When often spend so much time working hard and eating healthy just to reach our weight loss goals that we never really stop to think about how life will be once that goal is reached. Sure, you’ll have new clothes for your smaller frame and you’ll walk with your head held a little lighter…but how well will you keep up with what helped you lose weight in the first place?

For many of us, reaching our weight loss goals is just half the battle. Keeping up some of our healthy behaviors can be really difficult when we don’t have excess body fat staring back at us in the mirror to use as motivation.

[Reaching your goals feels great, but how do you maintain it?

Keep reading to learn how to maintain a healthy weight for women!

What Is A Healthy Weight for Women?

Before you figure out what you need to do to keep the weight off, you should make sure that you’re at a healthy weight. Looking good and being at a healthy weight for women like you can often be two different things. If you’re unsure what a healthy weight for women in your height range, then go HERE to figure out your body mass index to see if you’re close to or at a healthy weight.

This will help you determine if it’s time to take it a little easier when it comes to your weight loss goals, which will make it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight for women like you.

Sleep

If you want to maintain your healthy weight loss then you need to make sure you get enough sleep each night. Most adult women need between 6 and 8 hours of sleep each night to avoid many of the negative side effects associated with not enough sleep. But according to a 2008 study in the journal Sleep, sleeping too much has also shown a direct correlation with fat gain and an increased body weight.

This study illustrates just how important it can be to get just the right amount of sleep each night. Walking around with a feeling of lethargy all day makes it easier to make unhealthy food choices, but it also increases stress levels which have also been known to increase fat deposits.

Stay Physical

One of the most important tips for learning how to maintain a healthy weight for women in your age and height range is to stay physically active. If you took a 'grin and bear it' attitude to exercise while you were striving to achieve your weight loss goals, then look for another way to stay active to maintain your weight loss.

Forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do is easier when you have a body you’re not happy with staring back at you, but when that excess body fat is gone where will your motivation be? Combat this by finding other activities you like to do, whether it’s skiing, tennis, aerobics, dancing or swimming. Find a few physical activities that will help you work up a sweat and burn calories, but doesn’t make you feel as though its exercise.

Make an effort to get regular physical activity because you will still need to burn some of the calories you consume in order to maintain a healthy weight.

There are plenty of ways to stay competitive and get your heart racing, as evidenced by this couple's method of increasing their heart rate!

Take A (small) Break

Remaining on the seemingly endless hamster wheel known as weight loss can be daunting, particularly so once your goal has been reached. When you’re simply trying to maintain a healthy weight for women like you, then it becomes imperative to take a break from the rigidity of it all.

How to do this? Well allow yourself a day where you don’t completely obsess about calories and fat and sugar. Enjoy something that you normally wouldn’t like a piece of cheesecake or your favorite cocktail. This doesn’t mean go crazy and add hundreds of extra calories to your day, but allow yourself to have a less than healthy snack or add dessert to your day once in a while. This way you can enjoy some of these foods without letting it set back your efforts to maintain a healthy weight.

Keep Eating Tons of Produce

If you truly want to maintain a healthy weight for women then you must continue to eat lots of fruits and vegetables each day. When you enjoy lunch and dinner, make sure that your plate has more vegetables (or fruits) on it than grains or proteins. The produce aisle is filled with tons of fat burning foods that also provide you with essential nutrients.

Don’t let this part of your diet that goes away when your weight loss goals have been achieved. This will help you maintain a healthy weight for women more than any other tip.

Drink Moderately

Celebrating your weight loss and finally enjoying a night on the town with the girls is definitely something you’ll want to do on more than one occasion. A night out will let you finally slide into that little black dress you’ve always wanted and wear it with confidence. But, make sure you don’t do it up too much while you celebrate.

[This is not moderation, no matter how much fun you're having!]

You are more than free to enjoy the occasional cocktail or two, just make sure that you’re not drinking more than you should. The more alcohol you consume, the more fat that will get stored in all the places you’ve worked so hard to get rid of it. Keep your alcohol consumption at a moderate rate, and certainly don’t drink every single day if you want to maintain a healthy weight.

Don’t Skip Meals

One of the things women tend to do to cheat their way into weight loss or out of weight gain by skipping meals. Avoid this temptation because it will only make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

Skipping meals leads to one thing; overcompensating for the calories you didn’t have later, much later into the night when you really shouldn’t be eating. When you skip meals, you’re also more likely to replace those calories with unhealthy junk food. Help yourself to maintain a healthy weight for women by eating at least 3 meals a day and a couple of healthy snacks.

Instead of skipping meals, consider intermittent fasting to help you maintain a healthy weight for women in your height and age range.