once fat, always fat

blessingsfromabove721

Taking an excerpt out of one of the big posts trending on here right now (the one about the 800lb man getting kicked out of the hospital), somebody posted a story on that thread about a girl who was very large and lost some weight but not in the healthy way. Anyways, basically what she said was that most people who start off fat, even if they lose the weight, will always be fat...no matter how hard they try. And basically she made the assumption that even if you do manage to keep the weight off for any length of time, you will have to eat a very low calorie diet and you will basically be miserable, sick and tired.

My question is: do you think this is true? Do you think the majority of us will regain the weight and as she called "once your fat, you'll always be fat"? Or do you think it all comes down to being informed about weight loss and maintenance?

Sued0nim

Nope

jaqcan

Being informed about weight loss and maintenance!!!! You can't go back to previous eating habits (aka AMOUNTS) You'll always be eating less than you did at 250-300-800 lbs. You'll never be able to eat that way again. But you don't have to eat 1200 calories either. Lose the weight, eat less, move more. It's simple in concept, but harder in execution!

hugheseva

Just by judging on how many people are repeat users of MFP, I think that the majority pf people gain back the weight and are not capable of doing a lifestyle change, which is mandatory if one wants to maintain in a healthy range. I am seeing posts here where people are losing weight but complaining about how sometimes they are still binging on sweets or alcohol, or pizza, or processed food. If one doesn't start to dramatically change their eating habits, it's a lost cause in my opinion.

MondayJune22nd2015

I read that entire thread. It's all about ability, knowledge, & decisions! She wasn't doing enough proper things, to lose weight & keep it off & once she lost some weight, she didn't continue to because "crash dieting", isn't sustainable. It can be done but her way and/or the way of shows like: The Biggest Loser (they eat too little & move too much) because the viewers don't want to wait 2 years, for the contestant to lose all of the weight; the proper/sustainable way. It needs to be done much slower, otherwise it's just "crash dieting".

ARC1603

I think it's all down to people's attitude. I think a large majority of people who are over weight and lose weight aren't mentally prepared for what it will entail to keep the weight off.

To be overweight in the first place, your lifestyle is going to be unhealthy to some extent, be it lack of exercises and/or eating unhealthy foods. Most people don't approach weight loss as a long term change to that lifestyle. They do what they can to lose as much weight as physically possible as quickly as possible. Then go right back to their previous lifestyle.

People don't recognise that the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to make realistic changes to their lifestyle that can be maintained in the long run. I include myself in this because it has taken me a very long time to accept this as well. The weight is not going to drop off overnight by doing this, but it will gradually come off and stay off because I know I can do what I'm doing now for the long term.

SLLRunner

blessingsfromabove721 wrote: »

Taking an excerpt out of one of the big posts trending on here right now (the one about the 800lb man getting kicked out of the hospital), somebody posted a story on that thread about a girl who was very large and lost some weight but not in the healthy way. Anyways, basically what she said was that most people who start off fat, even if they lose the weight, will always be fat...no matter how hard they try. And basically she made the assumption that even if you do manage to keep the weight off for any length of time, you will have to eat a very low calorie diet and you will basically be miserable, sick and tired.

My question is: do you think this is true? Do you think the majority of us will regain the weight and as she called "once your fat, you'll always be fat"? Or do you think it all comes down to being informed about weight loss and maintenance?

Don't listen to that person. I was fat my entire life up into my early forties. I lost about 80 lbs total, but got into bad habits and gained 30 back. I am now at a healthy weight and no longer fat. It's because I have the tools to lose weight and keep it off if I so choose, and I choose to.

Unknown

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DeguelloTex

Y'all might regain. I won't.

nvmomketo

I would guess that is true for the majority. I hope it will not be tru for me, but it was in the past.

snowflake954

He who believes he can't do it---won't. My husband always says the battle is lost before it begins. First off, a positive attitude is necessary, then, persistance---just keep going and don't give up. All the tools you need are on MFP. Just use them.

jennifer_417

People regain the weight because they don't make any sort of plan for maintaining after they've lost.

Maxematics

Nope, it's just a half-truth. Partially because the industry wants you to believe you can't lose weight on your own and you need their products to help you and partially because people are uninformed about calorie consumption.

As many have already stated, the reason why many people gain the weight back is because they are not willing to make lifestyle changes. They think once they lose weight, they can go back to their old eating habits and maintain their weight and that's just not going to happen. Most people who are overweight are overweight because they do not have a healthy relationship with food to begin with. Instead of just focusing on a number on the scale, they need to focus on their overall health and wellness too.

