How Old Habits Ruin Maintenance

by Linda Spangle, RN, MA

“Once I lose this weight, I’m sure I won’t gain it back!” Sound familiar? Unfortunately, these are famous last words for many dieters. It takes more than determination and willpower to make that declaration stick.

When a group of dieters were asked what contributed to gaining weight back, their answers had a common theme. Nearly every one of them said, “I slipped back into my old habits.”

Certainly, healthy eating and exercise will be part of your maintenance plan. But you also need to figure out how to protect yourself from the “old habits” that got you into trouble in the first place.

Habits are sneaky!

In the beginning, you may not even realize it’s happening. Maybe you were doing great with your diet plan, then you had a hard week at your job. On Friday afternoon, you joined your friends for happy hour.

After a couple of drinks, you unconsciously reached your hand toward the nachos and fried mozzarella sticks. “That’s it,” you said. “No more of this.” But the next week, you couldn’t resist going along with the group and you overate again.

Maybe the same thing happened with your exercise plan. You had been walking every day after work until it rained five days in a row. Once the rainy weather stopped, you just couldn’t seem to get your walking routine started again.

Even though you are so determined not to slip back into your old habits, somehow real life can get in the way of your plans. Before long, you’re so far off the road that you can’t find your way back to the way you want to live.

Catch them early

Think about your history with re-gaining. What are some of your “old habits” that easily get you into trouble? Is it buying chips or ice cream again after you’d banned them from your house? Perhaps a couple of glasses of wine before dinner? Maybe you spend more time in the break room where you can’t resist the doughnuts and other goodies. Or you slide back into using food to cope with your emotional needs such as stress or depression.

Take out a piece of paper and make a list of all the old habits that you know cause problems for your maintenance plan. Once you complete the list, keep it around to remind yourself of these danger areas. Then create some ways to protect yourself from letting old habits sneak back into your life.

©2007 Weight Loss for Life, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission from Linda Spangle, RN, MA, Weight Loss for Life.
http://www.WeightLossJoy.com/
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