For those who gained it back

leanjogreen18

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.

folgers86

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

leanjogreen18

Thank you for that honesty. I really want to spend the next 6 months wrapping my head around how to successfully maintain my loss.

CSARdiver

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.

leanjogreen18

CSARdiver wrote: »

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?

jdhcm2006

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.

cwolfman13

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.

bethannien

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.

PAV8888

johunt615 wrote: »

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

leanjogreen18

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.

amusedmonkey

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.

leanjogreen18

PAV8888 wrote: »

johunt615 wrote: »

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!!

juliebowman4

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.

leanjogreen18

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 IF

mgobluetx12

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.

leanjogreen18

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.

Francl27

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.

Aaron_K123

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.

daniip_la

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.

leanjogreen18

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.

mygrl4meee

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.