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

LeenaGee

I definitely agree with you Amusedmonk as my own weight gain has been from eating far too much healthy food. Too much of a good thing can be just as damaging to our health as "junk food."

Unknown

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DeguelloTex

LeenaGee wrote: »

I believe and have seen it numerous times over my life ( and I am not remotely interested in backing this up with studies, data or such) that people on diets, be it Weight Watchers, Paleo, Atkins, MFP or any other diet which restricts calories, will be successful and lose weight. CICO and exercise will produce the desired weight loss and then the dieter will maintain for a certain amount of time but gradually they start to increase the amount of food they eat, one cola, take away burger, cake or packet of crisps at a time and will eventually regain the weight.

Yes. They start eating above maintenance. It doesn't matter what it is -- Oreos or broccoli -- if they eat about maintenance, they'll gain weight. It's pretty simple.

LeenaGee

Exactly - CICO. I am just gobsmacked to understand how I managed to eat at maintenance for 55 years, never diet, never count calories and then put on weight slowly over the last 5 years once I hit menopause.

For some reason I have started to eat above maintenance.

smantha32

FitnessTim wrote: »

Whether it is 1 in 1000 or even 1 in 100 the odds are not great for obese or formerly obese people. From all the obese people I know, I get the impression that they are deluding themselves with regards to the amount of effort and focus that is needed to lose weight and keep it off. Most people just don't get it.

I know a couple obese people who seem to delude themselves about how much they're actually consuming. One woman is always saying she can't understand why she can't lose because she doesn't really eat much.... yet she's the first one in the break room eating donuts. Her mind seems to just gloss over the fact that she probably ate a day's worth of calories in donuts.
And I think a lot of us did that before we started tracking. I know I still have trouble with portion sizes too unless I weigh everything.

kimcalica

I changed everything about myself, even things outside of my eating habits.. The way I looked at life in general changed. My mind frame is set on gathering energy and stamina to be prepared for tomorrow. I never thought about tomorrow when I was younger. I never wanted to get to my goal and end up that awful person I used to be. I was spoiled and pathetic! I'm someone I never thought I could be now. Someone I can finally be proud of.

kimcalica

I think if you practice discipline in all aspects of your life, you will have continued success after loss

coreyreichle

bjankabarazani wrote: »

A very interesting article on food addiction in obese and formerly obese people. What are your thoughts on it?

http://www.lift-run-bang.com/2014/05/if-youre-fat-and-lose-weight-youre.html

It's another fatlogic article.

ericGold15

The editorial misrepresents the original article, which shows the *mean* fraction of INITIAL weight loss sustained at 5 years.

Individuals who participated in a VLED program or lost ≥20 kg had a weight-loss maintenance at 4 or 5 y of 7 kg or 29% of initial weight loss.

One should also note that this data is only from so called structured weight reduction places. Think Weight Watchers.

I have no idea what use a statistical mean is to any one individual except they are likely not it. Kaplan Meir curves would have been informative.

What can I say -- lifelong habits are hard to break, and that is usually what is required for successful maintenance.

Psychgrrl

I call bulls*t!

There are so many people on here who have lost weight and kept it off. Granted, it's not for "the rest of our lives" yet, because we have a lot of healthy living left!

Why write that article? People reading it who don't know better are going to be more inclined to just give up. BOO on that Debbie Downer of an "article."

GaleHawkins

After a life of yo yo dieting this time I am not doing or eating anything that I do not plan to do or eat the rest of my life. I am also doing maintenance for 1-3 months after each 10-15 pound loss. I do plan to keep walking a 1/4 mile daily and keep my carbs < 50 grams daily for life.

GaleHawkins

coreyreichle wrote: »

bjankabarazani wrote: »

A very interesting article on food addiction in obese and formerly obese people. What are your thoughts on it?

http://www.lift-run-bang.com/2014/05/if-youre-fat-and-lose-weight-youre.html

It's another fatlogic article.

@bjankabarazani thanks again for posting this article that I commented on last month. Thanks to corey's reposting of your link I read it again. The comments in the linked article are awesome. I did not know I was addicted to carbs until late last year when an AA (Alcohol Anonymous) leader went through the materials he teaches to show some of us how the teachings work for more than dealing with alcoholism.

I had been trying to get off of foods containing mostly carbs for years but had tried very hard for the prior two months with no real success when I introduced to the AA teaching materials.

