For those who gained it back
leanjogreen18
Posts: 2,492 Member
Can you share what happened? Include what method of weight loss you used. The reason I ask is that I've yoyo'd and never stuck with the same method to maintain as I used during weightloss. I'm interested in those that DID try to stick with the same method to maintain regardless if it's counting cal, carbs etc and where you think it went wrong.
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I went on things like Nutrisysten, lost lots of weight, started fending for myself and fell way off the bandwagon. I tried MFP on my own and again, fell way off the bandwagon (stopped logging/caring). Now I'm working with a nutritionist using MFP and I have to send her my logs daily. Accountability is the biggest issue for me - I need someone to either stand over me or I need food delivered to me so I can't cheat at the grocery store and pick up junk food. My willpower lasts about a month maybe two but anything beyond that and it's back to junk food if I can get away with it
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Thank you for that honesty. I really want to spend the next 6 months wrapping my head around how to successfully maintain my loss.4
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I lost ~60 lbs using MFP - simply keeping track of my intake and increasing my output. I stopped logging about a year ago and gained ~35 lbs back, so back on track for one week now. Don't plan to do anything different other than continuing to keep logging and stay aware.12
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I lost ~60 lbs using MFP - simply keeping track of my intake and increasing my output. I stopped logging about a year ago and gained ~35 lbs back, so back on track for one week now. Don't plan to do anything different other than continuing to keep logging and stay aware.
Did you try to eat intuitively or did you just not pay attention?1 -
For me, I was calorie counting, but I ended up getting sick for a few months, it wasn't anything major, just back to back strep, pink eye in both eyes, viral infections, and I had to get my bottom 2 wisdom teeth removed, but this was all happening at the same time over all the span of 6 weeks, which completely threw me off of my counting. Turns out there was mold growing inside the walls of my apartment b/c something with the way they had the drain set up for rain wasn't working properly. I've since moved, but I'm now more susceptible to getting strep than I ever was before.
I finally got back to business, but I had gained back 20 of the 25 pounds that I had lost. It happens, and now I've lost those 20lbs and an additional 5. I don't stress about it, I just look back at is as a lesson learned to not allow myself to get lazy with my counting when things don't always go according to the plan.9 -
I haven't gained it back, but in my experience and general observation, people tend to go back to "normal". They go back to the eating habits that made them fat in the first place and they cease to perform regular exercise and cease to pay attention to what they're doing...cease to weigh in regularly, etc.
I'm going on 3.5 years of maintenance...I did calorie counting when losing weight, but I only used that as a tool...I don't do it in maintenance and haven't in 3.5 years.
I eat well for the most part...mostly whole foods and meals prepared from scratch, whole ingredients and/or minimally processed food stuffs. I eat vegetarian 3-4 times per week usually so many staples of my diet include things like legumes and lentils and oats and potatoes/sweet potatoes, etc. I mostly eat fish on non veggie days and chicken once per week or two...I eat red meat maybe once or twice per month. Vegetables are front and center in my diet...I eat around 6 servings daily and a couple servings of fruit. Most of my fats come from things like avocado, nuts, and good cooking oils.
I also exercise regularly...pretty much 5-6 days per week...a lot of people mistake regular exercise for a weight loss tool...it's not...it's a fitness tool and has the added benefit of making weight management easier...most people who maintain a healthy weight also exercise on the regular. I do both cardiovascular exercise as well as resistance work.
Though I do not actively log or count calories, I'm generally aware of what I'm taking in just from months of practice while losing. I also take it easy on the "junk" food...I don't eat much. We don't eat out that often either...we do pizza night about once per month as a nice little family treat and fun and my wife and I go out a couple times per month for a nice dinner somewhere...but most of our meals are from home and I brown bag my breakfast and lunch 99.9% of the time.
I weigh in regularly and monitor my weight...I don't really weigh in every day anymore, but usually at least once per week and usually more like 2-3 times per week.
Outside of my desk job I like to be generally active...my wife and I don't watch much t.v....maybe 2-3 hours total in a weeks time...perhaps a bit more in winter but that would be mostly some football...we'd just rather be up and around doing stuff.
I have friends that think I'm living some kind of miserable life, but I'm really passionate about nutrition and my fitness...I think this stuff is fun and good livin' is grand.24 -
Back in 2009 (before I knew MFP existed) I kept a calorie "journal" in a little notebook. I lost 60 or so pounds and maintained it for about a year. Honestly though maintenance was dumb luck. I got healthy and then I got cocky. I stopped logging once I hit 145, probably hovered around there give or take 5 pounds because I was making pretty good choices. Then I moved in with my now husband and one "bad" meal here and there turned into a few every week plus a pint of Ben and Jerrys.
