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"If you're fat and lose weight, you're probably gonna get fat again"

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Replies

  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    gothchiq wrote: »
    I think it happens when people do unsustainable things to lose weight and/or don't have a good understanding of how to behave on a permanent basis for maintenance.
    They say that people who lose on crash diets have the same success rate for maintaining as those who don't. How you lose the weight is no indication of success when it comes to keeping it off.

    It's all very depressing when I think about it, lol.

    So you are already thinking of become a statistic?

    Everyone is part of the statistics, even hoes who keep it off. Those 2/10 who keep it off are in those stats.

    If the stats are right, 8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back will, in fact, gain it back. It only makes sense to consider it.

    n=1 will succeed. I don't really care who gives up because I know I won't. Statistics are facts about the past and you keep holding it to truth about the future.
    If by "hold it to truth about the future" you mean that I assume I will fail, you're very wrong. I'm really not sure if that's what you meant or not.

    I think it's foolish to not take a good, hard look at those stats and consider the possibility of failure.

    Refusing to acknowledge the possibility that it could happen when the odds are that it will happen...that's just not very smart, IMO. Most people say they won't be gaining it back and then they do. I don't want to be one of those people.

    8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back are going to gain it back. I wish I knew how to be one of the two who won't.

    But there is no way to know who will and who won't. If we knew that, this thread wouldn't have to exist, lol.
    i agree only to a slight extent. have a quick think about it and then move on. when i started out if i read that article i might not have bothered. there will be people who think why bother. you fail when you give up.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    edited July 2015
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    gothchiq wrote: »
    I think it happens when people do unsustainable things to lose weight and/or don't have a good understanding of how to behave on a permanent basis for maintenance.
    They say that people who lose on crash diets have the same success rate for maintaining as those who don't. How you lose the weight is no indication of success when it comes to keeping it off.

    It's all very depressing when I think about it, lol.

    So you are already thinking of become a statistic?

    Everyone is part of the statistics, even hoes who keep it off. Those 2/10 who keep it off are in those stats.

    If the stats are right, 8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back will, in fact, gain it back. It only makes sense to consider it.

    n=1 will succeed. I don't really care who gives up because I know I won't. Statistics are facts about the past and you keep holding it to truth about the future.
    If by "hold it to truth about the future" you mean that I assume I will fail, you're very wrong. I'm really not sure if that's what you meant or not.

    I think it's foolish to not take a good, hard look at those stats and consider the possibility of failure.

    Refusing to acknowledge the possibility that it could happen when the odds are that it will happen...that's just not very smart, IMO. Most people say they won't be gaining it back and then they do. I don't want to be one of those people.

    8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back are going to gain it back. I wish I knew how to be one of the two who won't.

    But there is no way to know who will and who won't. If we knew that, this thread wouldn't have to exist, lol.

    That is where your mindset and my mindset are different. I don't care how many people fail at maintenance. There is no need to think about the negative because I won't let that happen.

    You don't have a long term plan. I do for sure.
    8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back are going to gain it back. I wish I knew how to be one of the two who won't.
    Statistics says this so it must be true. How do you know this anyways? You psychic?

    Also are you not more knowledge to make sure you don't become overweight again? You sound like you are doubting yourselves and I do not know why.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited July 2015
    jaga13 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    my thoughts are that 95% of people who are overweight and lose weight will regain the weight because they talk a good talk about living a more healthful lifestyle, but really it only ends up being temporary. They never actually adopt a healthier lifestyle...they just go back to same old same old.

    I've maintained my weight loss for over two years largely because I've adopted a healthier way of eating than I used to and regular exercise is a huge part of who I am now vs. who I was just three years ago.

    Everyone controls their own destiny...most just fail at making long term, sustainable life changes.

