How to not be one of those "I lost X pounds but then I gained X of it back!"

Francl27

I don't know anyone who's successfully lost weight and not gained it back eventually...

Actually I haven't got ANY comment on my weight loss from my husband's family because they're probably thinking that I'll gain it all back anyway (been maintaining for over a year), or people I see once a year ask me how I manage to stay 'so skinny' (which I'm not, really). To be fair, I do eat quite a lot when we have social events, but it's only a few times a year thing... and they usually don't see me eating the rest of the time, and they don't see me exercising one hour a day (which, as far as I know, none of them does at all) etc...

For me, I guess I'm still in the 'weight loss' mindset because I didn't have a very aggressive goal, and it's what's stopped me from gaining weight back... I wouldn't mind losing more. So I try to keep a deficit and it makes up for the days I end up eating too much. But losing too much weight is not something I've ever been worried about, I just get too hungry for that to happen.

michelepiper940

Simple. Don't go back to old eating habits. Stay active and keep changing it up. I have successfully stayed at a healthy weight. It can be done.

TheJunkDrawer

MasterVal wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

people tend to talk a good talk about "lifestyle" change, but most do not really understand what that is or what that means and ultimately fail to implement such a change. people tend to look at goal weight as the "finish line" when in reality, they've simply arrived at the starting line of the actual race to be run.

I don't log...haven't logged in over two years and I've maintained by 40 - 50 Lb weight loss just fine. How? My lifestyle is completely different than it was three years ago when I started out. I eat very healthfully...I am admittedly a whole foods/minimally processed foods snob...my diet is very heavy on whole foods. Fruits, veg, whole grains, legumes, lean sourced protein, and healthy fats from things like avocado, nuts, olive oil, etc make up the vast majority of my diet...this is no different than when I was losing weight...the difference between my maintenance and losing weight is a mere handful of calories...a couple extra snacks during the day...that's it.

Where people go wrong here is that they hit goal...the "finish line" and say, "awesome...now I can go back to normal"...that mentality pretty much signals that they've already lost the real race...they don't register that there has to be a new normal...you can't revert to old dietary habits that got you into trouble in the first place.

Beyond that, people tend to fail at fitness...people tend to so closely associate fitness and exercise with losing weight that they fail to recognize fitness for the sake of fitness...you exercise to be fit, not to lose weight...thus you also exercise when in maintenance...because you're doing it for fitness. I still exercise the same as I did when I was losing weight...I ride 60-80 miles per week just like I did then...I lift 2-3 times per week just like I did then...I fit in a 5K run pretty much weekly to cross train just like I did then.

TLDR...people tend to revert back to old dietary habits and cease regular exercise and thus put the weight back on.

THIS THIS THIS THIS!!!!!!

This should be a stickie!!!!

Thank you, @cwolfman13 , could've not summed it any better!

I agree. This is the best thing I've ever read about maintenance!

ericGold15

Wolfman pretty much nailed it. I'll add that people over eat for different reasons. For example:
1. Old eating habits but now sedentary
2. Social eating
3. Emotion eating
4. Binge eating
5. Calorie dense, fat food

Ask yourself where the problems were/are and change them. Sometimes this can be replacing a bad habit with a better one; or it can be adding exercise to your daily routine; or avoiding what you cannot control.

I gained weight by becoming sedentary and binge eating sweets. The latter I deal with by not bringing the stuff into the house anymore, and at work having a bowl of veggies handy if I just have to stuff my face. Daily exercise is going to be a more difficult lifestyle change and I think will mostly require discipline. We do have a fantastic community Recreation centre with a stupendous pool I have started going to. I swam *a lot* when I was a teenager and I love the water, but I was never a good swimmer. I am currently putting in a lot of effort to improve my technique so that swimming becomes enjoyable rather than work.

As an old mentor once told me: know yourself

earthnut

The last time i lost weight and regained, my diet and exercise didn't change at all. I was still eating healthy, nearly half fruits and vegetables every day. But i attempted to do it without counting. Unfortunately for me, my maintenance calories are low, only 1400-1500. So the difference between losing and gaining is quite small. I've realized that this time I'm going to have to count calories during maintenance for quite a while at least. Even on the healthiest diet you can gain weight if you're eating too many calories.

I think also, since i tend to burn out on counting calories, I will schedule a week here and there to take "diet breaks".

LivingtheLeanDream

I know a few people who lost alot of weight and kept it off including myself - what we all had in common was we found an activity we really liked and we just keep on doing it....simple

I've been maintaining my weight loss for over 2 years (I run/walk alot ), my 26yr old son has kept his 80 lbs weight loss off for 3+ (he cycles 50 miles+/3 times a week). My hubby has kept his 28lbs loss off for 3 yrs (walks loads).

Oh and we make better choices with food now, it comes naturally after a while.

dopeysmelly

As usual, wolfman is absolutely right!

