Jeremy Rochford

…when I am asked programs such as Weight Watcher, Jenny Craig & other various others, the normal question is “What steps can I take to make sure my weight loss permanent?”

This is a wonderful question and was asked recently by a friend of mine Kate-who is embarking on her own weight loss journey. (You can check out her blog here) Normally I would offer a video response, however-that technology is failing me right now…so-here we go.

The easiest way to be successful is to breakdown eating into 3 types:

1) Eating to gain weight
2) Eating to maintain weight
3) Eating to lose weight

…almost everyone who is looking to lose weight is an expert at #1. Because they (we) are an expert in it, that’s where the most comfort is found. However, when we ask the question – “Hey, can I eat the exact same way that caused me to gain weight the first time and expect not to gain weight (back) the second time?” the answer is fairly clear.

So what do we do with that?

Regardless of our age we have to look at this through a mature decision making process. “Can I eat whatever I want?” YES! You can, how much and how often you eat of it will determine through your actions what your goals truly are. I’ll use Mt. Dew as an example because I LOVE it!

When I’m training for a marathon, I am usually in eating to lose weight mode. So I don’t have any. Because, the body pulls no real nutritional value from it and I am wasting calories. However, when the marathon is over and I am seeking to gain weight-then I will enjoy as much Mt. Dew as my stomach and caffeine tolerance can handle. Finally, when I’m just chilling and eating to maintain, then I’ll have a Mt. Dew every once an a while. Not too much because I don’t want to gain weight, not too little because I’m not looking to lose any either.

This balanced mentality has allowed me to not only lose weight, but also keep it off. And, it works whether your tracking calories, points or dollars & cents.

Thank you for the question Kate and I am excited to see your success!