    I agree, but this thread makes me think: everyone says "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle." This irks me. I'm not interested in fad diets, by no means. But cutting out 250 (or many more) calories a day is not meant to be a lifestyle. It does indeed have an end point (maintenance). THEN, maintenance is what I would deem a new lifestyle. I think this is part of the problem. Understanding that the deficit portion is actually temporary, and planning for a maintenance transition. I think about it all the time. I envision myself at my goal weight and think about how I will "spend" those extra calories...will I simply eat 250 calories more each day? Exercise less? Continue to eat at a deficit during the week so I can really indulge on the weekends?

    It's sort of like people who spend years planning their wedding...without any thought about what it's actually going to be like BEING MARRIED.

    the "lifestyle" isn't necessarily the calories you're consuming or counting calories...it's adopting a more healthful diet...adopting regular exercise as a way of life...eating for health and well being, not just for weight management.

    I don't count *kitten*...I don't log..haven't for over two years...I maintain very easily because I've adopted a dietary lifestyle that is rich in whole food nutrition...it is not impossible for me to overeat, but it is much more difficult for me to overeat with the way I eat...and like I said, regular exercise is a big part of the new me. Maintaining a healthy weight and being lean and fit is a bi-product of living a healthful life...that's where pretty much everyone goes wrong.

    I didn't just cut calories...you're always going to have calorie adjustments because maintenance isn't some fixed number...I adopted a new way of eating...yes, I have some "junk" here and there...I go out for pizza every few weeks with my boys and I have treats here and there...but that kind of stuff is de minimis. I have adopted a new "normal"...that is where people fail.

    I've learned to listen to my body...I know the difference between hungry and bored...I know when I need food for recovery from, say a 50 mile ride...and I know what kind of food I need for said recovery. I've become far more in tune with my body since I dumped the diary. Don't get me wrong, it was a great teaching tool...but I think people get so wrapped up in some number...as if their TDEE was exactly that number...it is not.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    gothchiq wrote: »
    I think it happens when people do unsustainable things to lose weight and/or don't have a good understanding of how to behave on a permanent basis for maintenance.
    They say that people who lose on crash diets have the same success rate for maintaining as those who don't. How you lose the weight is no indication of success when it comes to keeping it off.

    It's all very depressing when I think about it, lol.

    So you are already thinking of become a statistic?

    Everyone is part of the statistics, even hoes who keep it off. Those 2/10 who keep it off are in those stats.

    If the stats are right, 8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back will, in fact, gain it back. It only makes sense to consider it.

    n=1 will succeed. I don't really care who gives up because I know I won't. Statistics are facts about the past and you keep holding it to truth about the future.

    8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back are going to gain it back. I wish I knew how to be one of the two who won't.

    This simply isn't true. The vast majority of MFP members that frequent the forums are much more knowledgeable about weight loss than the average joe taking phentramine on their doc's recommendation. That 8/10 number does not apply here.

  • lisajane4271
    lisajane4271 Posts: 12 Member
    I don't think the article was very helpful to those of us here seeking GOOD advice as well as encouragement. I know I DEFINITELY don't need any Negative Nancy's in my ear telling me Im just gonna gain it back eventually anyway. Kind of makes us all feel like why are we trying anyway if the end result is failure?? :'( Not the kind of news feed I'm looking for :/
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
    I don't think the article was very helpful to those of us here seeking GOOD advice as well as encouragement. I know I DEFINITELY don't need any Negative Nancy's in my ear telling me Im just gonna gain it back eventually anyway. Kind of makes us all feel like why are we trying anyway if the end result is failure?? :'( Not the kind of news feed I'm looking for :/

    exactly. i was so lazy few years ago. i would have read this and used it as my excuse to stay glued to my sofa.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited July 2015
    I don't think the article was very helpful to those of us here seeking GOOD advice as well as encouragement. I know I DEFINITELY don't need any Negative Nancy's in my ear telling me Im just gonna gain it back eventually anyway. Kind of makes us all feel like why are we trying anyway if the end result is failure?? :'( Not the kind of news feed I'm looking for :/

    the thing is, knowledge is power...the facts are the facts...most people do re-gain...but you're in complete control of that. knowing what happens to most people and understanding why can actually help you if you take control...but you have to realize that you are in control.