I've lost a good chunk of weight on MFP (more than 20 lbs and less than 40 but I'm not sure exactly how much). Again it just boils down to not sticking to it.
Right now I'm sitting at 13 lbs lost and I'm just trying not to make myself feel like I'm racing to a finish line.6 -
Thank you for that honesty. I really want to spend the next 6 months wrapping my head around how to successfully maintain my loss.
Try for small changes over time.
People make big changes: gym exercise lose weight now. I ate at a party, I am doomed, I might as well binge.
I am trying the: yes this is forever approach. Yes I will have to pay attention to my food intake and expenditure forever so I might as well seek to make things as enjoyable and normal as possible within those parameters. I won't lose the weight in a day or two and I won't gain it in a day. If I gain a bit it is not the end of the world and I don't have to spend a month getting ready for the big diet... just reduce by 250 or less and wait for a month or two for things to come back to an even keel.
I.e. small changes. There is no: "I'm off the diet party and no special preparation to "start watching things tomorrow"
Anyway... that's my approach. Whether it works long term or not... I'll let you know someday12 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I haven't gained it back, but in my experience and general observation, people tend to go back to "normal". They go back to the eating habits that made them fat in the first place and they cease to perform regular exercise and cease to pay attention to what they're doing...cease to weigh in regularly, etc.
I'm going on 3.5 years of maintenance...I did calorie counting when losing weight, but I only used that as a tool...I don't do it in maintenance and haven't in 3.5 years.
I eat well for the most part...mostly whole foods and meals prepared from scratch, whole ingredients and/or minimally processed food stuffs. I eat vegetarian 3-4 times per week usually so many staples of my diet include things like legumes and lentils and oats and potatoes/sweet potatoes, etc. I mostly eat fish on non veggie days and chicken once per week or two...I eat red meat maybe once or twice per month. Vegetables are front and center in my diet...I eat around 6 servings daily and a couple servings of fruit. Most of my fats come from things like avocado, nuts, and good cooking oils.
I also exercise regularly...pretty much 5-6 days per week...a lot of people mistake regular exercise for a weight loss tool...it's not...it's a fitness tool and has the added benefit of making weight management easier...most people who maintain a healthy weight also exercise on the regular. I do both cardiovascular exercise as well as resistance work.
Though I do not actively log or count calories, I'm generally aware of what I'm taking in just from months of practice while losing. I also take it easy on the "junk" food...I don't eat much. We don't eat out that often either...we do pizza night about once per month as a nice little family treat and fun and my wife and I go out a couple times per month for a nice dinner somewhere...but most of our meals are from home and I brown bag my breakfast and lunch 99.9% of the time.
I weigh in regularly and monitor my weight...I don't really weigh in every day anymore, but usually at least once per week and usually more like 2-3 times per week.
Outside of my desk job I like to be generally active...my wife and I don't watch much t.v....maybe 2-3 hours total in a weeks time...perhaps a bit more in winter but that would be mostly some football...we'd just rather be up and around doing stuff.
I have friends that think I'm living some kind of miserable life, but I'm really passionate about nutrition and my fitness...I think this stuff is fun and good livin' is grand.
I would like to eventually eat intuitively and I think I can one day. I'm thinking I will log for 6 months to a year after I reach my goal weight range and then test the waters.3 -
I have taken prolonged maintenance breaks often (as in several months) and had no problem at all maintaining, until I quit smoking and decided to stop watching my food all together to focus on quitting, thinking an extra 5-10 lbs is no big issue. I ended up with an extra 35. Learned the hard way that completely letting go and shifting focus will never be an option. I didn't do anything special to lose weight, just counted calories and did intermittent fasting... intermittently. During my maintenance breaks I didn't do anything special either. I still logged, but more loosely with lots of guesstimating. What allowed me to relax my logging is that I still hopped on the scale every day, and every time I found myself inching out of my maintenance ranged I buckled down for a fast day which quickly brought me back within my range.7
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Thank you for that honesty. I really want to spend the next 6 months wrapping my head around how to successfully maintain my loss.
Try for small changes over time.
People make big changes: gym exercise lose weight now. I ate at a party, I am doomed, I might as well binge.