Finally accepting I was indeed an addict to carbs and that I did not want to give up my addiction was a game changer. At the beginning of Oct 2014 I quit eating more than 50 carbs daily hoping to manage my pain without Rx medicine called Enbrel due to the cancer risks.

Yes the first two weeks was indeed hellish then the cravings started letting go of me. By Nov 2014 my pain levels were greatly reduced and I passed on starting Enbrel injections. Nearly a year later the pain is even better managed by diet alone. After years of IBS it has been cured and weight < 200 pounds for the first time in 22 years.

The article in your link really mirrors my personal experience with food addiction.

beverlyjlarson

mystgrl1604 wrote: »

that doesn't bode well for me. Im trying to develop healthy habits and Im hoping they stick, as I've been fat all my life and want a change. Once I get this weight off, I hope it stays off! Hehe.

Just prove them wrong!!!

CactusFlower527

Because it's not supposed to be looked at as a "diet" but a lifestyle change.. if you don't make your changes a permanent part of your life.. yes, I do believe you are prone to go back there. I know that for a fact - did WW and several other plans over the years.. at 230 I weigh the most I've ever weighed. I think (at the age of 51) I may have a grasp that the changes need to be PERMANENT.

CactusFlower527

smantha32 wrote: »

FitnessTim wrote: »

Whether it is 1 in 1000 or even 1 in 100 the odds are not great for obese or formerly obese people. From all the obese people I know, I get the impression that they are deluding themselves with regards to the amount of effort and focus that is needed to lose weight and keep it off. Most people just don't get it.

I know a couple obese people who seem to delude themselves about how much they're actually consuming. One woman is always saying she can't understand why she can't lose because she doesn't really eat much.... yet she's the first one in the break room eating donuts. Her mind seems to just gloss over the fact that she probably ate a day's worth of calories in donuts.
And I think a lot of us did that before we started tracking. I know I still have trouble with portion sizes too unless I weigh everything.

Agreed.. I need to count/measure/weigh everything, or guess what :-\

Jmgkamp

Since I first started this MFP thing I've thought about maintenance. Well, maybe not maintenance... but the idea that this is for life. Not always 1200 calories, but knowing that I will always - for the rest of my life - have to be aware of how much is coming in and how much is bring burned. I've been thinking about thanksgiving for the past 2 months, and I'm still 27 pounds away from my MFP set goal weight. Why? Because I want to eat turkey and stiffing. And maybe some cranberry sauce. I might eat 2000 calories that day. So I'm already thinking about what I will do the week prior, and that very morning. This is my new life. 60+ pounds down, I'm accepting that there's no end.

juliebowling1

mangrothian wrote: »

mystgrl1604 wrote: »

that doesn't bode well for me. Im trying to develop healthy habits and Im hoping they stick, as I've been fat all my life and want a change. Once I get this weight off, I hope it stays off! Hehe.

Read the comments above you. Article is a load of codswallop. The only thing that decides if your weight stays off is you, not an article that is written by a person who likes to make excuses, or a statistic. The willpower of people is what changes the statistics in the first place.

My plan for the day is to find a way to work the word " codswallop" into a conversation.
You made me snort my coffee!

jenms33

I have personal experience with this. I have lost and gained the weight back several times. Since I was in grade school I've been on and off diets. The last attempt was about two years ago now. I lost 50 pounds. I went on a vacation and could not get back on track. I gained back everything I lost and 13 more pounds. That puts me at the most I've ever weighed.

I do think the post has some correct aspects. It is bigger than just will power. Not saying I have a lot of will power however people do not get as overweight as I am with just eating too much at a meal. With other events that happened in my life over the last year I just realized this. Food became something that I used for comfort but mainly for numbing. I did not want to deal with my things in my life and instead of crying, being angry, or actually feeling the emotion I ate it so I did not have to.

I know with me I can be very strict and do everything exactly right and one 'trigger' will happen and I will quit because food is how I cope.

So for me I know I can make a commitment to be healthy, to lose weight but I also know its more than just exercising and controlling what I eat, I also have to work on the why I got to this point.

a_hershberger

So, back at my lightest, I had lost almost 170 pounds. Almost 2 years later I am trying to relose about 90 of those pounds. It all ce down to losing control of my environment and not taking care of myself first. I went on a year long mission trip which meant that I had no control over what my days were like and very little say in what I was fed. My weight came back not because of food addiction or anything, it came back because I didn't put in the extra work. If you stay committed and focused j truly believe that maintaining a large weight loss won't be an issue.