(If you somehow got here without reading Phase 1 and Phase 2 first, you're going to be a little lost. It's ok, just go back and read them here: Phase 1: How To Lose Weight and
Phase 2: Create Your Weight Loss Diet Plan)
In Phase 1 and Phase 2 of The Lose Weight Diet, you learned basically everything you need to know in order to lose weight safely, effectively, and oh yeah, for free. At this point, you also know what your own personal weight loss diet plan should be. You're pretty much set and ready to go. However, before you do, there's a few other things you're going to want to know.
In Phase 3 you will learn how to make sure you continue losing weight and, even more importantly, keep the weight off for good. I'm also going to give some additional pieces of weight loss information that didn't fit in anywhere in Phase 1 and 2 as well as answer a couple of questions you may have thought of throughout the course of The Lose Weight Diet.
Continue Losing Weight
What I'm about to say may scare you a little. However, it shouldn't. It is completely normal and is supposed to happen. At some point, you MAY stop losing weight. I can't tell you when exactly, but unless you have a really small amount of weight to lose, there is a chance that at some point your weight loss might come to a stop. Hang on, calm down. It's no big deal. Seriously... if it does happen, it was supposed to happen. The reason for this is because as you gradually begin to lose weight, you're body will start to change. Yeah, you'll look better, you'll be healthier, you'll feel better, but one other change will come to your calorie maintenance level.For example, let's say you started at 200lbs and you calculated your maintenance level to be 3500 calories (these are just made up numbers). You then figured that in order to start losing weight, you'd need to eat 3000 calories per day (500 below maintenance). Since then, you've consistently lost weight and are currently down to 185lbs. But... your weight loss has stopped. It's been 3 weeks and you haven't lost even half a pound.
Keep in mind though that this may not even happen to you. If it doesn't, cool. If it does, just make the simple 250 calorie adjustment (through diet and/or workout) to make sure you continue to lose weight.
I would recommend giving it 2-4 weeks of seeing no weight loss whatsoever before you make this adjustment just to be sure that you are indeed no longer losing weight. Sometimes your diet could have been off a little that week, or maybe you missed a workout or two. Something like this could make it appear as though you are no longer losing when in fact you just weren't as consistent as you should have been.
Weighing Yourself
Many times throughout The Lose Weight Diet I've made a reference to your weight. What I didn't do however was mention HOW you should weigh yourself. First and foremost, you should weigh yourself once a week. No more, no less. You should also keep some kind of written/typed log of your weight each week so you can properly track your progress.The other important weighing tip is to ALWAYS weigh yourself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Weighing yourself any time later in the day is useless as there could be a 5-10 pound difference at different times during the day. Also, if possible, try to do it on the same day each week wearing the same amount of clothing (preferably as little as possible). I do it every Wednesday morning right after I wake up.
Tracking Your Progress
One of the keys to successful weight loss is accurately tracking your progress. While weighing yourself every week is one of the best ways to do so, there are 3 other ways.One way is to have your body fat percentage tested on a somewhat regular basis. Some gyms do this, and some doctors, nutritionists, and personal trainers can do this for you as well. You can also buy body fat calipers and perform the test on yourself. A scale can only tell you if you are gaining or losing weight. Your body fat percentage can tell you if that weight is fat, muscle or water.
A second way to track your progress is with a tape measure. Measure your waist, arms, legs, chest, neck and really wherever else you want. I do this every other week and keep a written log of it. Like weighing yourself, you should also try to do this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
A third way is with pictures. Once a month I take a few pictures of myself in the same few poses every time. Since you see yourself many times every single day, it's a little harder for you to notice any changes. But, with pictures, you can literally look back and compare and see every bit of progress you've made.
Keeping The Weight Off
Here's a pretty nice problem to have... what to do when you are finished losing weight. Sounds great, doesn't it? Don't worry, you'll be there soon enough.Once you've lost all of the weight you were looking to lose... nothing changes. Your diet stays the same. Your workout stays the same. You shouldn't be surprised to hear that. Remember when I mentioned how weight is gained? By going OVER your maintenance level, right? So, once you lose weight and you've decided you're happy at your current weight... you can't go back to your old eating habits. Going back to what you used to do will only turn you into what you used to be. What you used to be is gone and needs to stay gone permanently. So, what do you do?
Well, you no longer want to lose weight, and you certainly don't want to gain weight. This means it's time to maintain your current weight for good by being equal with your new calorie maintenance level.
If you are still losing weight at the time you decide you've lost as much as you wanted to lose, it means you're still below maintenance level. You need to be even with it. So, add about 250 calories to your daily diet and monitor your weight for 2 or 3 weeks. Are you maintaining yet? If so, you know how much you need to eat from now on. If you still lost, add another 250 calories and give it another 2-3 weeks. If you gained, slightly reduce your calorie intake and see what happens.
Basically, your goal at this point will be to find the right number of calories you need to eat each day in order for your body to maintain its new lighter weight. Once you find it, you'll be able to keep your weight from changing... permanently.
4 Questions You Probably Have
Question: You have talked a lot about food and what we should and should not eat. What about drinks?Answer: As far as (WATER) drinks go, there is (WATER) really only one drink that (WATER) you should be (WATER) drinking. Can you guess what it is? Something tells me you can. Yup, it's water.
Most people know about the "8 cups of water a day" rule (half a gallon), and I guess that would be an okay starting point for the average person. However, someone losing weight and working out should be drinking more than that. I'd recommend getting closer to 1 full gallon a day if you can.
Question: The Lose Weight Diet has a lot to do with calories. It also has a lot to do with protein, carbs and fat. How do I know how many calories and how many grams of protein, carbs and fat are in the foods I eat?
Answer: The first obvious answer here is to check the package your food came in. If you're eating something that came out of a box, bag, jar, can, bottle or container of any kind, it very likely has all of that information right there on it.
However, I am fully aware that a lot of the things we eat don't have this information on them, and that doesn't even include when we go out to eat. Luckily however, there is a solution...
Search for all of your foods on a Calorie Counter (aCalorieCounter.com). a Calorie Counter is a completely FREE web site that allows you to type in the name of the food you want to look up (apple, chicken, corn flakes, french fries, etc.), hit search, and then see its complete nutritional content instantly. Calories, protein, carbs, fat and a whole lot more, all for free.
I should know, I made the site. After years of using other people's "calorie counter" type sites, I decided to make my own better version. It's the perfect side-kick to The Lose Weight Diet. Be sure to check it out.
Question: I realize that this is The Lose Weight Diet, but what about working out?
Answer: As you've already learned, it is indeed possible for weight loss to happen through your diet plan alone. I hate to even mention that, because every single person reading this SHOULD workout. Your weight loss will happen faster and easier if you did it through a combination of diet AND workout rather than just one of the two.
Still not good enough for ya? How about this... besides being great for losing weight, exercise (of any kind) is fantastic for your health!
Still aren't sold on working out? Ok, how about this. In addition to being the KEY to maintaining lean muscle while you lose fat, working out (specifically weight training) is the difference between losing weight and looking "skinny," and losing weight and looking "lean" and "fit" and "toned." Seriously. You'll get "sexy washboard abs" and "toned arms" and "defined legs and shoulders and blah blah blah." Are you sold now? Good. You should be.
Of course, the next step is to figure out how to put together the most effective weight training program and/or cardio workout possible. You know, the workout that will work BEST for the results you want.
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