I am trying the: yes this is forever approach. Yes I will have to pay attention to my food intake and expenditure forever so I might as well seek to make things as enjoyable and normal as possible within those parameters. I won't lose the weight in a day or two and I won't gain it in a day. If I gain a bit it is not the end of the world and I don't have to spend a month getting ready for the big diet... just reduce by 250 or less and wait for a month or two for things to come back to an even keel.
I.e. small changes. There is no: "I'm off the diet party and no special preparation to "start watching things tomorrow"
Anyway... that's my approach. Whether it works long term or not... I'll let you know someday
I'm a firm believer in "make up your mind and your body follows" but to say it's 100% willpower may be false I'm not sure yet. But I know my head game usually falters when I reach goal weight so that's the space I'm working on over the next year or so. I'm determined not to fail this time!!0 -
Truly, because I viewed the entire kit'n'kaboodle as a sprint rather than a cross country run.
I didn't address underlying unhealthy attitudes towards food.
Quite simply, I hit my goal, put my food scale away, signed out of MFP and didn't sign in again
Until the weight came back.
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amusedmonkey wrote: »I have taken prolonged maintenance breaks often (as in several months) and had no problem at all maintaining, until I quit smoking and decided to stop watching my food all together to focus on quitting, thinking an extra 5-10 lbs is no big issue. I ended up with an extra 35. Learned the hard way that completely letting go and shifting focus will never be an option. I didn't do anything special to lose weight, just counted calories and did intermittent fasting... intermittently. During my maintenance breaks I didn't do anything special either. I still logged, but more loosely with lots of guesstimating. What allowed me to relax my logging is that I still hopped on the scale every day, and every time I found myself inching out of my maintenance ranged I buckled down for a fast day which quickly brought me back within my range.
Thank you! So weighing every day that is also where I failed on maintenance. I pretty much have your same plan with the exception I don't weigh food now(trying to guesstimate) and I cycle my calories so I can have one day eating near maintenance to get a good feel of eventual everyday eating life. I also intermittently do IF0 -
This is my third time here. Both times I lost about 80 pounds and then just stopped logging. Then I proceeded to eat whatever I want whenever I wanted and gained it all back. I don't know why didn't learn my lesson after the first time. This time my weight loss is going a lot slower because of my metabolism. I now know that I have to log for the rest of my life if I want to keep the weight off.7
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mgobluetx12 wrote: »This is my third time here. Both times I lost about 80 pounds and then just stopped logging. Then I proceeded to eat whatever I want whenever I wanted and gained it all back. I don't know why didn't learn my lesson after the first time. This time my weight loss is going a lot slower because of my metabolism. I now know that I have to log for the rest of my life if I want to keep the weight off.
This is also what I did but I wasn't knowledgeable (silly I know) about how to keep it off. I thought it was eat low carb (just one of the many diets I ate) and then eat intuitively after goal, which clearly I didn't learn anything during my weight loss. This time I'm eating with maintenance as the goal. I'm hoping that with the mental adjustment in my thinking will help.0 -
Unsustainable diet - didn't learn how to eat properly and just went back to my old habits afterwards. I only lost 30 pounds but very fast (4 months?) so I just really didn't learn anything.2
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Back in February 2014 I weighed 188 pounds and was probably about 27% bodyfat. I decided to lose weight inspired in part by having a wedding date. I chose a goal of 1.5 pound loss per week, my goal was 1800 calories. My diet was high protein (40%). I did P90 as a workout routnie and transitioned into P90X. From the exercise I typically ate about 2400 calories a day. I was pretty hardcore about my tracking and regular exercise. By September I weighed about 155 and was down to 12% bodyfat at which point I had my wedding. Pics on my profile are from that particular journey and can see it was pretty effective at least for weight loss.
After that I felt pretty satisfied with where my body was at and decided my career now needed my full attention. Without a goal I dabbled in exercise but was listless with it and it dwindled. I stopped tracking calories pretty much right away since I didn't have a goal really. As a result after two years I decided to pop some batteries in my scale that I hadn't used in forever and discovered I was back up to about 180 pounds in July of 2016. So, decided to get back to weight loss. This time my activity is mostly just walking more with some bodyweight exercise, my diet is more moderation based with few if any restrictions. So far I've dropped about 12 pounds. Not sure how I'm going to handle maintenance, if counting calories will be something I just have to keep doing or if I can establish enough of a routine that I can just transition into portion control.
