Body Weight

You’ve hit your weight loss goal! Now what?

While there is no shortage of information on how to lose weight, it can be trickier to determine how to keep weight off for good.  

Fortunately, many of the healthy habits that can be used to lose weight are the same ones that will support you in maintaining weight loss.

Ahead, senior clinical dietitian Jessica Tilton shares tips for making your weight loss stick long term. 

Re-evaluate your body’s needs

First, let’s talk about why it is common to regain weight after weight loss. Tilton says this is because when you have less body mass, your body needs less energy – that is, fewer calories. 

“As weight loss progresses, energy needs decrease. When you reach your goal weight, you have to maintain that lower energy rate, and most people have difficulty doing that,” she says. 

She recommends using a body weight planner to help determine how many calories to eat per day based on your weight, height, sex, age and activity level. 

Monitor calories or portion sizes

Weight loss requires a caloric deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than your body uses. After losing weight, you no longer need to remain in a caloric deficit. However, going back to the same eating patterns you had before weight loss could result in weight gain. 

“To continue maintaining your weight, you’re going to have to be sure that you hold to some caloric goal. The main thing is you have to do regular tracking of diet, physical activity and your weight,” Tilton says.

But if tracking calories isn’t the best approach for you, don’t sweat it! Keeping an eye on portion size, choosing healthy options and following the other tips on this list can also aid in maintaining weight loss.  

Eat regularly

If you’ve ever been so hungry before a meal that you couldn't help but overindulge when you finally had the chance to eat, you’ll understand why Tilton suggests eating regularly to maintain weight loss. 

“If you eat a lot at one time, you can have a glucose spike and then have a crash. But if you eat three meals, you tend to control the calories because you won’t be ravenously hungry. You can plan and control those meals and you'll tend to have more even glucose levels,” she says.

Choose healthy foods and drinks 

Now that we’ve covered when to eat, let’s talk about what to eat.

MD Anderson dietitians recommend eating healthy foods. Come mealtime, this means filling two thirds of your plate with whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds, and limiting lean animal protein or plant-based protein to the remaining one-third. 

Tilton also recommends eating more non-starchy vegetables and plant-based proteins and choosing fewer calorically dense options, such as deep-fried foods, processed foods and fast food.

What you drink can also have an impact on weight. Remember to account for the calories in options like soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened coffees and teas, and alcoholic beverages.  

For cancer prevention, it is best not to drink alcohol. For those that choose to drink, MD Anderson recommends men limit themselves to two drinks a day, while women limit themselves to one drink a day.

Prioritize physical activity 

While Tilton says diet is the most important factor in weight loss, movement plays an important role in overall health.

Physical activity can benefit cardiovascular health, support digestion and strengthen muscles. It also supports a healthy body weight, which can lower the risk for some cancers. 

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends 150 minutes of exercise each week. This might look like dedicating 30 minutes each weekday to your favorite types of movement, whether that be lifting weights, swimming, practicing yoga, jogging, dancing, strength training, walking, group fitness classes, or playing sports. Find what works for you!

If you don’t already exercise, start gradually.  

This might look like increasing your physical activity over several weeks. For example, the first week, add 15 minutes of physical activity, like walking or biking, into your routine 3 times. The next week, do 20 minutes of physical activity 3 times. The third week, aim for 25 minutes of exercise 4 times, and by the fourth week, 30 minutes of exercise 5 times.

Another way to add more movement to your day is to set a goal to stand up and move for a minute or two each hour you are awake. 

Learn more about creating a workout plan.

Get enough sleep 

While diet and exercise might get more attention for their roles in weight loss, sleep also contributes.

Tilton says studies have shown a link between getting enough sleep and maintaining weight loss. Additionally, she says sleep supports the brain-gut connection, and that too little sleep can increase inflammation. 

“There's a very strong brain-gut connection, so you need to give the body and the brain rest, which is why it’s important to get sleep,” she says.

Adults should aim to sleep between seven and eight hours per night. 

Monitor your progress

Tilton’s most important piece of advice for anyone looking to maintain weight loss is to monitor progress. 

This might look like scheduling daily or weekly weigh-ins, measuring yourself, taking progress photos, or noting how your favorite pair of pants fit.

