It’s rewarding to look back after a while and see that your strong commitment to exercise and healthy lifestyle habits helped you reach your ideal weight. Your gym routine is no longer as daunting as it was before and now you’re lifting more and more weights. As for food, you’ve stopped eating hamburgers and it’s clearly noticeable in the way your body looks.

These are the things that happen when you reach your ideal weight. Get ready for the benefits and challenges of this new stage in life!

1. First things first: Celebrate!

Reaching your ideal weight is an accomplishment because you’ve met your goal. What a joy it is to see that your efforts were worthwhile. Now it’s time to celebrate. But don’t go and throw everything to the wind. All that you’ve accomplished can be lost in a simple celebration.

To give celebrate having met your goal in an original way, you can do the following:

You can prepare different healthy snacks to celebrating having reached your ideal weight. 

• Show everyone how happy you are is to wear that dress you left in the back of the closet that you can finally fit into again.
• You can also sign up for that dance class you didn’t think you could do before.
• You can organize a small party with your loved ones. However, don’t serve cake or empty carbs. You should choose chopped fruit, desserts made with yogurt, and other similar options.

We recommend you read: Tips for Different Types of Body Fat

2. Once you join the club, you can’t leave

Once you make the decision to have better eating habits, you can’t quit. People who have succeeded in reaching their ideal weight are those who tried to eat in a well-balanced manner. They need to continue to eat well in order to avoid going back to their prior weight.

However, to be a part of this great group of people who are successful throughout the year, there’s something very important that you should know: You must erase the word “diet” from your mind. Once you eliminate that word, fill that space in your mind with a healthy lifestyle. Ultimately it’s not a diet, but rather a set of good habits that will be the key to maintaining your ideal weight forever.

One thing we suggest in order to keep from regaining the weight you’ve lost is including caffeine in your diet on a regular basis.

Several studies have shown that this substance can help you burn fat within the framework of a hypocaloric diet. At the same time, it helps you maintain this loss over time. One of two cups of coffee per day can give you the caffeine you need, as well as many antioxidants.

3. You can enjoy delicious foods once you reach your ideal weight

Now that you understand that this is al there shouldn’t be certain prohibited things to keep you from being happy. The most uncomfortable thing about a diet is that you’re definitely not allowed to have many different foods. However, you’re not a robot.

You may have cravings, and you also may feel sad or get frustrated when you can’t have something. This makes the prohibited item even more appealing.

It’s okay to give yourself the freedom to eat a dessert or a delicious baguette. You don’t even need to limit yourself to once a month. Once a week won’t harm you.

Remember once again that this is a lifestyle, but don’t go overboard. You can include certain protocols like intermittent fasting in order to allow yourself certain treats without losing your energy balance. These kinds of nutritional patterns work very well when it comes to losing weight, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition ESPEN.

You can also try some healthy alternatives that remind you of the things you miss: Homemade nut bread instead of store-bought, banana chips, sweets made with gelatin, etc.

4. Weigh yourself more often

There’s no need to obsess and weigh yourself every day. However, try to do so once a week or twice a month. Even more so when you’ve had a good workout to reach that ideal weight and suddenly it’s lower than you expected.

When you weigh yourself you can clearly see your evolution. You’ll need to keep a notebook and write down the changes. For example, if one week you’ve added a certain food and you notice some weight gain, you can ask your nutritionist if there’s a relationship.

Also, maybe after exercising for many hours, you feel weak and your weight has gone down. In this case, you need to evaluate whether something isn’t working for you with your trainer and nutritionist.

5. You have loose skin under your arms

This may not be your fault. Lots of people are genetically disposed to this annoyance. It also depends on how much weight you lost. Regardless, your skin doesn’t bounce back to where it was but instead hangs down in an unsightly way.

To considerably eliminate excess skin, you can follow a proper exercise routine that works the specific problem areas, increasing muscle mass. To do so, it’s best to consult with a trainer that can tell you what exercises are best for you.

See also: Five Yoga Exercises For Weight Loss

Welcome to this new stage of your life

Our environment, family, friendships, and the media have a great impact on the image we have of ourselves.