    most people who quit smoking don't stay quit...I knew that when I quit and never hindered me...i didn't just sit back and say feck it then...that's pretty weak sauce IMO. Haven't had a cigarette in over three years...
  • nitaleotta
    nitaleotta Posts: 24 Member
    One thing I wonder is how often are these people weighing themselves after they lose the weight? Since I got my own place and have a scale in the bathroom it's become a ritual. My weight gain the beginning of this year did not stop me from weighing myself, at worst i'd be like "damn, 220 again?" and huff and maybe eat a bit less in the following days.

    I still don't understand how the weight "creeps back up" on someone. When I hit my goal the only way I will gain (which I'm not going to let happen) is if I see my weight go up every day and actively say "i am done giving a *kitten* and am gonna let myself get heavier" and watch the process. I have never seen the point in hiding from the scale when one is available.

    Yea I started weighing myself daily last year and it's helped me immensely. Once I got used to the daily fluctuations due to water weight, etc., it became impossible to lie to myself about my diet or weight gain. For example, I'm more prepared for the 2-3lb gain over a vacation or holiday week and can immediately see the results of eating clean the next week. Weight can't just sneak up on me.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    gothchiq wrote: »
    I think it happens when people do unsustainable things to lose weight and/or don't have a good understanding of how to behave on a permanent basis for maintenance.
    They say that people who lose on crash diets have the same success rate for maintaining as those who don't. How you lose the weight is no indication of success when it comes to keeping it off.

    It's all very depressing when I think about it, lol.

    So you are already thinking of become a statistic?

    Everyone is part of the statistics, even hoes who keep it off. Those 2/10 who keep it off are in those stats.

    If the stats are right, 8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back will, in fact, gain it back. It only makes sense to consider it.

    n=1 will succeed. I don't really care who gives up because I know I won't. Statistics are facts about the past and you keep holding it to truth about the future.
    If by "hold it to truth about the future" you mean that I assume I will fail, you're very wrong. I'm really not sure if that's what you meant or not.

    I think it's foolish to not take a good, hard look at those stats and consider the possibility of failure.

    Refusing to acknowledge the possibility that it could happen when the odds are that it will happen...that's just not very smart, IMO. Most people say they won't be gaining it back and then they do. I don't want to be one of those people.

    8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back are going to gain it back. I wish I knew how to be one of the two who won't.

    But there is no way to know who will and who won't. If we knew that, this thread wouldn't have to exist, lol.

    That is where your mindset and my mindset are different. I don't care how many people fail at maintenance. There is no need to think about the negative because I won't let that happen.
    That's what the 8/10 who gain it back said, too.
    You don't have a long term plan. I do for sure.
    You're wrong about me and my plans.
    Statistics says this so it must be true. How do you know this anyways? You psychic?
    if you assume all the stats are lies, then there is no reason to give them any thought, lol. I don't think they're lying.

    Even in my own life, the only people I have known that lost a lot of weight gained it back. I have no reason to assume the people making up the stats are lying.

    I wish you luck with your plans and hope it all works out the way you're sure it will.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    One thing I wonder is how often are these people weighing themselves after they lose the weight? Since I got my own place and have a scale in the bathroom it's become a ritual. My weight gain the beginning of this year did not stop me from weighing myself, at worst i'd be like "damn, 220 again?" and huff and maybe eat a bit less in the following days.

    I still don't understand how the weight "creeps back up" on someone. When I hit my goal the only way I will gain (which I'm not going to let happen) is if I see my weight go up every day and actively say "i am done giving a *kitten* and am gonna let myself get heavier" and watch the process. I have never seen the point in hiding from the scale when one is available.

