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Eat protein with your carbs <\/p>\nAs any dieter will tell you, losing weight is only part of the battle \u2014 the biggest challenge is keeping off the pounds. This week new advice issued from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommends that people coming off weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro should have NHS check-ups for at least a year to prevent them from piling back on the weight they have just lost. One study by British researchers in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism found that people typically regained two thirds of their original weight when they stopped using fat jabs. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a similar story for those who follow conventional weight-loss diets. A review of 29 long-term weight-loss studies by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and George Washington University found that more than half of the weight lost by dieters was regained within two years, and by five years people had put back on more than 80 per cent of their lost weight. <\/p>\n
However, experts say weight regain is not inevitable. \u201cIt takes effort and planning but you can keep weight off long term,\u201d says Dr Linia Patel, a researcher in the department of clinical sciences and community health at the Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano in Italy and a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association (BDA). Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n
Eat protein with your carbs <\/p>\n
\u201cProtein and fibre-rich complex carbohydrates eaten together help slow down digestion so that you stay fuller for longer,\u201d says the nutrition therapist Ian Marber<\/a>. \u201cAlong with healthy dietary fats, they encourage the natural release of glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, a hormone that helps manage glucose levels in the blood and manages appetite.\u201d It\u2019s this very hormone that is mimicked by GLP-1 agonists as found in weight-loss medications.<\/p>\n Aim to do at least 10,000 daily steps \u2014 and walk briskly<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people find their average daily step count goes down when they are dieting or losing weight,\u201d says the personal trainer Harry Jameson. \u201cThis is generally because their energy intake is lower so they feel more fatigued.\u201d Once the pounds are lost it is time to ramp up the daily steps to at least 10,000, aiming for 15-20,000 if you can. \u201cThis, in conjunction with diet and other exercise, will help to keep weight regain at bay,\u201d Jameson says. \u201cAnd the faster you walk, the more calories are burnt.\u201d<\/p>\n Consider eating more often<\/p>\n It sounds counterintuitive but this tactic works for men<\/a>, Marber says. \u201cLosing weight can help improve insulin sensitivity, which should enhance the process of making energy from the food we eat,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou can boost this further by eating small portions of healthy food at regular intervals, which may mean a small snack between main meals.\u201d Don\u2019t overdo it \u2014 an apple and a few almonds or hummus on an oatcake are enough to stabilise blood glucose levels, which in turn helps to curb the appetite. <\/p>\n \u2022 How to make your food more nutritious with these 23 tiny tweaks<\/a><\/p>\n Lift weights 2-4 times a week<\/p>\n No getting away from this one, Jameson says. \u201cWeight-loss medications accelerate the loss of muscle mass more than regular dieting but in both cases you will need to offset the decline by adding resistance training to your routine,\u201d he says. \u201cAim to lift weights that are heavy enough for you to lift 8-10 times at least twice and up to four times a week.\u201d Over time the added muscle strength will boost your metabolism. \u201cYour body becomes more efficient at fat burning,\u201d Jameson says.<\/p>\n Weights are key to lasting fat loss, aim for 2-4 sessions a week<\/p>\n GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Consider taking creatine <\/p>\n Alison Cork, author of Fit and Fabulous Over 50<\/a>, takes supplements to help with weight maintenance. \u201cI find that creatine can boost your performance during training and help to preserve muscle health, both of which in turn aid calorie burning,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd turmeric in the form of curcumin is another favourite as it has anti-inflammatory properties that can assist your body in maintaining a stable weight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 How to burn more fat while exercising<\/a><\/p>\n Keep increasing the intensity of your exercise<\/p>\n Exercise in conjunction with healthy eating is essential for weight maintenance. Levels of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone, were found to increase in a group of overweight men and women who exercised for 40 minutes a day, while those who did less or were not active at all experienced no such change, according to a study from the University of Kentucky. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Colorado showed that the same amount of physical activity did more to maintain substantial weight loss than just dieting. You will need to make your exercise progressively harder \u2014 adding to the duration or the intensity in increments \u2014 to see the best results.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t rely on exercise alone to maintain weight loss <\/p>\n Cork says that we all need to remember the truism: you cannot out-train a bad diet. \u201cYour weight is always going to be 80 per cent down to what you are eating and 20 per cent down to exercise and genetics,\u201d she says. \u201cSweating away in the gym is only going to get you so far and will only work when combined with a healthy diet so keep both going in tandem.