However this looks for you, Tilton says self-monitoring can provide insight into the lifestyle factors that may be influencing your weight. This could be as simple as noting that you indulged more than expected over the weekend or haven’t been finding time to exercise. 

Tilton also acknowledges that losing weight is a process, and a difficult one, at that. 

"Weight loss is hard to maintain. It’s never linear. But I always remind people that even 5 to 10% weight loss has been shown to have positive effect,” she says. 

If you are struggling to maintain weight loss, Tilton suggests checking in with a registered dietitian or weight loss specialist. This can be especially helpful if the initial changes you made to lose weight weren’t ones you can see yourself sticking to long-term.

"The changes to lose weight take time,” Tilton says. “They’re the ones that clients can live with for a lifetime. It’s something that's not, ‘I can do this for six months, and then I won't have to.’” 

Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.

You may be familiar with sayings such as ‘You can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet’ or ‘Abs are made in the kitchen.’ But are those sayings true? How much does diet really impact body weight? And is it possible to lose weight without exercising?

We called on clinical dietitian Jessica Tilton to learn more about the factors that impact weight loss and how to lose weight without changing your activity level.

Learn if you need to lose weight

Tilton says Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to calculate whether an adult is at a healthy weight or has a high body weight. 

Those with a BMI of 25 or higher are considered overweight. You can use a BMI calculator to find out where you land. 

Tilton says excess body fat is causally linked to many health concerns. These include pulmonary disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, gallbladder disease, hypertension, coronary heart disease, severe pancreatitis, certain cancers such as breast cancer and colorectal cancer, skin issues and gout.

Understand what factors impact weight loss

Losing weight is a challenging feat with instructions that can feel frustratingly simple.  

“Weight loss requires consuming fewer calories than the body needs,” Tilton says.

Consuming fewer calories than the body burns, or a caloric deficit, leads to weight loss. Consuming more calories than the body burns leads to weight gain.

“Generally, people cannot exercise their way into weight loss,” she says.

This doesn’t mean you should avoid exercise. Instead, think of diet and exercise as a team that packs double the punch in supporting a healthy body. 

Tilton says exercise has both physical and mental benefits that include improving brain health, strengthening bones and muscles, reducing the risk of disease, improving mood and helping with weight management.

“You really do want to do both because being sedentary is obviously not as healthy as being active," she says.

Determine how many calories your body needs

To determine if you are in a caloric deficit, you first need to know how many calories your body uses each day. 

This can be done in a number of ways, but two options that Tilton suggests are the Total Daily Energy Expenditure and Resting Energy Expenditure formulas. 

Total Daily Energy Expenditure and Resting Energy Expenditure calculators can be found online. They use factors such as gender, height and weight to provide daily calorie recommendations.

• Resting Energy Expenditure estimates how many calories your body burns at rest.
• Total Daily Energy Expenditure estimates how many calories your body burns depending on your typical activity level.

While nutritional needs look different for each person, Tilton says consuming 300 to 500 calories under your estimated total daily energy expenditure can help with weight loss.  

It is important to lose weight in a way that is realistic and sustainable. Tilton says eating too few calories each day can lead to fatigue, muscle aches and possible essential vitamin and mineral deficiencies. If you need support and guidance in choosing a safe and effective weight loss plan, talk to your doctor or a licensed dietitian. 

Additionally, cancer patients should discuss weight loss goals with their care team to avoid nutrient deficiencies and address how treatment may impact their efforts.

Monitor your calories and portions

“Diet is the most important factor in weight loss,” Tilton says. 

To better understand your diet, she recommends keeping track of how many calories you are eating. There are a variety of fitness apps that can be helpful in tracking calories, or you can do it with a good old-fashioned paper and pen.

If you’d prefer not to track calories, it can be helpful to consider your portion sizes. If you notice you are eating more than your body needs to feel satiated, work toward smaller servings.

“When you’re monitoring portions, you’re decreasing calories,” Tilton says.

Fill up on healthy options 

Choosing healthy, whole foods can aid in weight loss efforts by keeping you full and fueled.

MD Anderson dietitians recommend a diet primarily made up of healthy, nutritious foods. Aim for two-thirds of your diet to be made up of vegetables, whole grains, beans, fruits, nuts and seeds; the remaining third can be lean protein and dairy products.

Tilton says vegetables can make healthy snacks, and drinking more water helps the body feel full.