    One of the factors in the Weight Registry studies IS regular weighing.

    That's absolutely something essential to me too.

    I maintained a weight loss (from slightly obese to about BMI 21) for 5 years once before, and stopping the weighing was definitely part of how I managed to eventually regain all and more. NOT the main reason--I stopped weighing long before I started regaining, and the prompt for the regain was ceasing physical activity/training, which was related to a loss of motivation and most directly depression (and struggles with alcohol)--but it was related, since at various points during the regain I'd realize I was regaining, guess at my weight but not really know, and decide that I'd weigh myself when I lost some. Yet without weighing the plan to lose some wouldn't be concrete enough--too easy to just push it off another day or decide I'd messed up so would start again later, and I also allowed myself to work up this huge fear of getting on the scale, since I knew I'd be depressed. At some point I can even tell from photos (and the jeans I was wearing) I'd lost a decent amount, but that I never got on the scale is part of why I let that go so easily.

    When I finally did get on the scale, a couple of weeks after putting together a plan and really getting started, I was so horrified and upset that I was more than expected (I'd been lying to myself that at least after those 2 weeks I wouldn't be over 200, which seemed like the worst possible thing, and I was, well, wrong). But I decided to let it make me more determined and just revised my plans to take a bit longer.

    Getting over my stupid fear of the scale and the emotions tied up in it has been something I've focused on, as I am someone who does need to weigh herself--denial is my middle name when I give into that tendency I have.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    jaga13 wrote: »
    In maintenance a person's focus on diet tends to taper off since seeing the same number on the scale (that is if they keep the amazing habit of weighing periodically) is not the same as anticipating different numbers each time.

    Whoa. I never thought about that. I AM very driven by seeing the number go down. I never thought about how seeing the same weight over and over again in maintenance could affect motivation. Good to think about before I get there!

    I've been mostly doing maintenance since February, and I have found this to be the case. It even has made trying to do a slower (.5 lb/week) loss a tough thing to get my head around, such that I'm thinking that when the races I'm doing this summer and fall are over I might just focus on doing a 1 lb loss and maybe less intense exercise to finally get past this hump.

    Or maybe not--if I do manage to lose at the slower pace in the meantime I won't complain.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    gothchiq wrote: »
    I think it happens when people do unsustainable things to lose weight and/or don't have a good understanding of how to behave on a permanent basis for maintenance.
    They say that people who lose on crash diets have the same success rate for maintaining as those who don't. How you lose the weight is no indication of success when it comes to keeping it off.

    It's all very depressing when I think about it, lol.

    So you are already thinking of become a statistic?

    Everyone is part of the statistics, even hoes who keep it off. Those 2/10 who keep it off are in those stats.

    If the stats are right, 8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back will, in fact, gain it back. It only makes sense to consider it.

    n=1 will succeed. I don't really care who gives up because I know I won't. Statistics are facts about the past and you keep holding it to truth about the future.
    If by "hold it to truth about the future" you mean that I assume I will fail, you're very wrong. I'm really not sure if that's what you meant or not.

    I think it's foolish to not take a good, hard look at those stats and consider the possibility of failure.

    Refusing to acknowledge the possibility that it could happen when the odds are that it will happen...that's just not very smart, IMO. Most people say they won't be gaining it back and then they do. I don't want to be one of those people.

    8/10 people in this thread who say they won't gain it back are going to gain it back. I wish I knew how to be one of the two who won't.

    But there is no way to know who will and who won't. If we knew that, this thread wouldn't have to exist, lol.

    That is where your mindset and my mindset are different. I don't care how many people fail at maintenance. There is no need to think about the negative because I won't let that happen.
    That's what the 8/10 who gain it back said, too.
    You don't have a long term plan. I do for sure.
    You're wrong about me and my plans.
    Statistics says this so it must be true. How do you know this anyways? You psychic?
    if you assume all the stats are lies, then there is no reason to give them any thought, lol. I don't think they're lying.

