Maintaining The Weight You Lost On A Low-Carb Diet
Posted on: 6 November 2018
Whether you've recently lost weight by adopting a ketogenic diet, going paleo, or simply reducing the number of simple carbohydrates you consume each day, you're probably excited to shop for a new wardrobe that shows off your healthier figure. But maintaining your new weight while consuming more carbs than before can be a challenge, and you may wonder whether you're destined to regain at least some of the weight you've lost. Read on for some tips and tricks to maintaining your weight while adding carbohydrates back into your diet.
Keep it Complex
One of the advantages of a low-carb diet is that, over time, it can reduce or even eliminate your sugar cravings. Keep this momentum going by continuing to avoid foods with white sugar, bleached flour, and other simple-carb ingredients. Many classic recipes can be repurposed (and made healthier) just by tweaking some of the ingredients. By switching to complex carbohydrates, you'll stay full longer and avoid sugar crashes and cravings. As a bonus, legumes like beans, lentils, and other complex carbs can often add so much bulk and fiber to a dish that you can go completely meat-free.
Switch it Up
As you may have noticed during your weight loss journey, your body's metabolism can quickly adjust to changes in eating patterns. This makes it harder to lose weight once you've been on a diet for a while, and you may experience several plateaus before you achieve your goal weight.
Because of this, adding in a "cheat day" once in a while—even during the maintenance period—can trick your metabolism into jump-starting itself again. The extra energy used to digest a larger-than-normal number of calories can increase your base metabolism rate for several days or more and may be exactly what you need to avoid creeping weight gain. Furthermore, having a pre-scheduled cheat day to use on holidays, special events, or other food-heavy gatherings can prevent you from feeling deprived and therefore over-indulging at other times.
Consider Diet "Refreshers"
Few adults maintain a constant weight during adulthood. If you're like many, you may find yourself continuing to gain and lose the same few pounds. Accepting this as your new reality—and knowing you can get this weight off fairly easily by tightening up your diet for a few weeks—can go a long way toward avoiding long-term weight gain. By reviving your diet whenever the number on the scale begins to creep up, maintaining your new weight should be no problem.
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