A Guide to Online Coaching for Weight Loss: Will I Gain Weight If I Stop Dieting?

Every year, we make resolutions to eat healthier and lose weight. However, diets can sometimes not work, and when they don’t, we end up feeling emotionally worse than when we started.

According to UNC Health psychologist Christine M. Peat, PhD, 95 percent of diets tend to fail over time. This means there's a chance that even if we lose a small amount of weight over a short period of time following some online coaching for weight loss, it can be harder to maintain it in the long run. This makes us end up feeling mentally and physically frustrated.

However, any online coach for weight loss will say that quitting diets and learning to understand our body's true needs can actually result in long-term weight loss. Additionally, we begin to establish a healthy relationship with food, which makes us feel good without feeling the pressure to lose weight.

What Happens to Our Bodies When We Diet?

Dieting is perceived as a stress by our bodies because eating fewer calories than required pushes our body beyond its comfort zone. The percentage of body fat (or weight) at which the body feels most at ease is also tested, so again, the body can feel some stress!

As any reliable weight loss coach online will tell you, it is hard to find the balance between what we ourselves feel comfortable with (weight wise) and what our body itself feels comfortable with.

To return to that wonderful comfort zone, what is known as the "body-fat set point", our bodies begin to send messages to our brains telling us to stop dieting. The two main messages it sends to the brain are that it is tired and hungry.

Dieting creates a caloric deficit in our body and to compensate for the loss, in turn, the body conserves energy by reducing the number of calories we burn daily.

To make things worse, continuous dieting brings about a drastic change in the levels of our hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin. The more consistently we consume fewer calories than we burn, following any online coach for weight loss, the more our hunger hormones notify our brains that we're “starving”.

At Coach Me Slim and Trim, our online coach for weight loss, Mr.Erak Simsson, is a former physical training instructor of the Armed Forces with 20 years of experience. He is the best online weight loss coach in the UK, who can assist anyone in their weight loss journey not through dieting but by building an all round weight loss programme that is tailored to meet everyone’s specific needs. Our programmes involve mindset coaching, bespoke meal planning (that includes a wide variety of real food) and effective home exercises.

How can you stop dieting and maintain a healthy weight simultaneously?

As per our expert online coach for weight loss at Coach Me Slim and Trim, the following habits can help you maintain a healthy weight even if you stop dieting:

1.   Concentrate on building healthy habits rather than numbers on the scale

Health cannot be measured by a number on a scale or by the size of your trousers or dress. To be healthy, you need the right amount and quality of sleep, regular engagement in physical activities and need to consume food that nourishes our body and soul.  While following online coaching for weight loss from Coach Me Slim and Trim, concentrate on increasing such healthy behaviours rather than focusing on a specific number on the scale.

If you do not sleep well or stay up late scrolling on your mobile phone, our weight loss coach online advises to follow these steps, which may help you improve your sleep hygiene:

• Reducing screen time before bed: Turning off electronics at least an hour before bedtime is a great way to prepare ourselves for sleeping.
• Sticking to a sleep schedule: This means going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps to reset our sleep cycle, improving the quality of sleep
• Creating a bedtime routine: This helps our brain to relax and recognise that it is time to sleep. Taking a warm bath, brushing our teeth, reading for 30 minutes before turning off the lights and repeating these every evening is a great way to build a bedtime routine. We can also include things we enjoy doing to help us stay consistent.
  
  

Quality sleep is critical for your health, and a lack of sleep may cause you to gain weight!

Our online coach for weight loss advises to focus on the types of foods you eat whilst following the other steps provided in our online coaching for weight loss programmes. As well as this, focus on the kind of relationship you build with food. For some of us that have the tendency of skipping breakfast, consuming a well-balanced breakfast is the way to move forward. Building more manageable, measurable, and sustainable goals, rather than attempting to reduce the number on the scale is more beneficial for anyone receiving online coaching for weight loss. Moreover, consuming fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins in the right amount and keeping an eye on your salt and sugar intake, can help you stay fit and manage weight at the same time.

Also, you should avoid labelling foods as good or bad. According to our online coach for weight loss, by categorising foods as good or bad, you are simply creating an unhealthy relationship with your food.

2.   Listen to the body

Intuitive eating is one method for changing your eating habits without dieting. This method teaches you to eat whenever you feel hungry and as per your body's requirements instead of eating at the same time every day. In addition to being aware of hunger cues, you will also begin to consider what it's like to be full and how certain foods make your body feel.