Of course, what you don’t eat can be just as important as what you do. 

For those trying to lose weight, Tilton recommends cutting back on liquid calories, such as sugary beverages, beer and wine. She also suggests choosing fewer refined carbohydrates, fatty fried options and sweets.

While adjusting your diet and losing weight can be challenging, Tilton says that for those with a high body weight, losing even 5% to 10% of initial body weight can make a big difference in reducing some health risks. 

“When people start losing weight, it’s naturally reinforcing. They start feeling better,” says Tilton. “They know ‘I can do this.’”

Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or by call 1-877-632-6789. 

If you want to make a change in your diet but don’t know how, this advice from one of our health educators might help.

“Start slow,” says Andrea Murray, health education specialist in MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center.

Murray spends every day talking to people who want to shift toward healthier foods, so she knows what a struggle it can be.

“We want to help you reduce your risk for cancer in as many ways as possible,” Murray says. “But we want you to make changes that are realistic for you.”

Eating a healthy diet is one of the nine proven ways to reduce your risk for cancer. For Murray, the first step is to think about what’s possible for her patients.

How to switch to a healthy diet

So, what is a healthy diet? MD Anderson recommends you eat a plant-based diet. That means filling at least two-thirds of your plate with whole grains, vegetables, fruits and other plant foods like beans, nuts and seeds.

The remaining one third can be lean protein like chicken, fish or plant protein like tofu. Here are some tips you can try to make the switch easier:

Start with one small change. It’s hard to change everything at once so try adding just one extra plant food a day.

“Choose one or two things that you love,” says Murray. “Maybe you like apples. Add an extra apple a day. Maybe you like asparagus. Add that in a couple of extra times a week.”

Once you have hit that goal, you can move on to another one.

Cut back on one target item. “For some people, the challenge is cutting something out,” Murray says. “I had someone who wanted to start by cutting down soda from four drinks a week to two. That’s a great start.”

The key to sustainable change is making small changes over time. Most people who make dramatic lifestyle switches find it hard to maintain. “We all need to feel confident in what we do. If not, we can feel like we have failed and simply go back to old habits,” says Murray.

Get inspired by a new recipe. Some people have learned to enjoy plant foods by trying a new dish while out at a restaurant. Or try a new home-cooked recipe with plant foods. Once you’ve tried one you like, it may encourage you to try more.

Use plant foods for snacks. Consider extra servings of plant foods throughout the day as snacks.  You could keep a handful of nuts, hummus, a piece of whole fruit or sliced veggies with you to nibble on during the day.

“I encourage people to eat these foods first when they are having sweet cravings or cravings for unhealthy foods between meals,” says Murray.

Branch out from fruit and vegetables. These are not the only plant foods available to you. It might seem less intimidating to start by adding more whole grains, nuts and seeds to your meals. Once you get going with these, you may be more inclined to eat a larger variety of plant foods including more fruits and vegetables.

Add more veggies to a sauce. Many people say they don’t like vegetables because of the texture. Don’t forget you can choose one or two vegetables to add to spaghetti sauce, salsas, salads or soups and it will boost the amount of plant foods you are eating. Finely chop vegetables and sneak them in where you might not notice them as much.

“I did this when I wanted to expand my taste for plant foods,” says Murray. “For example, I did not like the texture of mushrooms, but that changed once I started chopping them and adding to almost everything I ate.”

Remember that behavior change is hard. If you are used to very sweet or salty foods like sodas and chips, it will take time for your taste buds to adjust to healthier foods. Get support from family, friends or even a professional dietitian.

Diet change takes time and discipline so don’t give up if you have a slip.  Get going again as soon as you can.

What to expect if you switch to a healthy diet

Eating a plant-based diet comes with big benefits. The extra phytochemicals and antioxidants reduce inflammation and boost your immune system.

This diet will also help you maintain a healthy weight and, of course, lower your cancer risk.

You may also experience some changes in digestion. Some people find that an increase in certain plant foods causes gas or bloating. Others experience diarrhea or constipation. This is because your body may need some time to adjust to the extra fiber in your diet.

“Pay attention to your body and talk with your doctor if you have any problems,” says Murray. “Most issues can be solved with simple changes.”

Make sure you are drinking enough water and make note of any specific foods that seem to cause the issue.

“Solving the problem can be as easy as eating cooked vegetables instead of raw or introducing leafy green vegetables more slowly,” says Murray.

