3 Things You Can Do to Stop Gaining Weight

Here are 3 things you can do to stop gaining weight. I believe for many reasons, this is probably the most important skill you can learn on your journey to lose weight and I’ll share those reasons below.

But here is one of my favorite reasons.

When you believe not gaining weight is a win, you don’t throw in the towel and quit doing what’s good for your body when you haven’t lost weight.

You see it for the success it is. I love thinking about all the weight I didn’t gain! Those are pounds you won’t have to take off later.

As much as many of you want to lose weight, that is not always as easy as people would like you to think.

In coaching I use the metaphor of a moving train to explain this. I grew up with trains in town and a moving train cannot just go from moving forward to backing up.

First the train has to come to a stop. The train slows down, the breaks go on, and it slows down gradually coming to a stop.

Only then, can it change directions and move backwards.

Our bodies are a little like that. Our bodies are designed to maintain our weight—this is a survival mechanism that we rarely take into account when we want to lose weight.

Even if we are so-called overweight, we have to stop the train first before we can lose weight.

Most of you have probably noticed that weight gain can gradually creep up a few ounces at a time. These ounces turn into pounds over the months and years.

At some point, we make the decision or our doctor recommends that we lose weight and we try to diet. But here’s the problem with diets. They are usually arbitrary plans of what you should and shouldn’t eat.

The problem with that is that they don’t take YOU into account. The way you live, the foods you like, and the amounts you need to eat.

And they for sure do not emphasize that learning to not gain and maintain are absolutely essential skills in the process.

In my practice the first step to losing weight is stopping that weight gain. This is so important.

Why is It Important to Not Gain Weight?

First of all, let me ask you this?

Why do 95% of diets fail with dieters gaining back all of their weight?

It’s because diets only teach us to lose following a plan that is not sustainable for life. We are willing to do it for a little while to lose weight but while on a diet, we’re waiting eagerly to start eating normal again.

“Normal eating” means just eating and staying a steady weight. This is critical to your long-term success. You have to eat in a way that is sustainable for you.

Here’s the second thing. It’s important to stop the weight gain because if you don’t understand WHY you are gaining weight, it is difficult to reverse it.

Not gaining weight is also a fairly easy goal to achieve. You’ll feel so much better and in control when your eating and weight gain are in control. When you are in control.

Yes, I know everyone thinks losing weight is a simple equation of eating too much and moving too little. When we try to do this without really understanding our bodies, we may initially lose the weight but it usually comes back.

And I’m going to add this: gaining weight year after year without really understanding why is kind of scary and definitely discouraging.

The good news is I’m giving you a way to stop the weight gain that is painless and fairly easy to do. This success will set you up with a great foundation to make tweaks to your actual diet that you can do because you’ve already done the most important thing.

My final reason for doing this first is because it sets you up for success. Sometimes it takes a while to convince your body to lose weight.

When you believe not gaining weight is a win, you don’t throw in the towel and quit doing what’s good for your body. You see it for the success it is. I love thinking about all the weight I didn’t gain! Those are pounds you won’t have to take off later.

How to Stop Gaining Weight

These are the three steps that every client of mine does to stop gaining weight and prepare their bodies to begin losing weight.

This process teaches you that you are more in control than you currently believe that you are. You can prove this to yourself and when you do that you begin to believe that you can do other things.

If you are on the trajectory to gain a couple of pounds every year from early adulthood on, this can really add up over time.

In my practice, I also see seasonal weight gain. Women tend to use holidays and vacations to let loose and actually expect to gain weight. I’ve had women tell me that they can gain 10 pounds between October and December.

So, not gaining weight, also means not having to lose that weight later. You’ll thank me later!

Here are the three steps to stop gaining weight. You might look at them and be incredulous that something so simple can change your life. But this will. These three steps alone are actually a huge part of healing your relationship with food.

• Eat real meals
• Don’t eat between meals
• Have one long 12+ hour fast per day (you’re sleeping through most of it; it’s really no big deal)

Eat Real Meals to Stop Gaining Weight

One of the things that you’re going to teach yourself is to nourish yourself by eating filling meals. I believe one of the biggest problems with diets is that they encourage us to eat too little at our meals.

I do encourage my clients to eat fairly clean, by which I mean, focus on the nutrients of your proteins, carbs, and healthy fats.  We need all three.

But even if you aren’t eating optimum food, by just keeping the foods you eat to mealtimes, you will most likely stabilize your weight.

Eating only at your meals really helps with natural portion control. By the time you get to your mealtime you will be naturally hungry. When you start a meal naturally hungry, you can also gauge when you are full and this is your cue to stop.