I'd guess the key to maintenance is really forming the habits you need to maintain while you are dieting rather than doing some extreme diet and then just stopping it when you get to the end, because doing that you won't have built in the habits you need to maintain.6 -
I had lost 96lbs counting calories while eating keto, ended up gaining 60-ish lbs back because as soon as I switched back to eating normally, I ate everything and didn't count calories anymore. Right now I'm at ~70lbs down again with plain calorie counting.4
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Thank you @Aaron_K123! You reminded me that this is also the first time I'm losing weight for me and not an event (vacation, birthday etc). I know I will count calories from here on out but I hope to count mentally one day buy guesstimates.1
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I counted calories and worked out. Lost 101 pounds.. I went thru divorce and then started dating a coworker... I slacked off too much of my workout some due to finding I was anemic and stopped counting calories when I didn't have internet access. I have gained about 15 to 20 pounds but like to think a few of them is cause my iron binds me up so I am full of it.. Lol. . I am getting more committed to counting calories.. Making my gym time more than I was.. It still needs improvement. I am working on will power to say no to the goodies that come my way.. Said no to full size candy bar but ate two minis and a frost today and I just realized I been logging my Wendys salad wrong by half of the calories.. I am on day 1 of a 100 day fitness challenge so hoping this motivates me to actually see my numbers go down.. Before this gain I had successfully lost weight without gaining weight from set backs.. Mentally because I passed out when hungry I think its hard for me to mentally deal with hunger.3
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Thank you @Aaron_K123! You reminded me that this is also the first time I'm losing weight for me and not an event (vacation, birthday etc). I know I will count calories from here on out but I hope to count mentally one day buy guesstimates.
Sad to say that weight loss for me this time around is yet again event inspired.2 -
I lost weight by following a low fat regimen much in line with various national nutritional guidelines, that also included counting calories. It went well for the months I stuck to it, as long as I was motivated by the loss. I did try to stick to the same food rules in maintenance. I think I lasted two weeks. I thought I just fell off the wagon, got sidetracked, sabotaged, life happened. Now I know it went wrong because the diet was:
too rigid and restrictive
too many random rules
too far away from what I (or any normal person) would eat and in no way realistically possible to adhere to for normal people
too little fat and salt
too little taste
too much scare
Enjoyment gone, flexibility gone, spontaneity gone, creativity gone, self trust gone, you are left with worrying about all the tasty food that is gong to kill you, just not sure if it will be before or after you swell up to be a monster. Ironically, that's exactly what makes many people turn to one thing that can bring instant comfort - supertasty, hypercaloric, low-nutrient foods.
MFP gave me an alternative to all that. I have been maintaining my weight (50 pounds lost) for 23 months now. (I weigh the same as I did when I was 12. I never dreamed that would happen, not until I would get so old that I couldn't eat enough. Now, I'm full, happy and energetic. I eat my favorite food. I don't count calories. I don't exercise. And I feel younger than ever.)7 -
I had lost 96lbs counting calories while eating keto, ended up gaining 60-ish lbs back because as soon as I switched back to eating normally, I ate everything and didn't count calories anymore. Right now I'm at ~70lbs down again with plain calorie counting.
This happened to me as well however old Atkins wasn't about counting calories so I naturally increased calories when I went up in carbs and the weight went up. Regardless It wasn't sustainable for me and sadly I knew it when I went on it. It was just easier to read how such and such stays so thin on low very low carbs and I got caught up. I've since for unrelated reasons stopped eating meat with the exception of fish once or twice a month.2 -
I lost 100 pounds following the Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. As many others have stated, as soon as I went back to "normal eating", I gained it all back. It took years, 5 years in fact, to gain it back and another 6 months to put 20 additional pounds on top of the 100 I'd already gained. I have been counting calories since February 1st of this year and have lost 110 pounds. Obviously I'm nowhere near maintenance at this phase but I am in a completely different space mentally than I was before. The Raw Food Detox is all about "eat this", "don't eat that", "eat this but NEVER with that", "eat this but ONLY with that", etc. It's rule after rule after rule, most of them "woo" and completely arbitrary. I may have lost 100 pounds, but it didn't "work" for me. Counting calories is the most freeing experience I've ever had losing weight.7
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I've lost weight (20-25 lbs) about three times and gained it back and a little more each time. The first time was in college, when I broke up with my boyfriend and became a vegetarian. I think after losing 20 lbs initially, I then just eventually started finding unhealthy vegetarian food, plus didn't track food back then, and slowly I gained it all back. The second time I lost weight was when my husband and I decided to lose together, and we got really into running and doing races (5k, 10k, half marathons). I was counting calories (eating 1650 cal per day--I'm female, 5'6", started out at about 140 then), and we worked up to running a lot of miles per week. I got down to 118 and loved how I looked and felt, and loved running and racing. Then I got a running related injury, couldn't run as much, and lost all my momentum, and gained back more than half the weight pretty quickly. Then over the years we had 3 kids, so between fertility hormones, pregnancies, and the busyness that comes with having young kids, I eventually got back to the high 140s. Then I found IF and got back into running some, so lost about 17 lbs that way. Then we decided to try for a fourth and ended up having miscarriages, and I found myself at 156 when it was all done. So now I'm back to counting calories, but this time enjoying doing so on MFP (it was a chore counting calories on paper way back when!). I'm also now trying to get into an exercise habit that will be maintainable over the long term. I don't want to have to rely on a high training volume to keep my weight down, because life happens and I can't always be certain that exercise will happen. I'm expecting to need to continue to log daily, but that's okay because I'm a numbers gal, and like I said, I do enjoy logging on MFP. I began my FINAL weight loss journey two months ago and I'm down 11 lbs, so steady goes it!3
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@kommodevaran thank you. I learned this from old Atkins diet too.
