Gaining Weight Back-Marks Daily Apple

alexandrazzzz

Put back on some lbs after losing and maintaining 120 lbs for over a year. I am finding it hard to maintain.

This article is very interesting. It talks about why its so hard to keep the weight off if you were overweight since a young age. I found some great points. Check it out and let me know if you agree.

Some interesting points

"The vast majority of fat cells are created and established during childhood and adolescence. During early infancy and from ages 9 to 13 appear to be especially crucial stages for adipose hyperplasia (PDF). After adolescence, you’re pretty much stuck with the number of fat cells your body has made"
"This makes things harder for the formerly overweight or obese. Even if they’ve lost a hundred pounds and gotten down to ideal body fat percentages, they still have all these fat cells that want to gain weight, make you hungry, and stop you from expending too much energy. "

"Weight loss doesn’t remove these fat cells, though. It pulls fat from existing ones, leaving the (mostly) empty cells behind. A formerly obese person who’s dieted and exercised down to 15% body fat still has the same number of fat cells he did when he was at 35% body fat. The fat is just spread more thinly, which makes avoiding weight regain more difficult. "


How have you maintained and what has worked for you? 1 hour day work outs? Calories control? No alcohol? What has been your secret to maintenance?



Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-is-regaining-weight-so-common/#ixzz3WkwX2BsY

DOODLIEDAA

Nope, got down to 112 last year at 5'5 and back up to 123-124. Still down a net 12 lbs from my original 139 but maintaining has been tough for me.

nxd10

I wonder about that. I was skinny skinny skinny in childhood and adolescence. I never got 'fat' - my highest weight put me at the border of healthy/overweight. Does that mean it will be easier for me to maintain as I have few fat cells? I've been maintaining 3 years. I didn't find losing hard and haven't found maintaining hard either.

My husband was also very slim, but is at the overweight/obese border. I know fat cells enlarge, but he's dropped weight several times and it always bounces back.

RosieRose7673

I've heard about this. I wonder about it too.

I was a chunky kid from about age 9-12. I was obese. I was normal until then though. My mom passed when I was 8, almost 9. My dad worked all the time and I just ate everything set in front of me. Needless to say... I got up to 193. I was probably around 5'3 at the time.

I lost the weight in 8th grade by barely eating. I was a normal size. Then I just ate normally for a while and maintained probably around 130 throughout highschool. I developed anorexia right out of highschool and went down to 102 at 5'4.5. Fast forward to 20 years old... I went into treatment and got up to 130ish and stayed there eating normally with minimal exercise.

I lost weight to 120 a few years ago... And shot up to 200 lb from too much alcohol/drunk eating/meds and no exercise. Now I'm back at around 130. I definitely have much more muscle this time.

I guess this is really long winded... But it makes me wonder if a lot of my weight gain was just made 'easier' because I was a big little girl? Who knows. I'm curious to see what others have to say.

I will note this.... From ages 21-24... I was a pretty steady 130ish for all that time with little effort. So I wonder what that means as it pertains to that article?

Who knows... Hopefully at (almost) 27... I can just keep my weight around 130 and keep up my fitness!

sijomial

How have you maintained and what has worked for you?
Still log my food, use the MFP eat back exercise calories method. Not found maintenance at all difficult really. Did 5:2 fasting to lose and 6:1 to maintain.
1 hour day work outs?
Anywhere from zero to seven hours in a day (I cycle). Exercise was never the problem or the solution - I do it for health, fitness and enjoyment.
Calories control?
Yes, more on a weekly basis than daily.
No alcohol?
Wash your mouth out with soap young lady!
One of my diet secrets when I was losing weight was spending twice as much on a bottle of wine and drinking half the amount.
What has been your secret to maintenance?
Setting goals and sticking to goals.
Having enough flexibility to enjoy life and food.
Personal responsibility.

snowflakesav

I have the same trouble with 10 or 15 pounds. I have to say in my case I am putting the weight back on because I'm eating way too much. It isn't about fat cells...it is about what is in my head and wanting to eat comfort foods. No excuses for this girl.

Sabine_Stroehm

I've maintained for 14 years now +-5LBS.
I wasn't obese, but had tipped into the overweight range.
I wasn't fat as a child. Though nearly everyone in my family over the age of 20 is obese.

How have you maintained and what has worked for you? What has been your secret to maintenance?
I don't log, but I aim to eat a nutrient dense, whole food based diet. (I typically have a big fat salad once a day, usually lunch, for example). I eat LOTS of veggies, lean meats, nuts/seeds, legumes, fruit, some dairy, and some 100% whole grains. I don't eat a lot of candy, fast food, heavily processed junk foods or convenience foods, very little added sugar, no regular sodas. For me this was the key, as I was raised on utter crap, and ate predominantly convenience foods as an adult. Creating new habits was key for me.
1 hour day work outs?
I get 10,000 steps a day. I run 5k every other day. I either bike or walk to work every day. I lift weights. I do Pilates.
I take the stairs. I'd say my NEAT calorie burn is pretty good every day.
Calories control?
Yes, but not counting. I'm very careful. Basically, I didn't count to lose I just ate differently. One day I stopped losing weight. I kept pretty much eating the same way. A little more lax on a Friday night. Whole wheat pizza a bit more often than when I was strictly losing. But I didn't really change anything when I stopped losing. The math just hit an equilibrium (CICO) and the weight loss ended. As I've aged, I've had to tweak, since my BMR has gone down a bit with age and menopause.
No alcohol?
I drank wine as I wished when I was losing, and have since. I swapped beer for wine. Beer is a treat on holidays.
That said, now that I'm 50, I do find that wine calories DO have to be watched more closely. But that would be true of any snack at this age.

Foamroller

IMO regaining fat has more to do with not changing lifestyle habits than amount of fat cells. There could perhaps be an effect from quantity of fat cells. It just sounds a bit odd to me the body would keep empty fat cells for years...that no longer serves a purpose. The body normally don't keep anything that is superfluous. Consistently overeating is the major reason for fat gain.