When I first lost weight, it was 12 years ago and I was fresh out of high school. I was at my highest weight of 190 pounds. Between 8th grade and senior year of high school, I went from 120 to 160 to 140 then ballooned to 190. Why? My mom, being overweight herself, had no clue about nutrition and dinner was often Chinese food, McDonald's, or pizza. She never sent me to school with lunch, so my "lunch" was often Skittles and M&M Peanuts from the vending machine or two Sausage McMuffins from McDonald's. When I turned 18 I was able to branch out on my own and take care of myself. Within two years, I went from 190 to 115 pounds! Between then and now I've fluctuated between 111 and 140 pounds, but I have NEVER gone into the overweight category again.

Why did I gain any weight back at all? Periods of depression, inactivity, and not giving a damn about what I eat or myself. People say as you age, you can't lose weight. I'm 30 now and I weigh 118 pounds; my body looks the best it ever has in my life. Do I deprive myself? No. Yesterday I had half of a pumpkin spice donut, half of an apple cinnamon donut, half of a jelly donut, and a hamburger with BBQ sauce and french fries. I enjoyed every bite, but I know I can't eat like that every single day unless I'm willing to get the physical activity it takes to burn that off or maintain my weight. I still ended up losing two pounds this week when my goal is only half a pound per week. I didn't mean to, but I move around so much now that it just happened.

Getting a Fitbit also opened my eyes to how much I truly am able to eat per day. MFP tells me 1200 minimum, but when I wake up in the morning, I can only eat 990 calories or so to lose half a pound per week unless I move my butt! It doesn't even have to be that much, either, but I love getting physical activity now. Learning to get up and move/following an exercise program, combined with making wiser food choices, has helped me immensely. I finally figured out the source of my hives after eating after being misdiagnosed for 12 years, I cook for myself a lot more than I did before which saves me money, my depression is no longer present, and I wake up every morning looking forward to life. I'm not saying this will be the case for everyone, but it's amazing how much making lifestyle changes can help with weight loss, as well as other areas of life. As long as you are committed, informed, and take responsibility for yourself, you will not regain the weight. That's a fact.

Ashtoretet

I don't intend on ever going back to my highest weight. Yeah I won't be able to eat like I used to but I won't be starving and I will be a lot healthier.

seska422

Some things that jumped out at me:

Throughout college, I tried all of the trendy plans to little or no avail. My bookshelves are littered with South Beach, Atkins, and Zone manuals, Protein Power handbooks, and every form of the lie that the sensation of hunger is really just dehydration. (One month, I drank 5 liters of water every day. This must go on the record as my least favorite of any of the diet plans I tried.) Every time, the same pattern: about 10 pounds of initial loss, very quickly, great joy throughout the land, and then … nothing. Although I’d made no changes to my eating plan or introduced any new food, I would stagnate. I followed every rule to the letter but always got stuck.

And then, slowly, the pounds would begin to creep back on.

She didn't have persistence or patience.

When the initial "honeymoon" fast weight loss from a new diet slowed down and she didn't get constant positive feedback from fast weight loss, she decided that it wouldn't work long-term. Once she got "stuck", she probably relaxed her vigilance and didn't follow the diet closely and calories crept in here and there. That re-enforced that the diet wasn't working for her anymore (even though it would have if she'd stayed compliant) so she switched and started the whole process over again.

My grandmother’s cookies have 114 calories each and must be a rare treat.

Either her grandmother had the tiniest cookies ever or the author wasn't as good at calculating the calories in foods as she thought she was. If she didn't calculate her calorie intake accurately, that throws all of the other I only ate X calories references into doubt.

Ultimately, she didn't find what worked for her. She kept trying and trying things that worked for other people rather than experimenting with her macro balance and calories to find something that she could sustain long term. It's all about the long term.

Maxematics

seska422 wrote: »

Some things that jumped out at me:

Throughout college, I tried all of the trendy plans to little or no avail. My bookshelves are littered with South Beach, Atkins, and Zone manuals, Protein Power handbooks, and every form of the lie that the sensation of hunger is really just dehydration. (One month, I drank 5 liters of water every day. This must go on the record as my least favorite of any of the diet plans I tried.) Every time, the same pattern: about 10 pounds of initial loss, very quickly, great joy throughout the land, and then … nothing. Although I’d made no changes to my eating plan or introduced any new food, I would stagnate. I followed every rule to the letter but always got stuck.

And then, slowly, the pounds would begin to creep back on.

She didn't have persistence or patience.