I'd also add that life is a dynamic thing. There is nothing that says if you've regained pounds in the past, you're going to gain them back again. Just learn from mistakes you've made in the past. I've lost and regained before, but I won't this time (after 70lbs gone) mainly because of what I've learned about nutrition, health and myself. I'm quite literally a new person!

cmatthews8074

You maintain your weight by eating the same amount of calories, if you increase them you'll gain the weight back, if you decrease your calorie you'll continue to lose more. I'm picking foods that I like and are realistic for me to continue eating, once I lose 10lbs recalculate my calorie requirement.

lorrpb

I'm still 50 pounds away from maintenance, but I think about it a lot and how I'm going to maintain what I'm working so hard to achieve. I just figure it's a continuationof what I'm doing now with a few more nibbles thrown in. I try not to make a change that I don't think I can keep up for the rest of my life.

It's so encouraging to hear all of you talk about the successes you've had! Thanks got the perspective!

alias1001

I'm almost at maintenance, but I plan to keep logging. For me, it's far too easy to slip into bad habits--too much snacking, eating larger portions, etc.--that made me regain time after time.

But other than that, I agree with the sentiments of this post, but I'm waiting for it to really sink in. It's hard to imagine I'd ever say I finished, because what about tomorrow?

livelifeinbliss

Aslong as you dont go back to your old eating habits, you shouldnt gain all the weight back. Eat the right foods and enjoy life!

shadowconn

I'll end up weighing myself once a week in maintenance. If I gain, I'll go back to what I am doing now for a few days and try and eliminate whatever it was I was doing that caused it.

SLLRunner

DrEnalg wrote: »

I see lots of those pop up around here. I'm a few pounds from what I previously said was my goal weight (really, I think I'm at goal at this point). I'm trying to seriously start thinking of what maintainence and recomposition will look like for me.

How do you *not* become a statistic, as they say?

Been there, done that, several times to be honest, and I'm not going back. Ever.

I have changed my relationship with food, have incorporated some tools into my dietary plan (weighing food, logging, paying attention) and have been maintaining for over a year and a half. This is the first time I've been at a healthy BMI/weight range, and the first time I've maintained for this long.

If you have lost weight in a slower and sustainable way, with the last of your weight lost at a half pound a week, maintenance may be easier because you will not have such a huge calorie jump.

ilovesweeties

Where does the 5% figure come from? I feel like continuing to use MFP in maintenance gives me a greater chance of keeping my weight the same than if I wasn't. What is the successful maintenance rate for MFP users?

I also cant help thinking we should stop worrying about "being in the 5%" and consider that we are increasing that 5% to 10, 20, 50... 100% successfully maintaining!

exact0ninja

I think the best thing to do would be to develop a routine and habits that are natural and that you don't think of when you do them. Like, "Oh man. I have to eat these three veggies for lunch for my diet." Instead, best case scenario is that you would automatically go for those veggies because you really like them. Same goes for exercise. I think it is important for people to create a diet and plan that they love from the beginning so that when they reach their weight, it won't be hard to keep their habits and they can easily indulge every now and then without feeling guilty.

caroldavison332

My tastes have changed in the 40 days since I changed to eating to live. ONE Lindt choclate ball tastes outstadingly yummy. The second, not so much. So I only eat one ball (75 calories) instead of a whole bar (300 calories). I've adapted to my vegan salads at work (I like the vinegar sour) and prefer it to chef salad elsewhere. I prefer to eat my burger from my hand so its caramelization hits my taste buds directly instead of being buffered by a hamburger bun. As a diabetic I know that I can't afford to drink calories (that is sugar water) so its nothing but water and coffee with creamer for me. It's working great-I've lost 14.5 pounds.

Alidecker

I was almost at Maintenance, then I became one of the 95% we are discussing and now working it back off. I know exactly when I started gaining the weight back. When I got close to my goal, I decide to do a triathlon. I kept up with my weight lifting and gym workouts, but added in more swimming, biking and walking/running in the mornings to train. I could eat a lot more then and keep the weight off....the triathlon was over and I kept eating. Then somewhere along the line I stopped weighing myself regularly and here I am. Luckily I didn't regain the 130# I lost, only the 30. Luckily I kept up with the fitness part of changing up my life. This time I will keep up with the better eating part.

allaboutthecake

For me it was being proactive in my own health. I knew my body better than the docs. So when things didn't add up, I kept pushing for more tests. Turned out the dr. experts were wrong and I was right. So if you have a sense that something is not quite right with yourself, don't sit around and wonder what's up....get yourself checked out and keep pushing for answers if what they tell you doesn't fit your symptoms. Gaining weight can be a symptom.

halofan4life

Hey! I'm one of those guys. Lost 150. Put 55 back on over 3+ years. I had to adjust to life with a kid and stopped logging. Don't stop logging and using MFP. I intend to use a tool like this for the rest of my life.