If you want a sweet treat—have it—but only with your meal.

Protein

We all know we need to eat more protein but it’s usually not a priority. I’m not going to give you any crazy rules here.

I eat meat and use meat and eggs as my primary protein source. I also supplement with protein/collagen powder I aim for 4 – 6 ounces per meal.

If you don’t eat meat, you’ll need to figure out how to get the equivalent amount of protein and stick to that. Not all, but some vegetarians struggle with weight because their protein sources are also carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates have such a bad reputation. But I want you to begin to see them as something not to be avoided but to be embraced.

When you eat enough carbohydrates you feel better, have more energy, and have an easier time sticking to your eating plan.

I recommend getting the bulk of your carbohydrates from vegetables and fruit in enough quantity that you feel good.

Very processed food is better avoided for the most part. This means that you aren’t having pizza, sandwiches, pasta, sweet treats, chips, etc. on a daily basis. But if you are, keep it to your mealtime.

But enjoy your potatoes, winter squash, carrots, and fruit to give you the necessary high carb foods that make eating more satisfying.

Add in lots of lower carb vegetables too like your salad vegetables, green beans, and zucchini.

If you are tracking your carbohydrates, you can use this to help guide in the amount. Most of my clients can eat around 100 – 150 carbs a day and not gain.

Fats and oils

Eating enough fat and oil is essential to feeling good and your overall health. I always try to get at least two TABLESPOONS with each meal.

My favorites are butter, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, avocados, coconut milk, mayonnaise, nuts, and olives. All of these oils and fats also have flavor that can complement what you eat and make it taste better. They can also be the base for sauces and dressings to make your food taste good.

Can I Eat Whatever I Want and Not Gain Weight?

To some extent, you can. Here are my caveats.

• Wait to eat until you feel some hunger
• Stop when you feel full
• No eating between meals
• Eat foods you like

You really can stabilize your weight without resorting to a diet!

Stop Snacking to Stop Gaining Weight

Unless you have a medical condition that requires snacking, I recommend eliminating all snacks. Yep, all of them.

If you are running around, as I did once, with an assortment of snacks, because you are afraid to not have them, let’s talk.

I was literally 20 pounds heavier when I was committed to having healthy snacks available all the time. At work, I would dig into my snacks whether I was hungry or not.

Snacks are one of the primary reasons that we are all heavier these days. Snacking can double the amount you eat in a day. You will be amazed at all you DON’T eat once you quit snacking.

And you won’t be hungry if you eat enough at meals!

Not snacking has a lot of benefits.

• You can retrain your hunger and fullness hormones so you know WHEN to eat and WHEN to stop,
• Life is easier when you aren’t planning for snacks as well as meals.
• Because you are eating enough, meals are enjoyable again.
• You can eat most things you want because you naturally don’t overeat.
• You effortlessly eat less each day.

Have One Long 12+ Hour Fast Each Day

This is another very simple way to manage your weight that requires almost no effort.

Our bodies really seem to do better when we are not eating around the clock. It’s beneficial to have a fast each day.

The word fast might sound a little scary but this one is really easy to incorporate into you life.

The easiest way to do this is to not eat anything after dinner. If you finish eating at 7PM, you don’t eat again until 7AM. That’s it.

I don’t put an artificial time on my fasts. I find 12 hours easy. If I’m not hungry, I might go a few more hours. But once I am hungry, I eat.

I first wrote about intermittent fasting six years ago. It is one of the ways that I easily maintain my weight.

Here are the benefits you can experience.

• It automatically lowers your calorie intake
• Decreases appetite
• Improves concentration (this was HUGE for me)
• It allows your body to digest your food and burn fat more efficiently
• Allows better blood sugar control
• Can reduce inflammation
• Helps with weight loss
• Can help regulate the hormones that direct fat metabolism, hunger, and satiety.

Intermittent fasting has so many benefits without any drawbacks. Be sure and eat a good dinner to hold you over. As time goes on, you’ll learn to eat the right amount for you and won’t overdo it.

What Comes After You Stop Gaining Weight?

When you do the things above that help you stop gaining weight, you might even lose some weight. That’s because these steps to stop gaining, are also the steps to lose weight.

To lose weight, you may be more intentional about the kinds of foods you eat. When you are going on vacation or over the holidays, you may eat a little more fun food.

But if you keep to these guidelines, you probably won’t gain weight at times, where in the past you may have gained weight.

My own weight stays in a very stable range following this. When I’m more intentional, it’s usually on the lower end of the range. If I’m eating lots of fun foods, it will be on the higher side.

But one thing is for sure. Learning to eat this way, while simple, can have profound results on your health and life.