When the initial "honeymoon" fast weight loss from a new diet slowed down and she didn't get constant positive feedback from fast weight loss, she decided that it wouldn't work long-term. Once she got "stuck", she probably relaxed her vigilance and didn't follow the diet closely and calories crept in here and there. That re-enforced that the diet wasn't working for her anymore (even though it would have if she'd stayed compliant) so she switched and started the whole process over again.

My grandmother’s cookies have 114 calories each and must be a rare treat.

Either her grandmother had the tiniest cookies ever or the author wasn't as good at calculating the calories in foods as she thought she was. If she didn't calculate her calorie intake accurately, that throws all of the other I only ate X calories references into doubt.

Ultimately, she didn't find what worked for her. She kept trying and trying things that worked for other people rather than experimenting with her macro balance and calories to find something that she could sustain long term. It's all about the long term.

Bingo. People who jump from diet to diet normally fail at weight loss because they have no patience. They expect to see unrealistic weight loss week after week, quit when they don't, then blame everything but themselves.

Duchy82

I've been at this weightloss journey for a long time, there have been breaks in it where i haven't logged due to medical reasons and gained weight back but i have never gone back to my starting weight of 107.6kg and have no intention of ever going back there. I tend to set myself mini goals but also max gain limits so at the moment I'm aiming to get to 80kg by christmas but i also have the rule that i won't allow myself to get above 85kg (82.5kg at the moment) if i were to take a break. That upper limit is constantly moving downward with my weightloss and will have an upper limit once i get to maintenance.

I was miserable at 107.6kg that is motivation enough never to get that big again a add to that my fear of developing type2 diabetes and i should be golden once i hit maintenance.

I think most that regain the weight make the mistake to follow a diet instead of a lifelong commitment to being at a healthy weight

SLLRunner

nvmomketo wrote: »

I would guess that is true for the majority. I hope it will not be tru for me, but it was in the past.

This is a good point, but I think those who gain weight back is decreasing because we now have tools to learn about what weight management is and is not about, and we use those tools. If you don't lose weight in a sustainable way, and if we don't use the tools, it's easier to fall into old habits we had when we were fat.

I won't gain weight back because I have great tools to keep it off.

tennisdude2004

It's an interesting question, I think a number of people that have come far on their journey and are in maintenance may keep it off.

The problem is continuing to action the tools we have learned. Life sometimes makes that difficult (not impossible, but difficult) and it can be a downwards spiral.

If you looked at the number of people that have passed through MFP, lost weight and then regained it I'm sure the number is probably higher than the current number of active members.

A lot of people have knowledge about what they should do, but a large number of them will not be willing to put in the hard work. At the end of the day, unless you are lucky, most of us will find it hard work.

Pawsforme

The majority? Sadly, yes. I don't see how anyone can argue with that unless they live in a bubble. Or don't have any friends, family or co-workers. Because it happens all the time.

But that does NOT mean that it's inevitable that all will, or that any one particular person is doomed to regain, or that those who don't are sentenced to live miserable, hungry lives.

What it takes to not regain is dedication and commitment and knowledge.

I lost over 60 pounds about 27 years ago and successfully kept it off through two pregnancies, menopause and various stressful life events. I didn't have to deprive myself or stay hungry all the time. So yes -- it is totally possible to lose and keep it off.

(In case anyone is wondering, the only reason I'm here now is that my thyroid crapped out and caused me to gain some weight. But with proper medication and following the good eating habits I learned when I lost weight before that weight is going away.)

cnbbnc

Hmmmmm.... Well, first off I think since she's had such a hard go of it that now she's got a nice defeatist attitude going, and attempting to drag everyone else down with her. Like...you're always gonna be fat anyway, so why even try?

I think that's a bunch of crap, but....I do believe that many MANY people do achieve their weight loss goal only to find themselves right back at square one because they couldn't handle the "it's a lifetime change" piece. I fall into that category as this isn't my first time at the weight loss rodeo.

I don't believe it has to be that way though. One thing that bothers me here is seeing people say "I'm just concerned with achieving my goal. I'll worry about maintenance when I get there." That's the thinking that will get you in trouble, and that's where I have to agree with her.

Francl27

Well I've been maintaining my weight loss for over a year.. I'm not 'miserable, sick, and tired' but yeah, to be totally honest, I do go to bed hungry sometimes - BUT it's because I have really bad PMS and get very hungry when it happens so I pretty much have to keep a deficit the rest of the time in order to maintain. And from what I read on the forums, it's not really a common occurrence, as a lot of people seem to think it's 'all in my head'... but I've still managed to maintain my 80 pounds loss. I'd just be much happier eating 200 more calories a day.

So yeah, I think it's possible to make the change.. you just got to want it enough, and have the tools for it - MFP is a HUGE help.

snikkins

She was right in that most people will regain the weight. But, I think part of her problem, like many other posters, is that she saw it as temporary and something to be endured until she could go back to "normal."

