weight for the sake of your health and family.

Below I list my 5 absolutes to keep the new look you have worked so hard to create.[/cs_text][cs_text]

1. New Challenges and Goals Always Work

You had success the first time round because you had a clear goal. Great. You reached your target. Now what?  In life we are constantly moving up or down; we are never stagnant. I find the only way to keep achieving success with fitness is to constantly set new challenges.  Whether it’s a 10km run you want to participate in or fit into a certain dress/suit for a special occasion. Keep your eye on the prize.[/cs_text][cs_text]

2. Be Careful of Adaptations

The fact of the matter is that your body acclimatises to change. If you keep doing the same thing your body will not experience the same shock or impact as it first did. If you are focused to keep the weight off, then you need variety and you need to alter the intensity. If you keep lifting the same weights each week for the same repetitions, or you always run 5km in 30mins, you will stop progressing. Change your constant running for hill sprints or intervals. Mix up you rep range when lifting weights and focus on strength for a few weeks. You will find that these slight tweaks will be enough to keep you going on the right path. [/cs_text][cs_text]

3. Don’t let Old Habits Creep Back In

‘I’m entitled to this chocolate bar or that nice cold beer. I mean, come on. I’ve lost 15kg!’
Yes, have a treat. But if treats start to become the norm then say hello to those extra unwanted pounds. You achieved success because you were consistent with healthy eating and regular exercise. Now make sure that consistency stays a habit. One needs to look at a weight loss journey as a marathon; day in day out doing the right things. Unfortunately, the older we get the harder it is to maintain, so you need to be extra vigilant about the changes that have occurred.[/cs_text][cs_text]

4. Keep a Healthy Relationship with Food

Hopefully your initial fitness and weight loss success has helped you develop a healthy relationship with food. This needs to continue. Don’t let the old habits of starving yourself or missing a meal creep in if you notice a couple of extra pounds on the scale or you feel guilty about that slice of pizza you ate at your son’s birthday party. Look at foods as fuel for the body. Yes, ideally, we want to give ourselves the best fuel possible such as lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and plenty of fibre rich vegetables and fruit. But it doesn’t always work like that so if you do feel like you have slipped up, don’t be hard on yourself. Draw a line, recalibrate and start again. Remember – long term goals![/cs_text][cs_text]

5. Don’t Look for Short Term Fixes

Atkins, 5:2, Duken Diet etc. are all risky business. Eliminating entire food groups or eating very few calories just isn’t sustainable for the long run. I would preface this with that yes on occasions like a holiday you may want to drop a few pounds before you go so you can enjoy all the food a holiday has to offer and the only way to do this may be to cut carbs or calories down. The three or four pounds you lose will most likely go straight back on once the holiday is over.

You lost weight by being consistent and making changes in your lifestyle. Now the challenge is to keep your new formed habits going.

Good luck!
Pete
[/cs_text][x_line style=”border-top-width: 1px;”][cs_text]To learn more about how PGPT have helped many busy Londoners, possibly just like you, click here.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]