The most important thing is to keep making small changes to get you closer to the ideal plant-based diet.

“There is so much in plants that we can’t get from other sources. Your body benefits so much from including vegetables, fruits and whole grains in our meals,” says Murray.

If you’ve tried to lose weight, you know that often the most difficult part is keeping the pounds off over the long term.

It’s a huge challenge. One that only around 10% of dieters manage to achieve, according to our expert. The vast majority return to the same weight they were before the diet. Some return to an even heavier weight.

This cycle can lead to feelings of shame and failure. If you’ve experienced this, you might think you are simply not able to maintain a healthy weight or assume you just don’t have enough willpower.

But what if your own body is bringing you back to your old weight? This is the theory that we all have a ‘set point’ that our body returns to. And that there are a variety of systems in our body that interact to determine your body weight.

“The set point theory says that the body will settle at a specific weight where it likes to be,” says MD Anderson Senior Exercise Physiologist Carol Harrison. “And it will defend itself so that it stays at this specific weight.”

The idea of a set point is not proven beyond doubt, but it is supported in many observational studies.

“Most people will have fluctuations of several pounds around an average weight,” says Harrison.

So is the set point theory valid? And if it is, is it possible to lose weight long term?

How does the set point work?

The way your set point weight is established involves many factors and is highly individual. Experts believe your environment, genetics and preferences all play a part.

To some extent, the set point is simply what weight your body has gotten used to.

“The set point is established over a long period of time,” says Harrison. “It’s a very complex thing, but it appears that it is your body’s attempt to regulate itself, and that attempt results in a certain weight.”

If you go on a diet, your body might use the following systems to try to return to your previous weight:

Physical systems: If you suddenly cut down the calories you eat, your metabolism might slow down. This means your body uses less energy to do the same functions. The result is the food you do eat does not burn as quickly. You may lose weight in the short term, but eventually, you’ll likely start gaining weight back.

Your body also may try to push you back to the same weight by making certain changes in some hormone levels that affect your appetite and metabolism. And it may adjust the way you absorb and use nutrients.

Mental systems: Your brain gets used to the pleasurable feelings that certain foods give you. When you reduce or eliminate those foods, your body will crave new foods or drinks to fill the gaps left by your diet.

“People will find something else to give them satisfaction,” says Harrison. “It could be a couple of glasses of wine a day, or you might simply reintroduce snack foods over time without realizing it.”

These are just a few of the processes that make losing weight so challenging.

“It can be very difficult for dieters, especially in the evening. All your systems are saying, ‘I want this, I need this.’ There has to be some way to override this in order for you to succeed,” says Harrison.

All this might leave you feeling that weight loss is impossible, but Harrison says there are ways to change your set point permanently.

Can I change my set point?

The set point can be changed with two essential ingredients: time and support.

Time: If you make changes over time and lose weight gradually, your body systems can adapt to the new circumstances.

Your systems will stop trying to return you to your previous “normal” weight. Your body will slowly understand that your new lower weight is permanent and try to keep you there instead.

“Your body will adjust to the new food level,” says Harrison. “Those systems like nutrient intake, hormone levels and neurotransmitters have had a chance to make slow adaptations, so the set point of your body can change.”

Fad diets rarely give your body this chance to adapt. Instead, they result in a yo-yo effect where you swing from losing weight to gaining weight and back again.

Support: Awareness is key when you are trying to make a change. If you notice your body trying to return you to your old weight, you may be able to take action to stop it.

“Many people may need the help of a therapist in order to do this,” says Harrison. “Therapy can help you understand how you view food and your weight in a way that is more involved than, ‘should I eat this or should I not.’”

A dietitian also can help you by offering support and guidance.

If you can become aware of when you are acting on cravings and understand the reasons, it can be easier to stop.

The takeaway message is that weight loss is different for every body. As you lose weight, your body may compensate in ways that are different from other people.

That means you might have to make changes that are different from someone else.

“If you make it only about eating fewer calories and doing more exercise, you will likely miss something that could be the key to maintaining a healthy weight for you,” says Harrison.

And perhaps the most important thing is to acknowledge that you’re in this for the long haul.

“Realize that it’s complicated. Body systems are at work, not necessarily against you, but they are influencing your weight,” Harrison says.