    Even in my own life, the only people I have known that lost a lot of weight gained it back. I have no reason to assume the people making up the stats are lying.

    I wish you luck with your plans and hope it all works out the way you're sure it will.

    Hear is the thing. You keep bring up stats. The stats can be 99 out of 100 fail. The stats don't matter to me at all because I am not them.

    Also if we go by statistics I would have the most health relate issues in my family for having the most excess fat. I don't even understand how some of my cousins have high blood pressure. I never had high blood pressure. I have been at 120/80 for years and even at my high end of 257 I was still 120/80. Stats show black men are more prone to high blood pressure right? It is happening in my family but not to me. Weird right?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    One thing I wonder is how often are these people weighing themselves after they lose the weight? Since I got my own place and have a scale in the bathroom it's become a ritual. My weight gain the beginning of this year did not stop me from weighing myself, at worst i'd be like "damn, 220 again?" and huff and maybe eat a bit less in the following days.

    I still don't understand how the weight "creeps back up" on someone. When I hit my goal the only way I will gain (which I'm not going to let happen) is if I see my weight go up every day and actively say "i am done giving a *kitten* and am gonna let myself get heavier" and watch the process. I have never seen the point in hiding from the scale when one is available.

    Regular weigh ins are essential to maintaining weight...weight can't creep back up on you when you're stepping on the scale a couple times per week. It's a lot easier to identify a trend of weight going up and nipping it in the bud and just having to drop a couple pounds then letting everything go to *kitten* and having to start back from square one.

    I don't keep a diary and haven't for over two years of maintenance...regular weigh ins are most definitely a key to that success.
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    jaga13 wrote: »
    In maintenance a person's focus on diet tends to taper off since seeing the same number on the scale (that is if they keep the amazing habit of weighing periodically) is not the same as anticipating different numbers each time.

    Whoa. I never thought about that. I AM very driven by seeing the number go down. I never thought about how seeing the same weight over and over again in maintenance could affect motivation. Good to think about before I get there!

    I've been mostly doing maintenance since February, and I have found this to be the case. It even has made trying to do a slower (.5 lb/week) loss a tough thing to get my head around, such that I'm thinking that when the races I'm doing this summer and fall are over I might just focus on doing a 1 lb loss and maybe less intense exercise to finally get past this hump.

    Or maybe not--if I do manage to lose at the slower pace in the meantime I won't complain.

    At my height, I've only being at .5 lb a week, so at least I'm already used to waiting a whole two weeks to see the scale drop. I guess during those in between weeks - when the scale shows the same number as the previous week - that's probably a good comparison to what maintenance weigh ins may feel like. I usually feel great, and validated, when I see that the number is right where it ought to be.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    One thing I wonder is how often are these people weighing themselves after they lose the weight? Since I got my own place and have a scale in the bathroom it's become a ritual. My weight gain the beginning of this year did not stop me from weighing myself, at worst i'd be like "damn, 220 again?" and huff and maybe eat a bit less in the following days.

    I still don't understand how the weight "creeps back up" on someone. When I hit my goal the only way I will gain (which I'm not going to let happen) is if I see my weight go up every day and actively say "i am done giving a *kitten* and am gonna let myself get heavier" and watch the process. I have never seen the point in hiding from the scale when one is available.

    One of the factors in the Weight Registry studies IS regular weighing.

    That's absolutely something essential to me too.

    I maintained a weight loss (from slightly obese to about BMI 21) for 5 years once before, and stopping the weighing was definitely part of how I managed to eventually regain all and more. NOT the main reason--I stopped weighing long before I started regaining, and the prompt for the regain was ceasing physical activity/training, which was related to a loss of motivation and most directly depression (and struggles with alcohol)--but it was related, since at various points during the regain I'd realize I was regaining, guess at my weight but not really know, and decide that I'd weigh myself when I lost some. Yet without weighing the plan to lose some wouldn't be concrete enough--too easy to just push it off another day or decide I'd messed up so would start again later, and I also allowed myself to work up this huge fear of getting on the scale, since I knew I'd be depressed. At some point I can even tell from photos (and the jeans I was wearing) I'd lost a decent amount, but that I never got on the scale is part of why I let that go so easily.

