Unfortunately, many people after working so hard to lose weight end up gaining it back again, either because they stopped the routine they set or other reasons. Losing weight is hard, it requires a lot of sacrifice and consistency, and when a person has achieved their goal, regularity is needed still to keep the weight they wanted. Arnoldine Urukundo, a fitness expert and co-founder of Igitree, explains that to gain or lose weight is about a person’s food expenditure, people tend to lose weight when they are in a caloric deficit, meaning when they burn more than they consume or vice versa. “You need to be in a caloric surplus to gain weight or to lose it, that is how it works leaving out other factors like genetics, age, sex, environment, and level of fitness,” she says. Urukundo adds that the reason why some people lose weight so quickly and it bounces back fast is because losing real fats or weight doesn’t just happen overnight and when a person doesn’t keep up with the diets they had when they wanted to lose weight, their body is incapable of keeping the weight because it is not supported anymore, and therefore, they bounce back to the weight they had before. According to Bruno Nduwayezu, a basketball referee, when people reach their body goals, they tend to stop the consistency and then end up going back to square one. After reaching the weight they want they don’t necessarily feel the need to keep on working out like they used to. They decrease the workouts but keep doing other things that contribute to weight gain. “After losing weight, the metabolism slows down, which causes you to burn more calories than expected. This can happen because your brain senses your fat stores are low and sends signals to stock up, so that is why it is very easy to gain back that weight when you stop working out or dieting, because the brain senses again that the metabolism is not being aided like before. Still, in reality, you don’t have to keep on with the same workout routine you only need to keep the spirit that helps your weight to remain where you want it,” Nduwayezu says. How to maintain weight “For a person to lose and maintain weight, I suggest they follow a proper diet and maintain eating healthy as a routine not for a specific time, along with physical activities, so that they can burn excessive fats and gain some muscle. They also should eat as they consume (physical activities) and eat more protein to maintain, repair, and grow their muscles, but also keep balanced nutritional meals composed of macronutrients and micronutrients,” Urukundo suggests. According to Nduwayezu, to keep and maintain the weight, a person needs to keep on working out. They can reduce the hours they work out for but keep the days, and also drink at least two litres of water per day as it helps in burning fats. “Resting enough also helps the body to maintain weight, for adults at least resting for seven to eight hours helps bodyweight, and also eating smaller meals that don’t contain fats is essential,” he says. Urukundo adds that hormonal check-ups and proper workout programmes for a person’s specific goal and lifestyle will help one lose extra weight and stay healthy.