\u201d <\/p>\n If you do use weight-loss drugs, come off them slowly\u2026 <\/p>\n According to Dr Henrik Gudbergsen, the lead researcher from Embla, a digital weight-loss clinic based in Copenhagen and London, research shows that tapering withdrawal from weight-loss drugs was the best guard against regaining lost pounds. \u201cA patient\u2019s appetite returns when they stop taking the drug, and if they stop taking it suddenly they may find it hard to resist their cravings,\u201d Gudbergsen says. \u201cHowever, if they stop slowly, and have expanded their awareness and understanding of healthy lifestyle behaviours and eating habits, their hunger and satiety will be more manageable, making it easier for them to maintain a healthy weight.\u201d<\/p>\n Track what you\u2019re really eating (but only for a few weeks)<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so easy to underestimate calorie intake,\u201d Marber says. \u201cI recommend downloading one of the free calorie tracker apps<\/a> such as MyFitnessPal to your phone and inputting every morsel of food and every drink you consume daily for a better understanding of your intake.\u201d Marber suggests doing this for a couple of weeks at most. \u201cTracking calories for too long can be joyless, so once you get a feel for daily intake, delete the app,\u201d he says. \u201cAs a very rough rule of thumb, women need around 2,000 calories daily to maintain their current weight and for men this is 2,500 calories.\u201d <\/p>\n Make sure at least half your plate is veg<\/p>\n GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Never go food shopping hungry<\/p>\n \u201cHealthy eating is far less likely to happen if you do things spur of the moment,\u201d Patel says. \u201cWrite a shopping list, a weekly meal plan and shop accordingly. Do some batch preparation at weekends so that you can freeze meals or sauces to use in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Fill up on fibre<\/p>\n A diet rich in fibre-rich wholegrains, seeds, nuts, fruit and vegetables as well as lean and plant-based protein such as pulses, tofu and yoghurt can have a powerful effect on weight maintenance. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the amount of food consumed but the quality of it that can affect your ability to keep weight off,\u201d Patel says. \u201cJust cutting calories might lead to weight loss, but not including fibre can backfire later on when you try to maintain your new weight.\u201d <\/p>\n A 2019 study in the Journal of Nutrition showed that eating plenty of fibre-rich foods such as oats, wholemeal bread, beans, peas and lentils meant that dieters were more likely to stick with a weight loss or maintenance plan. \u201cThese foods take a lot of chewing, which stimulates satiety signals and tells us we are fuller sooner,\u201d Patel says. \u201cThey also take longer to pass through our digestive system so that we stay full for longer.\u201d<\/p>\n Make sure at least half your plate is veg<\/p>\n Self-regulation tactics for weight loss and maintenance were the focus of a study by the University of Oxford published in the British Journal of Health Psychology. The Oxford experts found that one of the most effective tactics was filling half of your dinner plate with boiled or steamed veg (potatoes didn\u2019t count) and salad with low-calorie dressings made from yoghurt, lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, all of which are nutrient-dense and low in calories. <\/p>\n Eat foods you really enjoy<\/p>\n Eating foods that satisfy your taste buds will enhance satiety. \u201cYour ideal satiety meal will contain fibre and protein but also be enjoyable for your taste buds with some fat, some such crunch and a flavour you enjoy,\u201d Patel says. \u201cIt is this combination that can help you feel full and satisfied, potentially reducing cravings.\u201d Patel says her favourite healthy meal is a chicken breast on a bed of lentils, with lots of veggies on the side and some feta cheese crumbled on top. \u201cThat is guaranteed to leave me satiated,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Make sure you chew your food well<\/p>\n In the University of Oxford study, another successful weight-maintenance strategy was to cut up food into bite-size pieces before eating it. This, the scientists said, increases the number of mouthfuls you need to take, triggering the gut hormones into action so that they send messages to the brain that you are full. Taking 20 chews per bite and putting your cutlery down between forkfuls also helps by reducing your eating speed, making you more likely to feel full before you overeat. \u201cEating while seated and not while multitasking also helps with tuning into your internal signals of how full you are,\u201d Patel says.<\/p>\n Focus on time, not reps, in strength workouts<\/p>\n Many people fall out of fitness routines because they run out of time or focus. \u201cBy switching to time-based training you\u2019ll solve both problems,\u201d says the personal trainer Scott Harrison, founder of the Six Pack Revolution<\/a>. \u201cThis method focuses on completing exercises for a set duration, so 40 seconds of effort, 20 seconds of recovery, instead of a fixed number of reps that might take you ages to complete.\u201d <\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget functional exercise<\/p>\n Exercise isn\u2019t all about feeling the burn. \u201cWhen you\u2019re trying to maintain weight loss, functional strength matters as it supports daily movement, boosts energy and keeps joints healthy,\u201d Harrison says. \u201cSo make sure you include some functional body weight movements \u2014 such as jump squats, mountain climbers or push-up holds \u2014 which will boost cardiovascular health and endurance alongside strength.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 How to strengthen your bones as well as muscles<\/a><\/p>\n Don\u2019t allow \u2018all-or-nothing\u2019 thinking to creep in<\/p>\n Too often we berate ourselves for sabotaging weight loss if we fall off the wagon. \u201cRemind yourself that one indulgent meal doesn\u2019t \u2018ruin\u2019 everything,\u201d says the registered nutritionist Eli Brecher<\/a>. \u201cThe key to long-term weight management is consistency, not perfection, so reframe any slip-ups as a normal part of life, then get back to your usual habits at the next meal.\u201d<\/p>\n Aim to eat as many whole foods as you can<\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/0b42bc07-50e8-4a5a-acc8-e6241c0742fa.jpg\")
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