MFP has an entire subforum dedicated to maintaining. As long as you don't fool yourself into believing it's over when you get to your goal weight, I think you have a much better chance of keeping it off.

hugheseva

@synacious " I'm 30 now and I weigh 118 pounds; my body looks the best it ever has in my life. Do I deprive myself? No. Yesterday I had half of a pumpkin spice donut, half of an apple cinnamon donut, half of a jelly donut, and a hamburger with BBQ sauce and french fries. I enjoyed every bite, but I know I can't eat like that every single day unless I'm willing to get the physical activity it takes to burn that off or maintain my weight. I still ended up losing two pounds this week when my goal is only half a pound per week. I didn't mean to, but I move around so much now that it just happened."

I weighed 115 until age 38, and then I slowly slowly gained. Up to to that point I ate whatever I wanted and the weight just melted off of me. I was always active too. So "age" is not necessarily starting at 30. Now, I can't even look at those things you mention in your comment. If I overeat one day, or eat something that has a tiny bit of more sodium or sugar, I gain 1-2 lbs that takes me 4-5 days to work off. I lift weights and do cardio 7 days a week. Have to do almost scientific efforts to lose the weight.

So as a conclusion, if one continues eating the stuff you mentioned, around a certain "age" one will gain back the weight without a doubt.

abatonfan

I consider my "lifestyle change" to be a catalyst for development instead of a simple change. In order for something to be classified as development, it has to be functionally significant and relatively permanent (O_O I'm actually remembering stuff from my human development class). People make huge changes to their diets, but many only see dieting as a temporary thing (as soon as they lose the weight, they'll resume normal eating patterns), which will then result in them gaining back the weight. Due to medical conditions that popped up during my journey, I know I'll be logging my food and paying super close attention to what I eat for the rest of my life, so any weight that I might gain would be minimal (and would probably correlate to worse control of that medical condition).

bwogilvie

It's true that most people who lose a substantial amount of weight gain at least some of it back. Often, though, that's because they revert to the way they ate before they lost weight; they think of their diet during weight loss as a temporary change, not a new lifestyle.

I lost a lot of weight (not sure how much, maybe 50 lb.) in my first couple years of grad school, due to a couple of lifestyle changes: more walking for transportation, regular exercise, and more home-cooked meals. I kept it off for several years. I then put it on again when I got a demanding job, didn't make time to exercise, and needed to drive most places instead of walking to them. I kept eating like I was when I was burning a few hundred extra calories a day, and no surprise, I gradually packed on the pounds.

This time around I've been maintaining for nearly a year. I eat on average 2200-2300 calories a day. I don't feel deprived. I've learned which foods keep me sated longest, and which ones leave me feeling hungry. The only significant change I made to my diet was to stop eating breakfast cereal and milk, because a slice of buttered toast keeps me sated much longer than shredded wheat, raisins, and milk.

If you look at the National Weight Control Registry, you'll learn a lot about the habits of people who do successfully lose weight and keep it off.

Francl27

hugheseva wrote: »

@synacious " I'm 30 now and I weigh 118 pounds; my body looks the best it ever has in my life. Do I deprive myself? No. Yesterday I had half of a pumpkin spice donut, half of an apple cinnamon donut, half of a jelly donut, and a hamburger with BBQ sauce and french fries. I enjoyed every bite, but I know I can't eat like that every single day unless I'm willing to get the physical activity it takes to burn that off or maintain my weight. I still ended up losing two pounds this week when my goal is only half a pound per week. I didn't mean to, but I move around so much now that it just happened."

I weighed 115 until age 38, and then I slowly slowly gained. Up to to that point I ate whatever I wanted and the weight just melted off of me. I was always active too. So "age" is not necessarily starting at 30. Now, I can't even look at those things you mention in your comment. If I overeat one day, or eat something that has a tiny bit of more sodium or sugar, I gain 1-2 lbs that takes me 4-5 days to work off. I lift weights and do cardio 7 days a week. Have to do almost scientific efforts to lose the weight.

So as a conclusion, if one continues eating the stuff you mentioned, around a certain "age" one will gain back the weight without a doubt.

That's because you're gaining water weight... donuts or hamburgers won't make you gain weight as long as they fit your calories. Just saying.

