Got to the right weight?

It has been said a million times that dieting isn't the end of the story. Once you've reached your target weight you'll have an even bigger challenge - staying there.

Maintaining weight at your desired level can be tricky - it is what most dieters have toruble with.

There can be several main reasons for this

• You've achieved your goal and go out to celebrate and instantly forget everything you've done for the last however many months of your diet
• You have been restricting yourself for months of your favourite foods and you just have to eat them all now.
• You have been using a fad diet which isn't a proper way of eating
• Your diet has been a struggle. It's over once you get to target weight.

Your diet shouldn't be restrictive as that's when cravings are hard to find, and it should have become a way of life. A restrictive, hard to follow complicated diet will be one you want to drop the minute the weight is gone. but that would mean you've learnt nothing from it as regards healthy eating.

Getting slim is more than shedding the weight.

It should be about developing a whole new way of eating healthily so you can continue to do so for the rest of your life.

It should be about eating a balanced, sensible and easy to follow way of eating that allows you to do all the things you have to - family meals, birthdays, treats, days out etc.

Your diet choice is important.

The diet you are on should be suited to you and your way of life. If it is a struggle to get through each week because you're being denied foods, or are hungry then it'll be hard for you to accept that as a way of life.

Some companies offer specific courses to help you adjest after reaching your target. These often allow you to up your calories until you are no longer losing weight, nor putting it back on.

So should you consider what you want to happen at the end of your diet before you start one?

I think you should.

Do you want a diet which will be easy to continue for the rest of your life? One that teaches you about eating a balance of foods including lots of healthy fruit and veg?

What to do at target weight?

Still monitor your weight - if it starts to go up, the sooner you deal with it the better. Elasticated waists are killers for dieters - you'll go up two dress sizes before you notice.

Eat healthy food still - read up on your particular diet - can it be continued safely and easily?

If your diet has taught you about proper eating and how to avoid bingeing then you'll be fine if you keep the principals in mind.

What if your diet hasn't taught you that?

You'll need to learn the basic principals of normal eating that you can do for the rest of your life. It'll almost be like starting a new diet!

You could alternatively weigh yourself every week and see how your eating patterns change by regular diet diarying. If you suddenly find yourself bingeing on food then you'll have to identify why as well as stop it.

So many people get to target and then put all the weight back on. You definately need a no-slip plan.