So you’ve lost weight on HCG and you feel great. But now what? How can you achieve weight loss maintenance and avoid going back where you came from?What were the habits that lead you to the place you were before you started HCG? The HCG diet is a great time to detox, break all the bad food habits in your life, and start fresh. But once the diet is over and you are “allowed” to eat other things again – or let’s just be honest, when life happens, then what do you do?
1. Examine your eating habits
What types of food do you cook at home? What kinds of foods do you choose when you eat out? Do you snack during the day? What kinds of snacks do you have in the house? If you think about a 2,000 calorie per day diet, it may seem like a lot but with the food options we have today, it can be gone before you know it. Really examine the foods you eat. Do you eat a lot of processed foods? Fried foods? Cheese? Sugar? If you can pinpoint what your unhealthy eating habits are, then you can begin to make better choices.
2. Are you underestimating your caloric intake?
If you look at the nutrition information for a lot of chain restaurants, it can be quite shocking. Thankfully more places are starting to put the caloric values on menus so you can make wiser choices. For example, you might guess that a buffalo chicken wrap would have maybe 600 calories. And a side of potato wedges maybe 200. Wrong, the wrap is probably more like 950 and the wedges closer to 400. And that’s if you only drink water. Add a sugary soda to that and now you’re at around 1500 calories just for one meal. So unless you don’t eat anything else that day, eating out like this even a few times a week puts you on track for weight gain. That’s not even considering snacks, sweets, sugary and alcoholic beverages.
3. What are your motivations for eating?
This is a huge one. Do you eat because it’s a social activity? Do you eat when you’re upset? Bored? Angry? Sad? Do you eat more when you’re alone or around other people? Really dig to figure out why exactly you have formed bad eating habits and really ask yourself what your motivations are. Many times people use food as a way to cope with stresses in life. Again, once you identify the cause you will be able to start figuring out ways you can cope without eating. If emotional eating is a big thing for you, seeing a counselor who deals with weight issues could be of great help for you.
4. How can you make healthier choices while still living life?
We all have things we just really enjoy. For example, maybe your thing is to get a big Starbucks drink every morning. While this can maybe be okay once in a blue moon, multiple times a week is just not healthy or conducive to weight loss/weight maintenance. Does that mean you have to stop going to Starbucks? Not necessarily but there are things you can do to make your drink a healthier choice. For example, try getting an iced coffee with sugar free vanilla syrup and just a splash of cream, verses an iced latte full of milk and full sugar syrup. Whipped cream is delicious but it’s one of those things you can easily cut out and cut calories so it’ll have to go. Or say you are going out for a night of drinking. Skip the margarita or sugary cocktails and instead opt for vodka and soda water with lime (one of the lowest calorie drinks you can order). We have more ideas for healthy alternatives but that’ll be for another blog.
5. Remember why you changed
This is the most important of them all…knowing why you decided to make a change! Whether it is for health, looks, or just the way you feel, you must remember that you are worth it!! So much of weight loss and weight maintenance is about your mindset and motivations. It’s not always going to be easy but you just have to keep your eye on the prize and keep going, and reach out for support when needed. Invest in yourself now before it’s too late and always remember that yes, you can do it!