Unknown

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Maxematics

hugheseva wrote: »

@synacious " I'm 30 now and I weigh 118 pounds; my body looks the best it ever has in my life. Do I deprive myself? No. Yesterday I had half of a pumpkin spice donut, half of an apple cinnamon donut, half of a jelly donut, and a hamburger with BBQ sauce and french fries. I enjoyed every bite, but I know I can't eat like that every single day unless I'm willing to get the physical activity it takes to burn that off or maintain my weight. I still ended up losing two pounds this week when my goal is only half a pound per week. I didn't mean to, but I move around so much now that it just happened."

I weighed 115 until age 38, and then I slowly slowly gained. Up to to that point I ate whatever I wanted and the weight just melted off of me. I was always active too. So "age" is not necessarily starting at 30. Now, I can't even look at those things you mention in your comment. If I overeat one day, or eat something that has a tiny bit of more sodium or sugar, I gain 1-2 lbs that takes me 4-5 days to work off. I lift weights and do cardio 7 days a week. Have to do almost scientific efforts to lose the weight.

So as a conclusion, if one continues eating the stuff you mentioned, around a certain "age" one will gain back the weight without a doubt.

I don't completely agree; there are women on this forum twice my age who weigh the same or even less than I do and easily maintain it. Just because one hits a certain age doesn't mean they will gain back the weight "without a doubt". That's just not true for everyone. Things vary from person to person, but for the majority of people, their TDEE will decrease with age, especially if they have little muscle mass to begin with. I agree that "age" doesn't begin at 30, but society has women believe that after their twenties, it's all downhill and they just deteriorate and that's just not true.

You seem to have an extreme case where you gain 1 to 2 pounds of water weight from consuming a bit more sodium or sugar than usual, but that's not the case for most people. It's scientifically improbable to gain 1 to 2 pounds from sugar or salt that isn't water weight related, unless that food was somehow approximately 3,500 to 7,000 calories or someone has a severe insulin issue. It's also highly unlikely to have someone be able to eat whatever they want at ANY age and not gain weight at a caloric surplus. It's the physical activity that makes it seem like they can eat whatever they want because their activity level is actually putting them at a deficit. If an older person has more muscle mass, their TDEE will be more than someone their age who does not have as much muscle mass. Lifting weights at a deficit is not going to increase muscle mass and all cardio does, besides heart/lung health, is help burn off more calories so you can eat a bit more.

If I don't move at all throughout the day, my Fitbit only gives me 990 calories to eat in order to lose half a pound per week. If I get 10,000 steps per day and exercise, I can eat anywhere from 1200 to 2100 to lose half a pound per week depending on how much activity I got that day. I'd imagine for someone older they'd start out with less than 990 calories per day to lose, especially if they have less muscle mass than I do or medical issues. Of course eating a burger and fries would make them gain or maintain since that can easily be 900+ calories alone. If they haven't eaten at a big enough deficit during the week or they don't burn off enough calories, they'll see no loss or even a slight gain per week.

daniwilford

My now 83 year old mother, was normal weight until her late 30's after my youngest sibling was born she gained weight into her 40's, lost weight, gained weight again in her late 50's lost it in her 60's and has kept it off for over 20 years now. My Aunt who was overweight as far back as I can remember also lost weight in her 60's and kept it off until she died at almost 90. The lessons I have learned from these amazing ladies are: You can lose weight after/during menopause and you can maintain a healthy weight until your death. If genetics or example determines success, I plan on being successful. So I would have to say that once fat, always fat is not a rule but a choice.

RaeBeeBaby

abatonfan wrote: »

I consider my "lifestyle change" to be a catalyst for development instead of a simple change. In order for something to be classified as development, it has to be functionally significant and relatively permanent (O_O I'm actually remembering stuff from my human development class). People make huge changes to their diets, but many only see dieting as a temporary thing (as soon as they lose the weight, they'll resume normal eating patterns), which will then result in them gaining back the weight. Due to medical conditions that popped up during my journey, I know I'll be logging my food and paying super close attention to what I eat for the rest of my life, so any weight that I might gain would be minimal (and would probably correlate to worse control of that medical condition).

I appreciate this post about personal development. While this is significant to the topic at hand, I can totally apply this concept to other areas of my life that have nothing to do with weight loss. Totally stealing this to post on my newsfeed!

I agree with all the posters who believe weight re-gain after loss is due to reverting to previous eating habits. I would say they are "abnormal" eating habits, rather than "normal".

I see a lot of people on MFP who are making progress towards current weight goals, but then reward themselves for their achievements with unhealthy food. That's the mindset that got you here in the first place! Personally, I've learned to reward myself for weight loss and fitness gains with non-food prizes (new pair of workout shoes, a new piece of exercise gear, a pedicure, a new outfit, etc). Food will always be entertainment, comfort and enjoyment but removing it as a "reward" is a big help towards maintaining weight goals.