For those who gained it back

AmandaEdwards1

I counted calories about 9 or 10 years ago and lost 70 lbs. I have slowly gained it back over the years (more so in the past year or two due to added stress and, well, laziness...) I know the counting calories works. It's MATH. there are other factors of course but its MATH. I am back trying to do what I know works...

charmmeth

I lost about 15kg about five years ago, kept them off for a while, then was put on a medication that changed my metabolism, and gained several kgs, had a year with a lot of conferences (hotel breakfasts, lunches and dinners are so hard to keep track off, I find) and then hit menopause. Then came lockdown and Easter chocolate.... I ended up weighing more than I did when I started last time. It's coming off with careful watching of my diet (thanks to mfp) and exercise. I will then need to work out what my post-menopause maintenance levels are.

PAV8888

Diatonic12 wrote: »

@PAV8888

'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''

After all of these years, I have a burning question for you. Do you take advice from those who can't follow their own advice.

A decade ago, I went to a medical professional and dietitian about Maintenance. Neither one were taking their own advice and I found someone different that I could relate to. I am a Show Me Your Results and Don't Tell Me About Your Efforts person.

Don't tell me your evaluation during the process but give me the facts after you've been able to do it.

I THOUGHT what you were saying sounded familiar! While indirectly related to the main theme of the thread, that was my answer to someone who asked about maintenance up-thread! Almost 4 years later there's both too much and almost nothing to add to that answer. A lot of simple concepts are easy to understand; but, not easy to implement!

While details and implementation matter, as a general statement, for myself, managing to "make things as enjoyable and normal as possible within those parameters" means that I've remained willing to engage and adjust during the past four years.

I don't agree with you that there is no wisdom to be found from people who don't walk the talk. People can be knowledgeable; yet either unable, or unwilling, to apply their knowledge to themselves. Conversely, people may appear to be successful without actually walking the talk in a healthy manner. Consider the amount of drug use among bodybuilders, models, and athletes!

The good news is that committing to small course corrections doesn't require drugs!

I know @Diatonic12 that you like pictures. Maybe even a little bit too much judging by some of your past posts!

Top graph starts Sep 2016 and ends June 20, 2020. It covers FOUR YEARS and less than EIGHT LBS. Some of the jaggies are caused by the use of two different scales in two different towns and my lack of weight ins when I hit the coffee pot before the scale! Still, the sharpest drop like ~2.2lbs in one month.

Post March 2020, I took advantage of fewer restaurant meals to move my maintenance range midpoint from 154lbs to 152lbs. I dropped ~4lbs over 90 days at ~167 Cal a day

At the bottom you see the blue section that corresponds to the top graph, while to the left of it you can spot my pre September 2016 weight trajectory.



So far... this bunny is still going!

PAV8888

breefoshee wrote: »

So rather than just taking a little break to maintain, I kept trying to lose having an all or nothing mentality, keeping a deficit for some days and then going off the rails on others. I think that next time I am feeling burnt out, I might up my calories to maintenance for a couple weeks.

TL;DR I think that often I don't "arrive" in maintenance and therefore aren't ready practice maintaining before I've reached my goal weight.

Just like you I focused on only making sustainable choices during weight loss. Some have proven to be so; others have changed over time.

But I also spent almost 2 years practicing maintenance as part of my ongoing commitment weight management.

The first year was slowly losing towards maintenance (-11.2lbs), while the second year, for the first time within normal BMI, was my "maintain with a preference to lose" (-2.7lbs) year.

And, as I often suggest to others, I once again took the "easy" path! Would I like to show abs? Sure. But not enough to jeopardize a 125+lbs loss by pushing to the wall to achieve an extra 10lb loss.

Diatonic12

@PAV8888 Much thanks for the graph. Photos and me. The half has not been told.
I like your viewpoints, they're understood and appreciated. See you back out there on the trail.

puboochu

Personally I had lost 100lbs, I would go up a few and down a few less for about a year, then I needed knee reconstruction and that really made me lose motivation and ability to work out. Just as I was getting close to my low weight I broke my foot and was NWB for 3 months which really made my weight jump up.. no exercise and bored/stress eating 😫 Then shortly after I was able to return to work and getting back into healthy living I injured my thumb resulting in another surgery and being home all day due to covid I have been struggling again. I have a hard time finding ways to exercise with a sore knee, foot and limitations on ability to use one hand..but no more excuses for me!

Geneveremfp

I lost a bunch of weight calorie counting (over 60lbs - I never weighted at my highest started weighing a couple of months in). I maintained for a couple of years. Then I became pregnant and stopped weighing and (loosely) calorie counting. I never got as high as my heaviest but still put about 40lbs on. My weight stayed on post baby and I put on a bit more because breastfeeding made me ravenous. Took too long for me to get back into keeping an eye on things and just being accountable again.