I’m going to start by setting your expectations correctly. Spoiler alert: It will at first be very hard to like what I’m about to tell you.

We have not been taught what to do after weight loss, and we don’t know what to expect, except that we’ll feel better, have more fun, and maybe post cute selfies. But the truth is that much harder work begins after the weight is lost. 

Keeping the weight off requires consistency. Tenacity. Bull-headedness.

Unfortunately, ease and speed are two cultural values which now contribute to a certain mythology around weight loss: that there are fast and easy fixes. But you know it wasn’t easy even if you had the support of weight loss drugs. The drugs offer phenomenal help, and may even feel miraculous. 

But this doesn’t mean losing weight took no effort at all. You still had to go through it. And now, keeping it off? Holding onto your hard-won victory? This is where the rubber meets the road.

Losing weight is like getting halfway there. Keeping it off is what will “solve the obesity crisis.” Diets and drugs ultimately aren’t the final answer, because they don’t teach the skills and behaviors needed to maintain a new weight over months and years. Nor do they address the emotional factors that derail our best intentions and lead us to eat when we don’t need to. And, did your diet drug prepare you for the 3 specific emotional issues uniquely faced by people who successfully lose a noticeable amount of weight? 

I can help you prepare, and I do, in my audio course on weight maintenance: ShapeShifter: The Emotional and Energetic Method for Maintaining Your Ideal Weight.

Most people don’t have any idea that there are unique issues people who lose a lot of weight have to confront. They haven’t ever experienced these issues for themselves. Frankly, many weight loss doctors, experts, and influencers haven’t ever lost significant weight, and maintained the loss long enough to be giving anyone else credible advice about how to do it. Just saying.

So, do you want to hear the truth? There’s no finish line.  

You can take it from me because I’ve maintained a 40-lb weight loss for over 30 years. Drug-free, before weight-loss drugs were even an option. I had to learn maintenance, too. It’s a lot harder without the insight. Which is why I’m writing about this. (Not AI. Never AI on this website.)

Most people feel overconfident after their diet. They’re unaware of key weight maintenance behaviors. They believe they’ll stay on track without following a specific food plan. Even more important, people aren’t at all prepared to deal with emotionally-driven eating. 

Once weight maintenance becomes tedious or a person feels stressed or deprived, they may give in to something tempting. Once. Twice. And so on. And then who wants to get on the scale and take stock? It’s too depressing. Eventually, people who lost weight might just throw in the towel, feeling frustrated, even deceived. Over time, the weight comes back. And now they’re left feeling demoralized, defeated, and demotivated.

Weight re-gain leaves behind a terrible false belief:  “I can’t do it.” Or, “I can’t do it without weight-loss medication.”

People, this is a lie.

Weight maintenance starts out like a hard, uphill slog. But, thankfully, this changes! 

When? Once you know which habits are the most impactful. Once you learn to prevent, analyze, and respond to emotional drivers of unwanted eating. Once you accept the long-range nature of weight maintenance. Learn these things and more, in ShapeShifter.

Realistic expectations, mental and emotional preparedness, and a willingness and patience to play the long game …these are powerful weapons. Make them yours, and they will make all the difference.