How do people gain weight back?

Evamutt

I'd like to add to my post that at family/friends get togethers, I still ate within my calories & bypast many foods, I started to have a little of them. The other thing is I eat out a few times/month due to some friends who I get together with for lunch, before I'd order a salad & bring my own dressing, I started to order other things. It sounds small but many small things add up

Evamutt

Evamutt

texasredreb, how horrible, can't imagine what you went through, so sorry you experienced this, I'm so sorry for you others that went through such horrific circumstances too

jennifer_417

I didn't do it without noticing, but I did do it. Life got hard and I went back to comfort eating, simple as that.

Phirrgus

texasredreb wrote: »

Hopefully my ability to lose weight again is as resilient as the rest of me.

@texasredreb Of course it is. Look at what you've been through and survived, bless your heart. You can do it.

Myself, I've never been obese, but a few pounds here and there make me extremely uncomfortable. I hit my goal weight and have been living with some weight creep for a bit now and it's simply due to the fact that I haven't been willing to weigh and measure my food and restrict myself. Maybe it's time to get back to what I know works for me.

Phirrgus

texasredreb wrote: »

Hopefully my ability to lose weight again is as resilient as the rest of me.

@texasredreb Of course it is. Look at what you've been through and survived, bless your heart. You can do it.

Myself, I've never been obese, but a few pounds here and there make me extremely uncomfortable. I hit my goal weight and have been living with some weight creep for a bit now and it's simply due to the fact that I haven't been willing to weigh and measure my food and restrict myself. Maybe it's time to get back to what I know works for me.

texasredreb

nutmegoreo wrote: »

What breed is this guy? How heavy is he? (mine's a rescue and she looks a lot like this)

He is a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog!! That's a mouthful, I know. Also known as a Catahoula Cur. The breed is common in the South. Per his DNA testing he is purebred. Per his temperament and physical attributes, he is poorly bred--likely from a backyard breeder. He's about 50lbs, but I keep him a few pounds light due to a hip replacement surgery. He has a lot of mechanical hardware in his hips.

tpcooper

I have lost over 50 pounds 4 times in my life and working on #5. I don't just start going back up immediately, I generally hold the weight off, anywhere from 1 year to 10 years until some major life event causes me to lose focus. When I lose the weight I am usually in a good place in my life overall and can focus on the problem of being overweight. When I gain the weight I usually have something else that is using the mental energy I need to use on losing or maintaining weight. I know I am gaining weight, and I don't like it, but at that time in my life I am usually making the judgement that large pizza for myself is worth it!

pjwrt

Winter. I'm up north where the days are 7 hours long and nothing much to do most of the time outdoors. 10lb gain every single winter and drop it like a stone come March. I do use the weight to try to gain a few cm on my arms.

seltzermint555

I haven't read this entire thread but I'm sure I'll echo others when I say even the strictest calorie counters can get lazy and regain some weight. I'm maintaining and in my sixth year but have regained 10-14 lb at times (from loss of 130+) just by getting cocky and deciding it's okay to drink that big bottle of milk (260 calories) on a road trip when I'd normally guzzle water only - or order the bigger of two favorite entrees (810 calories instead of 530 calories). It adds up quickly. A one-time "event" can turn into a habit really easily and that definitely goes for bad habits & routines like getting donuts every Saturday morning (I'm not saying no one should do that but for me it's a bad idea).

The important thing IMO is to get back on track quickly as well.

firef1y72

As someone who has lost 140lb and maintained that loss for 20months, I can tell you the losing weight was the easy bit, maintaining is so much harder. You don't have the numbers going down to motivate you and it's easy to slip in to old ways.

I work hard at maintaining without going too crazy about restricting what I eat. Basically I am extremely active, and keep an eye on my weight. I have bulk cycles of a couple months where I put on 5-10lb, and then have a few weeks where I take control, log my food (just logging is usually enough) and a few times a year I do an intensive week with my PT where she ups the pressure on me in our sessions and creates a tailored meal plan

SCoil123

For me I found this site after gaining around 30lb back. I had initially lost just over 80lb and maintained for 3yr before gaining any back. It happens.

My life changed dramatically in a year. I switched jobs becoming less active and moved in with my now husband who is a chef so I was eating more with him and enjoying his cooking. The two changes combined lead to a pretty fast gain. I was so focused on adapting to my changing life that I didn’t notice my changing body at first. I wear black leggings as pants most days so I didn’t feel clothes getting tighter.

Then one day I had a big work meeting and had to dress differently...none of my meeting clothes fit. I stepped on the scale and was shocked! I thought I had gained 10, maybe 15lb but it was actually much more.

Now I’m in maintenance again. I lost the weight slower this time ( this loss took longer than losing 80lb my first time). I’ve built the majority of my social life around fitness activities to keep active outside of work and I continue logging. I’m hoping to have learned from my past so that I don’t have to start over ever again.

CSARdiver

Weight is simply an output of behavior. When weight becomes your priority most manage this well. The issue is one of conflicting priorities and time management. Once weight become managed, then our brains focus on the next pressing priority. Habits are changed and the mindfulness of calorie counting falls by the way side.

