Anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows that holding on to a good thing is much more difficult – and rewarding – then attaining it. What starts as a crush becomes a series of dates and, eventually, if you play your cards right, a relationship. This is perhaps the point where you are most happy. But as your excitement starts to wane, you have to be careful to put the same amount of effort toward making your partner happy as you did early on. Otherwise, you are in danger of losing a wonderful thing, which you once worked so hard for. And getting it back is always harder than getting it the first time.

Although we are not experts on relationships, at Bariatric Direct, we do know that healthy relationships in this sense do parallel a healthy person. Too often, people who are motivated to lose a lot of weight and work ceaselessly to do so, take their goal weight for granted once they achieve it. Then the pounds come crawling back. And what is the point of losing weight if it is not going to stay off?

Here are a few major health conditions that you have a better chance of avoiding if you not only get fit, but stay that way:

• Heart Disease
• High Blood Pressure
• Stroke
• Gout
• Diabetes
• Respiratory Problems
• Cancer
• Osteoarthritis
• Cardiovascular Disease

So, while your calorie intake may increase a little bit when you are no longer in the weight reduction phase of your diet and you can afford at times to be more liberal with your food choices, to free yourself completely of health-conscience decisions would be to put yourself back at risk of many potential ailments. It would be the equivalent of doing nothing to please your spouse because he or she has already chosen to be with you – what’s done can be undone.

This will likely come as no surprise to anyone who has ever walked past the tabloids in the checkout aisle of a supermarket. Seemingly every day another celebrity who had shocked the world by losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time has gained it all back just as quickly. If it could happen to them, it could happen to anyone.

For this very reason, Bariatric Direct has designed a three step program, the last of which aims to prepare those who have successfully lost weight during their diet to simply maintain their goal weight. It takes place over an 18-month long span, during which one faces all types of temptation and, with coaching and support from our nutritional specialists, overcomes them. This prolonged period of self control hardens a person’s will and prepares him or her to face these challenges alone.

If you have recently dieted and have reached your goal weight, congratulations! Now, if you feel that you may be in danger of letting this major accomplishment slip away from you, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 205-752-5454 for more information on what you can do to prevent that from happening.

Your health, like everything else you have, is something you’ve earned – don’t let it get away without a fight!

Lori Walker is a Bariatric Specialist for Bariatric Direct, with five years of experience in nutrition, health, and dieting. She loves helping her clients become healthy one meal at a time!