for those who've ever regained..?

Iwishyouwell

I lost in the neighborhood of 60-70 lbs back in my late teens. I was a fat boy almost my entire childhood and teen years, and it was devastating to my self esteem. I didn't become aware that I was a fat kid until I was in the 6th grade, but once I did notice it consumed my mind. It not only felt extremely unnatural and wrong, even at that age, it devastated my self image in ways that still reverberate in my life to this day.

I never weighed myself when I lost it. Despite dieting in my earlier teen years I ultimately lost the weight kinda by accident. I moved into my own apartment at 18 with my then girlfriend, and we ran into hard times and just, well, didn't eat much LOL. Lost a lot of weight then. Moved home, got another job that kept me active, and lost some more. I then finished out the rest of the weight consciously by watching my portions (helped by an all natural diet pill), and eventually exercising.

At 19 I got down to the 180's on a 5'11, muscular frame. I never weighed myself the entire time so when I finally did, in an exercise class in college when we HAD to, I was shocked. Last time I saw numbers like that I was in elementary school. I NEVER thought I'd be the kind of person to regain weight. It had tormented me so long that I just never even considered the possibility of it coming back. I never suffered from any major food addictions either, save for a mad sweet tooth. My biggest issue growing up was living a far too sedentary life.

But I did regain. I did not weigh myself daily, weekly, or monthly. I now think that would have helped tremendously. But I regained because I never saw myself as fit, thin, or attractive. Even though I am in the entertainment business and would get compliments on my looks all the time, I never saw it. People congratulated me on my massive weight loss, and said great things about my body, but I never let them sink in. Even in my 180's I had about 10-15 lbs left to go, but it didn't seem to matter back then. I still saw myself as if I were in the mid 200s, so when I started regaining I never really even recognized that I was getting far away from goal. I gained everything back eventually, and then far more after becoming sedentary again and indulging too much in sweets.

I'm in my early 30's now and in a far healthier mindset about fitness and nutrition than I ever was then. I had a lot of ups/downs during the rest of my 20's, gaining and losing, but never getting anywhere close to goal, and never really correcting my self image. I weigh myself weekly now. I have extraordinarily good control over my eating now. I keep my carbs on the lower end, I cycle in fasting, and my body feels great. But if I allow myself some indulgences I don't let it get out of control, but I also have cut most of the shame out. I've lost close to 60 lbs and am still rocking hard. I am making a point now to look at each and every pound-decade on the way down and celebrating the small losses. I want to be aware of what my body looks like now at each incarnation, which I never did before, so I can both be aware of exactly what I look like on the way down, so that I can avoid running into heading this way again.

Right now my weight loss is far more about cleaning up old mistakes, holdover fat from a different time, and a different me, than it is battling a continued poor relationship with food and exercise. It's good to be cleaning house!

ken_hogan

I quit weighing. Period. I'm a daily weigher, and I am able to handle the fluctuations in my body without freaking out most days. However, when I stop watching what I eat and stop exercising, I also stop weighing. That way, I can allow myself to be "ignorant" of what I'm doing to myself. If I keep weighing, I am more likely to get back on track and stop the gaining spiral. I think I will always have to weigh regularly in order to stay on track.

This sounds exactly what I would have said, only worder better!!

suecan2

I am one of those that freak out if the scale # doesn't budge going down.I choose not to jump on a scale anymore. the scale is a source of negativity for me (sometimes the # was up from too much salt intake or time of month and the # would really depress me). Last month I finally reached goal weight (again), I had 20+ lbs to lose and only stepped on the scale a like 5 times since last November when I started trying. I HATE the scale. In previous weight loss attempts I ALWAYS stepped on the scale.
Now I use a favorite pair of jeans--I put on once every week or two and if they are not fitting just right, its my clue to pass up ALL the extra treats (so hard, but so helpful) and just eat my 4 or 5 small meals a day.
I find when the jeans aren't fitting is well when I haven't logged my food to keep me informed of the total calorie and sodium I am taking in. when I am oblivious to amount of calories in food for a couple of days...I cant button the jeans easily.
What's different for me this time around with my weight loss and why its been successful: I found MFP!! now I know exactly what's going into my system and I have a ton of support in the same boat! I no longer feel alone in this battle
so try both ways, weighing daily and not weighing and see where you can find more power in to keep weight numbers in your desired range.

