A Comprehensive Guide to Achieving Your Ideal Body Weight

Weight management involves using sustainable techniques, behaviors, and processes to achieve and maintain a weight and body composition that's right for you. Learning how to manage your weight is a key strategy for staying fit and lowering your risk of developing certain health conditions.

Research suggests that more than one in three adults in the United States lives with obesity or is overweight, while about 17% of children are affected. These conditions have been linked to increased risk of other health concerns, such as heart diseases, diabetes, and fatty liver diseases.

Weight management—whether you need to lose, gain, or maintain your weight—isn't always easy, but there are several strategies you can implement to reach your goals successfully.

How To Manage Weight

To manage weight effectively, it’s helpful to understand what causes weight gain in the first place. Weight gain primarily occurs when the amount of energy you take in (in the form of calories from food) exceeds the amount of energy your body expends (such as through exercise or daily activities). The body ultimately stores the excess energy as fat, which can often increase the number you see on the scale. 

However, your diet isn't the only thing that dictates your weight. Other factors can also influence weight gain, such as genetics, the state of the gut microbiome (all the microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, in your gastrointestinal system), and environmental and behavioral factors.

In other words, weight gain can be a bit more complex than simply the direct relationship between energy intake and expenditure. Therefore, a weight management strategy that works for one person may not work for another. 

Finding what works for you can sometimes be a challenge. It's important to stay patient with yourself, implement the following strategies, and work with your healthcare provider for additional support in reaching your goals.

Get Physically Active

One way to ensure your energy expenditure matches your energy intake is by being more physically active and exercising. This way, your body burns off excess calories instead of storing them as fat.

Experts currently recommend adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity weekly. This includes aerobic activity (e.g., cycling and running) and anaerobic activities (e.g., weight lifting). Physical activity helps manage weight and can improve your focus and mood, among other benefits.

Eat Nutritious Foods

What you eat often matters just as much as how much you move your body. In some cases, physical activity alone may be less effective in reaching your goals unless paired with a proper eating plan.  

To achieve and maintain a weight that's right for you, your diet may include nutrient-dense, low-calorie, and fiber-rich foods to keep you satiated and reduce inflammation. Experts also recommend limiting refined or ultra-processed foods and drinks, particularly if your goal is to improve body composition, encourage weight loss, or reduce your risk of health conditions.

It's best to work with your healthcare provider or nutritionist for an individualized eating plan fit for your needs. However, these foods can be a starting point of what to add (or limit) in your next meal.

Try Portion Control

Portion control is also helpful for weight management. However, this is not the same as highly restrictive dieting or starvation. The goal should be to limit your food energy intake to just as much as your body needs while still enjoying your meals and getting the right nutrients from them. 

A registered dietitian (RD) or registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) can help you determine the right amount of food suitable for your health and body's needs. MyPlate recommends filling half of your plate with fruits and vegetables, a quarter with carbohydrates (e.g., whole grains), and the final quarter with lean proteins, such as chicken or tofu.

Drink More Water

Drinking water can support weight maintenance by boosting metabolism, facilitating exercise, aiding digestion, and curbing appetite. It’s also a calorie-free way to hydrate.

Hitting your hydration goals daily can sometimes be a challenge. Getting a reusable water bottle to take with you can be a helpful way to remind yourself to drink enough water throughout the day.

Avoid Late Meals

Studies that assessed the effects of meal timing on weight have linked late-night eating (such as eating just before bed or snacking after dinner) to a higher risk of gaining weight.

There are several explanations for this, including reduced energy expenditure at night, circadian misalignment (when your sleep cycle falls out of rhythm), and increased appetite the following day.

Consider Intermittent Fasting

Research suggests intermittent fasting (IF), which involves alternating between periods of eating and periods of fasting, can help with weight management. One study that surveyed 147 people practicing IF for 1-6 months found that about 94.5% of the survey respondents lost weight. The average weight loss ranged from 1 kilogram (kg), or 2.2 pounds (lbs), to 10 kg, or 22 pounds. 

You can practice different types of IF, such as fasting all day once, twice per week, time-restricted feeding (eating within an 8-hour eating window and fasting for the other 16 hours).

While studies suggest that this method is effective, it’s advisable to speak with your healthcare provider before trying out intermittent fasting to be sure it won’t negatively affect your health.

Manage Stress

Stress is a risk factor for several underlying health conditions, including obesity. Everyone experiences some stress from time to time, but excessive stress can cause hormonal changes, food cravings, and changes to your thinking or decision-making abilities. These factors can encourage you to eat more than your body needs and raise the risk of unintended weight gain.