    When I finally did get on the scale, a couple of weeks after putting together a plan and really getting started, I was so horrified and upset that I was more than expected (I'd been lying to myself that at least after those 2 weeks I wouldn't be over 200, which seemed like the worst possible thing, and I was, well, wrong). But I decided to let it make me more determined and just revised my plans to take a bit longer.

    Getting over my stupid fear of the scale and the emotions tied up in it has been something I've focused on, as I am someone who does need to weigh herself--denial is my middle name when I give into that tendency I have.
    I love it when people discuss why they gained it back, especially when they're honest about it, like you. I get so tired of the "Life happened" stuff, as if outside forces were responsible. I've seen you talk about it before, but there is never enough of it for me, lol. Thank you.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Meh, a lot of people who lose a ton of weight do it through medical VLCDs and fad diets. You can even add the surgical folks as well. I would expect those people to gain a lot of weight back since the probably never learned anything about nutrition to begin with.

    I would be interested in seeing how many people gained weight back AFTER learning just the basics of weight loss.

    I did, and after maintaining for 5 years.

    What makes me both cautious about claiming I won't this time, but also not too worried about stats like those in the article, is that I did because--for various life reasons and things I don't totally understand--I stopped caring. I know how to protect against weight gain, but I don't know how to insure that I will care enough to do those things. I would assume I should--it seems easy enough--but I know I didn't once, despite knowing most of what I know now. (I do think I have more insight into my own psychology and am less prone to want to blot out feelings and all that, which should help. I also think I have more insight into the external things that made it easier and harder, like being surrounded by people who could reinforce the positive behaviors.)

    But I'm not too concerned about it, because I don't think the fact I regained was that horrible a thing. Sure, I wish I'd caught it sooner, but having lost it once made it easier to lose again, and I had confidence I could and would.
  • terar21
    terar21 Posts: 523 Member
    That seemed like a lot of whining to tell people to eat clean.

    Anyway...

    I find it very interesting the amount of studies out there about people regaining or losing quickly versus slow compared to the amount of articles that actual dive into the actual methods of losing weight. Not how fast...but counting calories, macros, intuitive eating, diet pills, surgery, clean eating, exercise habits and their impacts on utilizing any of these methods, whatever. It's easy to look at whether or not people keep weight off. What would be interesting is to see is how people are succeeding, not how they are failing. How many of those people failing are utilizing trendy methods versus those succeeding with more factual methods.

    We see it all the time. How many times do those of us losing weight or that have succeeded at weight loss get questioned about how we succeeded and receive a disappointed look after we answer. All the info out there is so muddled and misleading that people literally look to hear "I stopped eating bread and lost 100 pounds" or "I took X pill and it just started falling off." IMO it has a lot to do with the fact that there isn't much done and high promoted that shows true weight loss habits. All you get are articles posted on pinterest telling you to drink water, drop carbs and do crunches to reduce your belly fat.

    But those deep dives don't happen because the people releasing these statistics generally have monetary interest in promoting one thing over the other.

    Or maybe the research is out there and people just don't want to believe it because they want a quick fix. If it was truly promoted (and it probably won't be because long term success habits aren't easy to make money off of), the stats may be different.

    All I know is, any time someone in my life talks about healthy habits, it's usually things that will not lead to success.
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    jaga13 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    my thoughts are that 95% of people who are overweight and lose weight will regain the weight because they talk a good talk about living a more healthful lifestyle, but really it only ends up being temporary. They never actually adopt a healthier lifestyle...they just go back to same old same old.

