How I maintain a healthy weight. - Vitality with Vicki

Hiking is a way that I maintain a healthy weight. Today I’m going in a different direction and writing about how I personally manage to maintain a healthy weight. Usually, I like to bring you information that I’ve come across over the years that will help you to live a healthier life. So I do a lot of research to make sure it’s scientific and not just my opinion. But sometimes it’s more helpful to hear about how other people do things. So I hope this can help you!

Since my mother and both of my grandmother’s died of cancer (and had several types), I’ve spent the past 13 years researching what I can do to avoid that fate. And I’ve learned that we have more control over it than we think. So I started changing many of my habits to have better health and prevent disease.

It made more sense to me to start making changes a little at a time early on rather than waiting for a disease and then trying to change everything later. I’ve always been a proactive person and I like being in control. That’s what we refer to as empowerment!

Now when I look back to my habits in my 20s and 30s, it’s easy to see that I’m a much healthier person! And that’s what I want to share with you; the things I’ve learned to do regularly that have improved my health and still help me to manage a healthy weight.

The strategies I use

The following is a list of the strategies I use to maintain my ideal weight. You’ll notice that most of them are really small things, but when you put them all together they make a big difference in overall health.

1) I always read food labels.

If you want to make better choices to control your weight, then you have to know what’s in your food. Labels may seem confusing at first, but you’ll figure them out with practice. Over time, you’ll start to realize when something is unusually high in fat, sugar, salt, etc. But you’ll also get educated on what ingredients you want and don’t want in your food and drinks.

2) I commit to regular exercise.

I was always physically active but it took me a while to get into the habit of doing a combo of cardio, strength training and stretching regularly. Now I don’t like to miss workouts because I know how much it helps. And there’s no fooling myself into thinking I can maintain a healthy weight without regular exercise!

I also have to say here that things like housework and gardening are NOT the “exercise” that I’m talking about. These are daily activities that are very good for you, but they’re not enough exercise.

Cardio involves breathing hard for 20 minutes or more and working up a good sweat. Strength training means lifting heavy things using ALL of your body’s muscles! And stretching should always be done after both. It’s structured and intentional, not random. And it should be hard, not easy!

3) I weigh myself weekly.

I go through phases with this but on average I weigh myself weekly to make sure my weight doesn’t get away from me. It’s hard to tell just by looking in the mirror that you’ve gained 5 lbs. And while that isn’t a lot of weight, it adds up over the years if you don’t lose it. So I’ve learned that it’s much easier to keep it under control.

A big part of being healthy and avoiding disease is maintaining a healthy body weight. The CDC gives a long list of diseases that are much more common in people who are overweight or obese. They include all-cause mortality, high blood pressure and cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis.

4) I limit my calorie intake with drinks.

I pay attention to how many calories are in the drinks I consume, including alcohol. All those tasty drinks do more damage than people like to admit! Drinking one soda, wine or mixed drink every day can add up to over 1,000 calories a week. That’s not a small amount.

So I gave up pop years ago, I’m only a one-alcoholic-drink kind of gal and I rarely buy those sweet coffee drinks (lattes, etc) that everyone loves so much. In fact, I can’t drink anything anymore without thinking of the calories they contain! I don’t need the extra calories, especially at my age. For me, they’re occasional treats.

5) I limit my junk eating.

I haven’t given up all junk food, but in order to maintain a healthy weight I have to keep it to a minimum. That means one dessert a day at most. For lunches, I usually eat a few prunes for “dessert”. They’re healthy and sweet enough to satisfy my cravings.

At dinner, we usually have some sort of dessert but nothing extravagant. Our desserts are also mostly homemade so I have control over what goes in them. And I rarely order desserts in restaurants because they’re ridiculously calorie-laden.

6) I try to make healthy choices when we do eat out.

This one is very hard so we try not to eat out on a regular basis. Looking at a menu, It’s really easy to be tempted by the junk that restaurants make so well! But in general, I try to avoid anything that’s fried (it really bothers me that french fries are a staple of the American diet!). And if calories are listed, I let that information guide my decision to a lower-calorie meal.

7) I try not to let my friend’s habits affect my choices.

This one is also very hard but it’s a must. Most of my friends and family eat the standard American diet and don’t worry much about the nutritional quality of food. So I can’t follow their example if I want to be healthy. I’m the one who brings the healthy dish to gatherings!

But in all honesty, I don’t hang out much with people who have habits that I don’t want to adopt. I try to find people who want to be healthy and do more with them. I also research restaurants and make suggestions on where to go out to eat with people so I know I’ll have a couple of healthy options.

8) I don’t follow Keto, Paleo, or any other specific “diet” plan.

I just try to eat more naturally, mostly plants (although I’m also not vegetarian or vegan), and I keep the sugar to a minimum. I’m a believer that diets don’t last because people really don’t want to give anything up for life. And calorie deficits are hard to commit to for long. It just makes people hangry!

It’s easier to work on adding healthier things to your diet rather than cutting things out. Because the more healthy things you eat, the less room you have for the junk!

What other people think about weight maintenance

People have always said to me “You don’t have to worry about your weight”. Implying that it’s just natural for me to be thin. But that’s not true at all, especially in my 50s! They just don’t see me (mostly) following these healthy habits on a daily basis. That’s how I manage my weight. It’s not luck!

Most people that maintain a healthy weight DO NOT eat like they did when they were kids. It’s all about being responsible, learning to limit yourself, and planning ahead. Adults are generally not as active as kids and can’t handle extra calories the way they used to.

A lot of people also seem to think they need to cut calories drastically to lose weight. But if you switch to a healthier, and more natural diet, you can eat a lot more without taking in as many calories. I love to eat and I don’t want to feel hungry. So I never count calories. I just eat a mostly plant-based diet and make my food at home.

My final thoughts

My primary goal is to be healthy. That makes it easier for me to stick to these habits which in turn help me to maintain a healthy weight. If I made it just about how I looked then it would get old fast.

I want to feed my body what it needs to run well and feel good. I want to keep it strong with exercise so it doesn’t wear out early. I really want to avoid the big diseases that plague most Americans. And I want to be involved in life to the fullest extent for as long as I can. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines.

These are the reasons I work on maintaining a healthy weight. These strategies simplify it for me. And because I’ve practiced these habits for so long they don’t seem that difficult anymore. It’s natural for me to make these choices.

Everybody has their own way, but this is what works for me. Just remember that there is no perfection when it comes to health. I have faith that if you keep trying to do better you’ll keep improving.

Let me know in the comments below if there are other strategies you use to maintain a healthy weight.