I would imagine those who believe that they will neve gain weight again, will almost certainly return to their previous weight. Humans must be aware of their capacity for harm before they can realize their capacity to do good.

Maintenance is much less of a defined goal and you have to establish a higher goal beyond weight to keep this up.

Danp

Speaking from my own experience it's the slowness of weight gain. I'd go as far as to describe it as insidiously slow.

It's the fable of boiling the frog. Which I'm sure everyone is familiar with but just in case.

The story goes that if you throw a frog into a boiling pot of water it will jump immediately out, however if you put the frog in a cool pan and ever so slowly turn up the heat the frog will not notice the increasing temperature and will sit there and be boiled to death. (It's not true BTW, that frog will absolutely jump out once the water starts getting hot no matter how gradual)

Weight gain, for me at least, was like that. I just didn't notice as I looked and felt, more or less the same today as I did yesterday and I'd feel pretty much the same tomorrow.

Sure there might be signposts or indicators that the weight was piling on slowly but even these usually happen in stages that mean things go unnoticed.

For example. I was a size 36 because all the pants in my wardrobe were 36 (because that's my size) but some were 38 (because stupid sizing between stores is inconsistent). But I'm a size 36! The next time I go shopping for pants I end up having to get a size 38, not because I've gained weight, oh no it's because sizing is stupid. Then the next time I buy pants, I'm reaching for the 38 because that's the size all my pants are, except some are 40 because clothe sizing is stupid. Months/years pass and I'm walking into stores to buy a size 40 pants... and so on...

It's slow, clothes get tight before you jump sizes, belt notches overlap between sizes. All the slowness and all the overlapping confuses the issue. Seeing more or less the same person in the mirror each day confuses the issue.

Tedebearduff

SeanD2407 wrote: »

Im confused why so many people once they get to goal weight, somehow gain the weight back?
I am close to goal weight now so I'll occasionally slip gain a couple pounds but start again.
Im just confused at people who drop several sizes, just let themselves gain it back "without noticing".

For me if I were to go back to old habbits, once Id notice I am up say 10 pounds (really 5 but that could just be a chinese buffet meal the day after) I'd make a plan to get back on track ASAP.. but i see threads about people who lose 50 plus lbs but return with all that weight and then some back.
Im terrified to have that happen to me so I'd love insight into why we think those types of people struggle or let it happen. Thanks

Easy answer is look at bodybuilding and ask why aren't they all in competition ready state at all times during the year.

What you view as "without noticing" is on purpose for some of us who are bodybuilding and your opinion of my "without noticing" is not relevant to me whats so ever and I could give a *kitten* what you think of my body or my process as I love me, and my wife loves me. Focus on you and what you're doing and not what others are doing and you might be more successful and more happy in your own life.

sarahlifts

bulking lol

sardelsa

sarahlifts wrote: »

bulking lol

^^same. I gained my weight back on purpose after reaching goal, going for the sixth time now.

lalalacroix

SeanD2407 wrote: »

Im confused why so many people once they get to goal weight, somehow gain the weight back?
I am close to goal weight now so I'll occasionally slip gain a couple pounds but start again.
Im just confused at people who drop several sizes, just let themselves gain it back "without noticing".

For me if I were to go back to old habbits, once Id notice I am up say 10 pounds (really 5 but that could just be a chinese buffet meal the day after) I'd make a plan to get back on track ASAP.. but i see threads about people who lose 50 plus lbs but return with all that weight and then some back.
Im terrified to have that happen to me so I'd love insight into why we think those types of people struggle or let it happen. Thanks

I had been at a good weight for several years. Although I didn't exercise, my job was very active. And I ate two reasonably meals each day. I kept my energy balance fairly easy.

Then I had a head-on collision. I couldn't work the way I had and didn't change my diet. Within 6 months I had gained 10 pounds. Totally noticed it, started eating better and joined a gym.

One month later my 17 year old son was hit by a van going about 45 mph. He had a traumatic brain injury, was in a coma, and since he was eating at the time he inhaled part of a burger which gave him a lot of lung problems. It was about 6 weeks before we knew he would live. It was many, many months before we knew how his brain would function and if he could live a normal life.

During this time my only enjoyment was eating. Yeah I knew I was gaining weight. I honestly didn't care. 10 years later, I'm still working on getting rid of this weight

Sometimes how much we weigh isn't the most important thing we are dealing with, or even close.

GoingSaiyan

This has unfortunately happened to me. My highest weight was about 235 lbs, and in about 3-4 months I knocked it down to 189. Over the course of the next 2-3 years, my old habits slipped back up and thinking "Well I like the way I look now, this won't hurt" all the time didn't help. Now I'm at 226, slowly making my way back.

Once you've become your own champion you've got to defend your title. Maintenance is just as important as the loss if you're trying to keep yourself in check.

clicketykeys

@lalalacroix - I'm so sorry to hear about your son! And yes, you're absolutely right. I tell my students that I've come to the conclusion that what we call "laziness" just means that someone has prioritized things in an order that we don't agree with.