@mygrl4meee thank you. I'm hoping to learn that I cant always put others first, sometimes I come first so that I can not only be here for them but also be the best me to help them.
Eta - putting myself first sometimes has been extremely difficult for me.0 -
I stopped logging and weighing, got into a relationship, started cooking higher calorie foods, eating out more, drinking more, and exercising less.
My plan for maintenance when I get there is to continue to log or minimally continue to weigh and go back to logging if I gain five pounds.4 -
One of the most important tips for maintenance imo is to weigh yourself everyday, or a couple times a week at least.
Keeping on top of any weight creep is so important, and losing a few extra lbs that have snuck on is so much easier and less daunting than 20+ lbs that many people gain before "noticing".
Log your food a couple times a week for back up and reassurance, and don't forget, your eyes are bigger than your belly
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Unsustainable diet - didn't learn how to eat properly and just went back to my old habits afterwards. I only lost 30 pounds but very fast (4 months?) so I just really didn't learn anything.
This is pretty much what I did, too.
About nine years ago I lost weight using meal-replacement shakes - not one of the well known brands, but still a product from a reputable MLM company that my friend and sponsor had used (and was still using... that should have been a clue!) with great success. I realised that my brain didn't think I'd had a meal unless there was something to chew, so I'd have a piece of fruit or something with my breakfast shake and a plain salad with the lunch one, then a normal dinner. (As far as I recall, I probably ate what was "normal" for me at that time rather than trying to eat "healthy".)
I started at 198lbs and got down to 175 in about 4 months - I didn't do any exercise, but I was in an active job at the time and on my feet for 8 hours a day, which probably helped! I got a sedentary job in an office, and after a couple more months I stopped using the shakes because they were pretty expensive and I just couldn't keep up with the cost. I blithely figured I'd stay at that weight without trying... We all know how that goes!
So, I learned nothing about calories or portion control, went back to eating the way I had been before I started, and soon the weight started creeping back on. I'd complain about my weight but do nothing, because I thought I'd have to be on the shakes for the rest of my life like my friend (who probably still has one a day - I lost contact with her so I don't know), always feel hungry, and never be able to eat my favourite foods again. I didn't like being fat, but I wasn't prepared to put myself through misery to lose weight even though I hated my body and what I'd done to it. I resigned myself to being fat for ever, because I had no willpower.
Over the years all 23lbs and a lot more came back, and I started this year at 217. I was probably a few pounds heavier last year, thanks to a job that had an in-house cook and fabulous hot lunches as a perk! I was sad to lose that when I was laid off, but it was probably far better for my health. I have a friend who's lost a lot of weight himself, along with his wife, and had mentioned MFP to me before. In January I was finally ready to try again and signed up... after realising I didn't have to cut out anything if I didn't want to, but only watch my portions and count calories, I was sold!
As of this week I'm down 40lbs, and although I think I may have to count and log even when I get to maintenance, I'm learning a lot this time and I'm gradually getting used to estimating calories and portion sizes. I'm learning to be satisfied with smaller meals and less treats, and I don't even crave chocolate any more. I can see this being something I'll be able to keep up for the long haul, although I realise I can't let myself get complacent again. I'll need to weigh myself regularly and watch my intake, but I can see myself succeeding this time!
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I got pregnant. Just started working on the pregnancy weight when I got pregnant again.
I am just about back to where I was when I got pregnant the first time, only this time I'm using 2 kinds of birth control.3
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