toutmonpossible

I can't speak to weight regained, but can address maintaining my weight. Frequent weighing, at least three times a week, does help. I can't lie to myself. In recent years, I've gained weight over the winter holidays and have realized that if I don't I get it off, the situation might snowball, so to speak.

snejkaxo

I can't speak to weight regained, but can address maintaining my weight. Frequent weighing, at least three times a week, does help. I can't lie to myself. In recent years, I've gained weight over the winter holidays and have realized that if I don't I get it off, the situation might snowball, so to speak.

Same problem here: I do really well during 3 seasons, and then winter holidays roll around, and I gain weight. New plan: never wear stretchy pants while eating, continue keeping track of calories, especially November-January, weigh in daily, so I can make micro adjustments. So far, it's been working for me, but I'll know for sure around Christmas.

LorinaLynn

I got by how my pants fit rather than the scale. I'm up about 15 pounds from my lowest weight over a year and a half ago, but I've been strength training and occasionally eating at a surplus, so I've put on muscle. The size 5 jeans I bought at my low weight still fit, so I don't care about the scale.

4jamaica

I weigh about once a week and have a weight trigger (+5 lbs) that, if I reach it, I go back to logging calories for a couple of weeks until I have a handle on portion control again and step up the intensity of at least one of my work-outs.

Also, it doesn't matter if I believe the "trigger" was pulled because I ate out the night before, or it's TOM. The way I think about it, if I refocus my efforts on my diet and exercise after a "false" high weight, the worse that can happen is that I lose more. If it wasn't a "false" high weight, then if I ignore it, the next weigh-in will be worse.

PS--my story is that I have been mostly the same weight since high school (give or take 10 pounds). I had one semester, where I went up 25, though, so I rehauled my eating, getting back down to normal levels. It's been 11 years since that happened. Now, I vary the most in terms of body fat %. The last two years, I've been working on improving my strength, rather than focusing on weight loss.

SkinnyMsFitness

As a person that lost 20 lbs June-Aug 2012 then fell off track until May 2013, I did not gain anything back. I think I can give credit that I did continue to weigh myself....I kept mindful of what I was consuming and tried to stay a little active. However, I only weigh myself once a week. Weigh-in days are Tuesdays. I think you'd drive yourself crazy by weighing-in daily, but it does help to keep track of it. Even once a month would be suitable.

Individuals are often successful when they improve their mentality as well. You cannot think that you're dieting until you reach a goal and then you're done. What happens next? You go back to your old lifestyle? And where'd that get you originally? We need to change our LIFESTYLES, not diet.

....And that's why I keep reminding myself. I'm now up to 42 lbs gone...which is almost 1/2 way to my goal. I will get better at this. And so can everyone else!

ok..so 80% of people who lose weight gain it back within two years. I guess that is the horrible truth. I know I fall into that category.


here's my question: Have any of you regained the weight you lost while weighing yourself everyday during the regain?

I ask..because my thought is that I regained because i stopped weighing myself and it creeped back on little by little. My theory is if I weigh daily after i reach goal.. I'd stop the madness before it ever all came back.


Not weighing durning maintenance is my biggest regret...cause here I am.

KeishaJo

Bumping so I can add this topic to my page.

I lost about 60 pounds doing the Adkins diet about 9 years ago, after the birth of my son. Each year, I've gained 10 to 12 pound back, culminating in the need to lose over 100 now. Then, my motivation had more to do with vanity than health. Now, almost a decade later, it has to do with health and walking to walk up the stairs without breathing hard. This topic was really helpful to read today, as I've been having a rough time with remaining committed to my goal. Thank you OP.