4) Lose Weight the Right Way
The way you lose weight to begin with predicts how well you'll be able to keep it off. Rapid-fire approaches using very low-calorie diets, fasts or other highly restrictive approaches are the least effective because they are so unsustainable. You'll go right back to the way you used to eat and the weight will most likely start to pile back on.
In addition, when weight is lost quickly you lose a larger percentage of muscle mass and your metabolic rate plunges. Slow and steady weight loss wins for predicting long-term success.
More: How to Find Your Ideal Weight
5) Limit TV Viewing to No More Than 10 Hours a Week
Watching TV not only is linked to making people overweight, but it is also associated with weight regain after they've lost pounds. Nearly two-thirds of those in the NWCR (National Weight Control Registry) spend no more than 10 hours a week watching TV compared to 28 hours for an average American. Experts suggest that the food and beverage ads and images on TV subconsciously boost hunger. In addition, many who watch TV also do so while mindlessly munching on high-calorie snacks.
6) Eat a Protein-Rich Breakfast
One of the most consistent formulas for maintaining your leaner frame is eating breakfast. In one study, 78 percent of successful maintainers reported that they ate breakfast every day and only four percent routinely skip their morning meal. When it comes to what to eat for breakfast, some studies suggest that replacing poor-quality carbohydrates (sugary cereals, baked goods, bagels, pancakes, waffles) with a high-protein breakfast like eggs, Greek yogurt or oatmeal with nut butter may help keep hunger and cravings in-check.
In an egg versus bagel challenge, dieters who ate an egg breakfast versus an equal-calorie bagel breakfast lost 65 percent more weight and significantly more belly fat compared to those who ate the bagel breakfast. In another study, men who ate eggs for breakfast consumed an average of 400 fewer calories for the entire day, suggesting that a protein-rich morning meal kept them fuller, longer.
More: 12 Fast and Easy Breakfast Ideas
7) Exercise at Least an Hour a Day
Research shows that while exercise is not required to lose weight, those who exercise for about an hour a day are the least likely to regain pounds lost. The best type of exercise to help you stay slim is a combination of aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training and strength training.
If you're short on time, make intense, interval-type efforts your go-to workouts, as they torch a lot of calories per minute and they are able to help provide physiological and metabolic changes more quickly than endurance training.
More: How Often Should You Exercise?
Stay in shape in a fitness class.
