motivation central
LIFE
after
WEIGHT LOSS
(the truth no one tells you)
You finally lost the extra pounds; good for you! You’ve achieved what more than
half of all Americans are still struggling to do. But here’s something few trainers,
dietitians or magazines will tell you: After you reach your goal, you’re not done.
Complete your success story using these 7 easy steps. BY CAMILLE NOE PAGÁN
W
“I Did It!”
Heather Radi shed
80 pounds, but she
considers her body
a work in progress.
“Five months later,
I’m still toning my
tummy,” says the
27-year-old.
hen Heather Radi traded fast food for
a high-protein diet and regular exercise last year, she earned a slimmer
figure, more energy and lower blood
pressure in return. She also wound up
with a “stomach that looked like a deflated balloon,” says the
27-year-old publicist from Miami. “Don’t get me wrong, my
life is much better now that I’m 80 pounds lighter. But I wish
I’d known that losing it wasn’t the final step.”
The truth is, weight loss is a journey that continues well
past the day your goal number registers on the scale. “Whether
you lose 30 pounds or 200, you need to be mentally prepared
for what happens next,” says Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D., director of the Weight Management Center at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center. “The more ready you are, the better
you’ll be able to cope and keep the pounds off.” Find out what
FITNESSMAGAZINE.COM
really happens after you shed pounds—and what steps you
can take to get the figure and mind-set you want, for good.
STEP ONE: LEARN TO LOVE THE LIMELIGHT
“After I lost 120 pounds, I struggled with the comments I received,” says Pamela Monfredo, 32, a teacher in Melville, New
York. “Guys who had never glanced my way were flirting
with me; people held doors open; strangers complimented
me. After years of feeling invisible, I was overwhelmed.”
Being heavy—with the societal pressures and the selfblame that can go along with it—can do a number on a
person’s self-esteem, explains Martin Binks, Ph.D., director
of behavioral health at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in
Durham, North Carolina. And that doesn’t magically disappear when the weight is gone. The result: “Newly thin people
may feel unworthy of the fuss others make over their suc-
FITNESS MARCH 2008
29
motivation central
cess,” says Binks. The best way to coax yourself into feeling
worthy? Say thank you the next time you get a compliment,
even if you’re dying to tell the person she’s wrong. “If you give
credibility to the negative voice inside, then you’ll never fully
accept your achievement,” he says.
Consider seeing a cognitive-behavioral therapist, who
can help you shift your feelings and behaviors with an action
plan, if you’re still struggling after several months. Monfredo
did: “My therapist helped me stop worrying about how to respond to compliments. If I reacted awkwardly, it was a learning experience; I’d try to be more graceful next time. It was a
bumpy road, but today I’m finally comfortable.”
STEP TWO: TONE & TIGHTEN
“Based on the number of women who seek surgery to correct loose skin after weight loss [about 66,000 in 2006], it’s a
Center found that weight loss is one of the leading reasons
women choose to have breast lifts, reductions and/or implants. After breast surgery, abdominoplasty (aka a tummy
tuck) is most popular, followed by body lifts, which tighten
skin all over the body.
The downside: Surgery is a risk, it can take weeks to recover, and some scarring is inevitable. Plus, it’s pricey. The
average cost of a tummy tuck, for instance, is $5,000—and
insurance most likely won’t cover the cost.
STEP THREE: PUT THE SIZZLE BACK IN SEX
People who lost an average of 13 percent body fat over the
course of two years felt more attractive and enjoyed sex more
post-slim-down, according to a report from the Duke Diet
and Fitness Center. But while your libido may be sky-high
after weight loss, if you lose more than 40 pounds, estrogen
The safest (and cheapest) way to tighten your
skin is through strength training.
30 FITNESS MARCH 2008
levels may plummet, lowering lubrication and making intercourse uncomfortable. If it happens, don’t panic. “It’s usually temporary, especially if you’re not in menopause,” says
Rosemarie Schulman, R.N., coauthor of Tipping the Scales.
Use an over-the-counter lube until your natural lubrication
returns after three to six months.
STEP FOUR: STRENGTHEN YOUR BONDS
“The vast majority of women emerge from weight loss with at
least one altered relationship,” says Binks. “Some friends may
fear you’ll become different after losing weight; others may
feel threatened by your success or upset that you no longer
want to do unhealthy things, like skip the gym to hang out.”
Leslie Engel, 39, a marketing manager from Chicago,
learned that firsthand. “When I decided to lose weight five
years ago, one of my closest friends was clearly threatened,”
she says. “She criticized my diet plan and tried to upstage
me when people complimented my figure. It really hurt, and
eventually I let the relationship fade away. I realized she just
wanted me to be her fat friend.”