    I've maintained my weight loss for over two years largely because I've adopted a healthier way of eating than I used to and regular exercise is a huge part of who I am now vs. who I was just three years ago.

    Everyone controls their own destiny...most just fail at making long term, sustainable life changes.

    I agree, but this thread makes me think: everyone says "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle." This irks me. I'm not interested in fad diets, by no means. But cutting out 250 (or many more) calories a day is not meant to be a lifestyle. It does indeed have an end point (maintenance). THEN, maintenance is what I would deem a new lifestyle. I think this is part of the problem. Understanding that the deficit portion is actually temporary, and planning for a maintenance transition. I think about it all the time. I envision myself at my goal weight and think about how I will "spend" those extra calories...will I simply eat 250 calories more each day? Exercise less? Continue to eat at a deficit during the week so I can really indulge on the weekends?

    It's sort of like people who spend years planning their wedding...without any thought about what it's actually going to be like BEING MARRIED.

    the "lifestyle" isn't necessarily the calories you're consuming or counting calories...it's adopting a more healthful diet...adopting regular exercise as a way of life...eating for health and well being, not just for weight management.

    I don't count *kitten*...I don't log..haven't for over two years...I maintain very easily because I've adopted a dietary lifestyle that is rich in whole food nutrition...it is not impossible for me to overeat, but it is much more difficult for me to overeat with the way I eat...and like I said, regular exercise is a big part of the new me. Maintaining a healthy weight and being lean and fit is a bi-product of living a healthful life...that's where pretty much everyone goes wrong.

    I didn't just cut calories...you're always going to have calorie adjustments because maintenance isn't some fixed number...I adopted a new way of eating...yes, I have some "junk" here and there...I go out for pizza every few weeks with my boys and I have treats here and there...but that kind of stuff is de minimis. I have adopted a new "normal"...that is where people fail.

    I've learned to listen to my body...I know the difference between hungry and bored...I know when I need food for recovery from, say a 50 mile ride...and I know what kind of food I need for said recovery. I've become far more in tune with my body since I dumped the diary. Don't get me wrong, it was a great teaching tool...but I think people get so wrapped up in some number...as if their TDEE was exactly that number...it is not.

    Ah, that's different than the faithful loggers (that's what I am right now). I've tried many times in the past to not count calories, and I failed, despite eating mostly healthy food, because I still ate too much for my stats. I still eat mostly healthy, nutrient-rich food to allow for both a calorie deficit and an overall healthier life. But I also count, and I believe I will continue to count in maintenance.

    Regardless, either method should include some thought process about how one will continue to maintain in the future. I think too many people fail to think ahead and plan for the future.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I don't think the article was very helpful to those of us here seeking GOOD advice as well as encouragement. I know I DEFINITELY don't need any Negative Nancy's in my ear telling me Im just gonna gain it back eventually anyway. Kind of makes us all feel like why are we trying anyway if the end result is failure?? :'( Not the kind of news feed I'm looking for :/

    the thing is, knowledge is power...the facts are the facts...most people do re-gain...but you're in complete control of that. knowing what happens to most people and understanding why can actually help you if you take control...but you have to realize that you are in control.

    +1

    Besides, I've done other things in my life that less than 2 of 10 people who tried did, so I see the number as a challenge, a reason to succeed.
  • cassietowle3
    cassietowle3 Posts: 60 Member
    I was very thin as a young child from malnutrition then gained weight once I was placed in a home where I always had food. Then I lost weight from anerexia and gained and over 100 pounds once I was was placed on multiple meds for depression/ anxiety where at least 4 of them had the side effect of weight gain. Last year I lost it all and then some. I've pretty much kept it off but recently have been getting off track due to stress and living changes. I had to redownload the app to lose the 8 pounds I've gained. I refuse to let myself become unhealthy. It took a lot to get to where I am and I will fight to keep it.