Consider strategies like yoga, journaling, and spending time in nature to help manage stress.

Set a Regular Sleep Schedule

How well you sleep and how long you're getting rest are also crucial to weight management. Experts recommend getting anywhere from 7-9 hours of sleep to help your body recover, aid digestion, and reduce stress levels.

Sleep deprivation (or not getting enough sleep) can raise your risk of health concerns like obesity, high blood pressure, and depression. 

What Makes a Weight Management Plan Successful?

To ensure you get the best out of your weight management plan, here are some tips for success:

• Make sure it’s sustainable: Your weight management strategies should include things you can adopt for the long term and incorporate into your lifestyle. For instance, instead of going for intense workouts that you cannot keep up with, stick to moderate exercises that you can sustain for a long time (and that are fun for you).
• Keep track: Log data like your current body type and weight and the body type or weight you're aiming for. This may include tracking the number on the weighing scale, measuring your waist, calculating your body fat percentage at your provider's office, counting the calories you consume, or writing down exercises you've completed and for how long. These measures can help keep you accountable and encourage you to reflect on how your progress.
• Balance your food choices: You don’t need to be overly restrictive in terms of what you eat. Your diet can still include some of the foods you enjoy or delicious and nutritious alternatives. While eating a diet that includes nutrient-dense foods is important, it's still key to indulge in other foods from time to time.
  

How To Put Together a Weight Management Plan

Consider the popular acronym SMART when putting together a weight management plan. This strategy is often used in goal-setting and can be applied to your health, too. A SMART weight management plan is specific (S), measurable (M), achievable (A), realistic (R), and time-bound (T).

• Specific: Your weight management plan goals should be as specific as possible. Whether you want to lose 10 lbs or kgs, maintain your weight, or work out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, state these goals clearly.
• Measurable: The progress of your weight management plan should be measurable, and you should have a way to keep track. Some tracking ideas include using a watch timer to measure the duration of your workout sessions, adding your workouts to fitness tracking apps, measuring your weight on a scale, or utilizing a tape measure to check the inches on your waistline.
• Achievable: While optimism has its benefits, there is no point in including goals or strategies that are not attainable or sustainable in your weight management plan. You should have the time, resources, and support needed to achieve your weight management goals. 
• Realistic: Set up a realistic weight management plan. For instance, saying you want to lose 20 pounds in a month may not be realistic or healthy, especially considering that health experts recommend losing no more than two pounds per week. Start slow and gain momentum on your goals as you make more progress.
• Time-bound: Consider the duration for each goal in your weight management plan. If possible, set a deadline and use easy-to-track, short-term milestones. It's also important to reward yourself when you reach these milestones. This can help motivate you in your weight management journey.
  

Tips for Implementing a Weight Management Plan

Weight management isn't easy, and sticking to your goals takes time, commitment, and hard work. However, these tips can help you implement your plan into your daily life:

• Speak to your healthcare provider about what your ideal weight looks like and what recommendations they have to make the necessary
• Ask your healthcare team how to calculate your body's daily caloric needs
• Find nutritious and easy recipes that you will enjoy eating
• Set your goals using the SMART strategy, and track your progress daily or weekly using tools like journals or online tracking apps
• Create time for a regular exercise routine that you find fun
• Reframe your weight management plan as a permanent lifestyle change rather than a quick strategy to lose weight
• Don’t be hard on yourself, and understand that setbacks may happen, but they are part of the process
  

How To Stick to a Weight Management Plan

There are days when you may not be as motivated or eager to stick with your weight management efforts—and that's okay. Here are some tips that can help you stay committed and successful in your goals:

• Plan and prep your meals beforehand so it isn’t overwhelming to figure out what you will eat each day
• Keep a journal to track your progress, which helps you see how far you have come
• Reward your progress and celebrate milestones to keep you motivated on your journey
• Include your family and friends as part of your support network, as they can help you stay on track by encouraging you
• Incorporate feel-good workouts and delicious, but nutritious foods into your daily life
  

When To Seek Support

Weight management can be challenging, but you don’t need to do it alone. If you find that you haven’t lost weight or find it difficult to maintain your weight, consider seeking help from your provider, or several.

A healthcare team that includes your primary care provider, registered dietitian (RD) or registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), therapist, and fitness expert can support and guide your journey and help you meet your goals.

A Quick Review

Weight management is an important aspect of healthy living, as it can lower your risk of developing certain health conditions and improve your overall quality of life. Some effective weight management practices include being physically active, eating nutritious foods, and managing stress.

Sticking to a weight management plan is difficult. Involving your loved ones, talking to your healthcare team, and celebrating your milestones can help keep you motivated.