If this happens to you, “say something like, ‘I know my
weight loss is a big change, but I need your support. Do you
think that’s possible?,’ ” says Binks. If her attitude persists, it’s
time to reevaluate the relationship. “As we grow and change,
people fall in and out of our lives—and after weight loss is no
exception. That doesn’t mean you didn’t have a good friendship. It just means that its time has passed.”
STEP FIVE: REV YOUR METABOLISM
Your metabolism will temporarily slow after you lose weight.
“Your body is used to running on more calories,” explains
FITNESSMAGAZINE.COM
KICKA WITTE. STYLIST: DANA RAVICH. HAIR AND MAKEUP: STEVEN HOEPPNER FOR ARTISTSBYTIMOTHYPRIANO.COM.
prevalent issue,” says Richard D’Amico, M.D., president of the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Although sagginess is
more common in women 30 years old and up (elasticity decreases with age) and in those who lose 70 pounds or more,
younger women who drop as little as 20 pounds may be left
with extra skin, says Dr. D’Amico.
The safest (and cheapest) way to tighten your skin is
through strength training, says Lawrence J. Cheskin, M.D.,
director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center in
Baltimore. “Building muscles in virtually any area of the body
can ‘fill out’ the skin and give you a firmer appearance.”
“If you work your major muscle groups three or four times
a week for 60 to 90 minutes, you’ll likely see an improvement
within two months,” says Nicole Glor, a certified personal
trainer in New York City. To help women reach their goals,
she makes sure her clients lift the right weights. An Ohio
State University study found that nearly everyone without a
trainer or experience underestimates the amount of weight
they should be lifting, usually by 50 percent. Glor suggests
gradually increasing the heft of the dumbbells: Started with 8
pounds? Move to 10, then 15 after about a month.
If you remain unsatisfied with the firmness of your skin
after about nine months of regular, targeted strength training at your goal weight, and you lost 100 pounds or more,
you may want to mull over body-contouring surgery, which
removes and tightens excess skin. The latest numbers show
that 63 percent of thigh and upper-arm body-contouring surgeries in 2006 were performed on patients following drastic
weight loss; that’s an increase of about 30 percent in three
years, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
A recent survey from the National Women’s Health Resource
motivation central
Cheskin. “So when you’re eating less for weight loss, your
body begins to act as if it’s being short-changed. Your metabolism slows in an attempt to conserve fuel.” Offset the lull
by eating healthy snacks, like an apple with peanut butter, or
mini-meals every three or four hours. “You’ll ward off hunger, and because your body burns calories when digesting
food, your metabolism will be more consistently revved,”
Cheskin says. Don’t leave exercise out of the equation; it’s key
for burning more calories. Try our eight-week metabolismboosting workout on page 94.
STEP SIX: REVAMP YOUR MEDICINE CABINET
When you lose weight, you may also ease or reverse conditions like Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. If
you used to take medication for them, you may not need
to now, says Cheskin. (To know for sure, consult your physician throughout your weight-loss progress.) And because
you weigh less, you likely need lower doses for other drugs,
too. For example, a woman who weighs 200 pounds may
take two extra-strength Motrin to cope with knee pain—but
once she drops to 130 pounds, just one regular-strength pill
may do the trick. “While overdosing is rare, you still want to
be careful,” says Cheskin, “particularly if you take meds that
can affect the liver, heart or other organs, such as diabetes or
cholesterol drugs.”
STEP SEVEN: EMBRACE IMPERFECTION
“I always assumed the world would roll out the red carpet for
me if only I were thin. So when I finally shed those 40 extra
pounds I’d been carrying, I was truly surprised that my problems didn’t disappear,” says Nicole Corey, 29, an office manager in Chandler, Arizona. “Most people who are overweight
think being thin will drastically improve their lives,” says Ed
Abramson, Ph.D., author of Body Intelligence. “And it does in
many ways as far as better health and less social stigma.” But
it’s important to be realistic about what weight loss can’t do—
like fix a bad marriage or bolster a less-than-exciting career.
“If your reality and your expectations don’t mesh, it’s easy to
feel disillusioned and return to bad habits, like overeating, to
make yourself feel better,” Abramson says.
To avoid that setback, give yourself regular reminders—
verbally or in a journal—that you have the ability to change
aspects of your life that you dislike, no matter what you
weigh. “If there’s something you’re not happy about, such
as your job, start putting the effort into fixing it,” Abramson
says. “Taking concrete action will boost your self-worth.” It’s
also a good idea to take stock of why you decided to lose
weight in the first place, like Corey did: “After a few months
of stewing, it finally occurred to me that I slimmed down for
my health, not to get a better job or more friends. Life may
not be perfect now, but I’ve never felt better.” N