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Winning at losing: Keep the weight off

Now that you've lost the weight, maintaining is a piece of cake, right?

Deneen Young, before and after.
Deneen Young, before and after.Read more

NOW THAT you've lost the weight, maintaining is a piece of cake, right?

Wrong!

Perhaps far greater than the arduous task of losing weight is the lifelong task of keeping every lost pound gone, for good!

When it comes to the weight-loss wars, losing the weight is only half the battle. So, that may mean that weight loss and weight management require different approaches.

Which brings me to Philadelphia's own Deneen Young. Incredibly, this 49-year-old, 5-foot dynamo lost an amazing 146 pounds while simultaneously juggling a demanding career and the never-ending responsibilities of a wife and mother.

Unlike your favorite weight-loss reality-show diva, Young didn't have the privilege of living in a bubble for nine months, never having to worry about life's responsibilities. That alone is worthy of note.

It's been three years since she began her weight-loss journey, and when I asked her recently if it was easier now, she quickly replied: "Actually, this is the hard part. Maintaining is the hardest, because I have to make a conscious decision to always make the right choice. I'm human, and if I'm stressed . . . I could fall off in a second."

According to statistics, not only is Young right, but she is also a member of an elite group, the 10 percent of people who successfully lose weight and are able to maintain it.

Why, you may ask, is it so darn difficult to maintain weight loss? The simple answer is, our bodies are hardwired to fight off any and all threats; and our bodies are preprogrammed to interpret decreases in caloric intake as starvation. Then, to add insult to injury, as you lose weight your base metabolic rate is lowered, too. Translation: The less you weigh, the fewer calories your body needs to maintain your weight.

But Young implemented the following three strategies to stay on top:

Exercise daily. "For me and my body, I need to work out six days a week," Young said. In addition to several weekly weight-training sessions with her trainer, Young also leads walking, running and spinning groups. And this fall, she is preparing for her first marathon run.

So let it be written, so let it be done! This is one of the healthy-lifestyle commandments that Young now lives by. "I write out my weekly schedule and what I'm going to do. If I don't schedule it, I have more of a chance of falling off," she confessed. In addition to writing down her professional, personal and workout schedules, she also writes out her weekly meal plans, and tracks and records her daily caloric intake.

Caloric budget. "I'm real with myself. I have to count my calories and weigh my food," Young said. Faithful and on top of her game, Young averages 1,200 to 1,300 calories a day. That's a far cry from the 4,000 calories a day she likely ate to maintain her prior weight.

That is also significantly less than the calories consumed by the average American, around 3,000 calories per day.