Have you recently lost weight and you are wondering how you can maintain your results? You don’t need to rigorously diet or starve yourself in order to maintain a healthy weight. It is important to avoid “yo-yo dieting” and make sure you are still enjoying a balanced diet in order to manage your weight sustainably. In order to stave off cravings and still give you the nourishment you need, we recommend considering your diet structure.
Best Diet Structures For Weight Maintenance
There are a number of diet structures that you can follow that will help you stay on track and maintain a healthy weight. In this article we share our top recommendations for ways to structure your diet that can help you keep the weight off while also preventing feelings of deprivation.
Low Carb Wellness or Mediterranean Diet
Diets that are low in carbohydrates are popular and effective for weight loss, but they are not all equal. When you are actively reducing one of the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) in your diet, you need to increase one of the other macronutrients in order to maintain a balanced diet. You will likely need to increase your protein intake a little bit and your fat intake even more. However, the right ratio of carbs to fat to protein will vary for each individual depending on body type, age, and activity levels.
A really popular low carb diet structure that has helped many people both lose and maintain weight while also ensuring proper nutrition is the Mediterranean diet. It is one of the most healthy diet structures and also one of the most sustainable. It is usually low in carbohydrates but its main focus is on consumption of nutrient-rich whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats (mostly unsaturated), and some meats such as poultry and seafood. There have been many clinical trials on the effectiveness of the Mediterranean Diet to lose weight but to also keep it off. It is also an anti-inflammatory diet so helps with long term health issues such as Arthritis and reduces auto-immune associated signs and symptoms. Ask our weight loss specialist Tony about how you can implement the Mediterranean diet structure.
5:2 Lifestyle Diet
The 5:2 diet is also called the “fast diet” – if you prefer to lose and maintain weight with diet structure rather than following a strict menu plan, this is perfect for you. It allows you to eat a normal, balanced diet 5 days of the week, and restricts your calories to 500 per day for the other 2 days of the week. This pattern of eating allows you to enjoy a wide variety of foods as it does not cut out any particular food group or macronutrient. Its simplicity and flexibility makes it one of the most popular and sustainable diet structures. However, it is important to note that overindulging or binge-eating during the 5 days of “normal eating” does reduce the effectiveness of the diet. It is a great idea to obtain an estimate of how many calories you should consume for your body type, age, and activity levels during these 5 days. To find out how many calories you need daily, book your free 30min weight loss assessment with Tony at Capalaba Natural Health.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a popular method of weight loss and weight maintenance, and there are a number of ways you can do it. All methods have produced great results, so it is all about working out which one suits you and your lifestyle the most. You want it to be a sustainable solution rather than a band-aid fix. Essentially, intermittent fasting is a way to structure your eating pattern so that you are consuming food within a certain window of time during the day, and fasting for the rest of it. One of the most popular variations is the 16:8 method, wherein you restrict your eating window to about 8 hours of the day, and fast for the other 16 hours. This is the structure that Tony our Naturopath does. Intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce inflammation, improve brain and nervous system function, improve your immune system and also stimulates your bodies healing mechanism called autophagy. This is the process of your body breaking down and consuming older or damages cells.
If you are considering intermittent fasting, this is a great way to start out because you can still fit two or three meals in during the 8 hours, so it doesn’t feel like a drastic diet.
2-3 Day Juicing Diet
Completing a 2-3 day juice cleanse every 4-6 weeks can have a number of health benefits including:
- Resetting your digestive system
- Rehydrating your body
- Regulating blood sugars
- Reducing chronic inflammation
- Promoting weight loss
- Improving energy levels
It is important to note that when we say “juice” we are not referring to fruit juice concentrate. A juice cleanse is only beneficial if you are drinking fresh juice from fruits and vegetables to ensure your body receives enough nutrients. If you are considering completing a juicing diet, talk to our friendly team about how to do it properly – we can even provide you with juice recipes!
Seasonal HcG Diet
The HcG diet is a proven weight loss diet that is not only effective but also easy to do. A great option for weight maintenance is to consider using this diet seasonally. Going on the HcG diet each January and springtime if necessary for 3 weeks can help to reset your body and lose 3-4kg. It is a great way to manage your weight and get back into the habit of healthy eating if you have strayed away over the holidays! If your weight is increasing, you might consider doing HcG more strictly for a longer period of time. It is a flexible diet which offers reduced inflammation, improved energy levels, and effective fat loss. Learn more about the HcG diet here.
Do you want to lose and maintain weight with diet structure?
Are you reading about all the different weight loss diets and aren’t sure which one will work for you? Our weight loss specialist Tony can help you lose the weight and keep it off with effective and flexible diet structures that will suit you and your lifestyle. Find out more by calling us on 07 3823 3103 or contacting us here.
