Why I gained it back before

55in13

I have yoyoed a few times in the past, but I did have a stretch of several years where I stayed in a fairly small range that was healthy. The last couple of times I lost weight, I didn't go all the way down to a healthy weight and I didn't keep it off. This time I have lost more than I have in several years. I still have 10 lbs to go until I reach my goal, but I am close enough to start thinking about what went wrong in the past. After much research and inward reflection I have come to the following conclusion:

I ATE TOO DAMN MUCH

OK, that was obvious. But I think there is a part II - I did not have an alarm/reset level. In other words I got to a certain weight and deemed that acceptable and kind of winged it as far as when to worry if I stared creeping back up. So here is my new thinking. My goal is 170. For my height (69.5") that is squeaking in with a BMI just barely below 25. I think I need to look at that goal as my new alarm level, not the weight I want to stay at. I need to keep losing until I get to 165 or lower. If I ever hit 170, I need to eat at a deficit again until I get below 165 again. I think aiming to be at a particular weight instead of in a range below a certain weight has been one of my problems

lambchristie

Dear 55in13, its a great thing to figure out the 'why' in what causes us to gain back once we lose. Congratulations you did it! Proud of you. This whole time around for me is different too. I am determined to lose this weight for the last time ... and have committed to myself to keep it off; to stay healthy for ME ... the others in my life will reap the reward for having me around longer!

Although I have about 40 more pounds I desire to lose, I am already thinking about maintenance and what that will look like. Gotta start before I get there so I will have my plan in place.

Again, congratulations on your break through! :flowerforyou:

allshebe

I think you need to have a plan for maintenance. Right now, you know how many calories you can eat and still lose. As you get closer to maintenance, you need to figure out how many calories you can eat and stay in a range of "goal" +/- maybe 5 pounds. Same scheme as for losing, just, probably a higher calorie budget - with about the same amount of "room" for variability

violettatx

I think you are absolutely on the right track. Often when one gets to a "goal" weight and starts eating at maintenance there is rebound weight gain, usually about 5 pounds. Really, it is better to lose 5 pounds lower than your goal, and if you gain the 5 pounds back and no more you'll be fine. But having an "alarm" weight is great thing too. It keeps the re-gain from getting out of control.