Any decent online coach for weight loss would say that intuitive eating is important, as the more we learn to listen to our body and communicate with it in order to understand what hunger feels like, the more we can determine how hungry we feel and then give ourselves unconditional permission to eat.

While intuitive eating can help you to achieve healthy habits, it is not easy, particularly because our culture does not teach us how to do so. In this fast era, we're constantly multitasking. When we eat while watching TV or responding to emails, we fail to understand when to stop, which often leads to overeating.

While following any online coaching for weight loss programme, becoming more mindful of the food you are consuming and your body's requirements is the best way to avoid overeating. This means that while eating, you should only focus on the food and the company rather than multitasking.

Sometimes it is best to put down the fork, focus on how you feel and understand what your body is trying to tell you. Is it telling you that you are still hungry, or do you feel full?

We all need to slow down at mealtime to accomplish this. According to experts, it takes our brain 20 minutes to realise we're full.

If you slow down and go through the whole process, you might discover that some foods that you thought were your favourites no longer are, or you may also take into account how you feel when you can enjoy and savour some of your favourite items. So, it's important to allow yourself to eat your favourite foods and take time to relish them, even when you are following the advice of an online coach for weight loss.

3.    Establish attainable objectives

While making food resolutions, you have to make sure they are reasonable and attainable.

When you begin a year with the intention of creating a completely new version of yourself, by losing all of the excess weight (with the help of a weight loss coach online), you may end up feeling guilty when you fail to attain the desired goal. Thus, it is extremely important for you to consider reasonable, attainable goals while following online coaching for weight loss so that you can witness some success when focusing on healthy behaviours.

8 positive changes you may witness when you discontinue dieting:

1. Improved metabolism:

According to research, cutting down calories too severely can slow our metabolism, which causes us to either gain weight or reach a weight loss plateau. Our body may begin to conserve energy by burning fewer calories. By consuming a healthy amount of calories (rather than going through an extreme calorie cut) and resuming healthy eating habits, you give your body the opportunity to relearn how to use fuel more efficiently. When you are going through online coaching for weight loss, you usually learn to give your body the opportunity to relearn how to use fuel more efficiently.

2. You relieve your body of stress:

A restricted diet goes against our body's natural tendency to control our nutritional requirements. This can result in increased stress and cravings. Stopping a diet and eliminating deprivation after consulting our weight loss coach online can help you think about food less and consider other fuel options.

3. Have fewer cravings:

Many diets force us to rely on fake foods, such as meal replacements or pre-packaged meals, to keep us satisfied.  However, this can leave you feeling unsatisfied and make you crave more. Eating real ingredients while having some online coaching for weight loss can help you feel fuller for longer and, thus, eat less.

4. You might like vegetables more:

When you stop restricting yourself from eating certain foods, you may begin to crave more nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Not forcing yourself to eat these foods can make them more appealing and tasty.

5. Paying attention to your body:

You can learn to listen to your body and trust your instincts as you stop dieting and find freedom in your eating. Instead of following a strict meal plan from any random weight loss coach online, try practising mindful eating and portion control.

6. Living in the present moment:

Dieting requires huge mental and emotional strength when it comes to sticking to a meal plan. Many people plan their lives around their diet, sometimes at the expense of their social lives. Stopping a diet after discussing it with our online coach for weight loss can be liberating, allowing you to appreciate the present moment.

7. Enjoy more options:

Instead of only eating diet-approved foods, you can take a look at (and enjoy) a wider variety of foods. You may surprisingly discover that you enjoy eating more when you appreciate the food's taste, texture, and sometimes even colour!

8. Lose weight without even trying:

Having a positive relationship with food and eating nutritious foods can help you lose weight without even trying. When you stop hyper focusing on counting calories, worrying about deprivation, or battling the scale every morning, you can begin to free your mind a little more. This then enables you to stay fit and maintain a healthy weight with the tips that an online coaching for weight loss programme provides!

Conclusion

Following a strict diet might help you lose some weight temporarily, but it is not the best way to manage weight in the long run. When we stop dieting and develop a more healthy relationship with our food, it nurtures both our body and soul. Eating a nutritious diet and not indulging in overeating improves our mood and digestion and helps us to manage weight more easily.

At Coach Me Slim and Trim, our personal trainer aims to make your weight loss journey simple and more enjoyable with a focus on improving your overall well-being. We have helped hundreds of clients tackle issues regarding their weight and have subsequently helped them live a more healthy life. So, if you are looking for an online coach for weight loss UK, visit our website today.