Repeat offenders

vet272
vet272 Posts: 183
in Health and Weight Loss
Let me start of by saying 'offenders' isn't quite what I meant.

My question is how many of us have started out fine then quit or lost all of the weight then put it back on? What goes wrong? How many people on MFP are first timers as opposed to repeat customers?
Just wondering,,,
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Replies

  • HPLW0705
    HPLW0705 Posts: 102
    I wouldn't say that I quit, but life gets in the way and I can't devote as much time or effort into achieving my goal. I usually find that I will gain about 5lbs back and then I get back on track. It's a cycle that I think others go through as well. What matters is that we don't let a little set-back ruin everything, right?!
  • lysa4
    lysa4 Posts: 31 Member
    This is my second time around after gaining some weight back...

    I learn things the hard way and I prefer this "healthy happiness" than to being in the "depressed blues".
  • doIlhands
    doIlhands Posts: 349 Member
    I've never lost more than 5lbs before getting disinterested before. I hope I dont become a repeat offender.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    in the last 10 years, i have started and given up on hundreds attempts of losing weight. this last time i started this past september, is honestly the only time i have been successful and stuck with it!!! im an offender!!! :)
  • mrsduke2924
    mrsduke2924 Posts: 104 Member
    first time on mfp - but I have dieted before and put it all back on plus some....
    hoping this will be the last time I lose the weight :happy:
  • celadontea
    celadontea Posts: 335 Member
    I got all the way down to 150 last March (2012). I was on anti-depressants and despite not eating even close to 2000 calories a day I packed on 38 lbs in just 2-3 months. I have yet to lose it again. It's very difficult this time around, but I'm working through it.
  • tzig00
    tzig00 Posts: 875 Member
    I lost 50 pounds in 3 months before. Gained it all back then some the lost some and got divorced and gained it all back, lost some then got pregnant and gave up. After starting at 160 and going to 210 I was ready to jump on and stick to it this time. I've fallen off some days but jump right back on. I have a feeling it's going to be a constant struggle for me for the rest of my life.
  • MFPRat
    MFPRat Posts: 201 Member
    I'm a repeat offender. I lost 103 pounds and put 70 of it back on. I could just kick myself. I started going to school so working out 6 days a week wasn't working for me and I stopped tracking my food and making wise choices. I hate that I let myself back slide that much.
  • pensfan1
    pensfan1 Posts: 45 Member
    Me! I was doing really well for about 6 or 8 months about a year and a half ago. Took off around 25 lbs but got discouraged because it was such a slow process. Put it all back on but when I got back to that original weight, I realized that I needed to do something. This time around, I'm totally happy with 1-2 lbs per week lost (as I should've been the first time) and I'm not hard on myself if I don't have time to exercise. I'm controlling what I can, which is my diet.

    I've also cut back to weighing once per week because the first time around I'd get really down if the scale went up or stayed the same after I thought I had a good day.

    Best advice to not become a repeat offender: Just stick with it and don't let the scale get you down. If you're measuring your portions, the weight will eventually come off.
  • vet272
    vet272 Posts: 183
    I myself got down to 140lbs once upon a time. Stopped the calorie watching and 52lb later came back here. Down 34lbs now and want to break the cycle
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    Not a repeat to MFP, though I'm taking my good ol' time here, but I have lost and regained.
  • beeblebrox82
    beeblebrox82 Posts: 578 Member
    i bounced between 260 and 220 I think 3 times... maybe 4. Frustrating losing weight and thinking "I've lost this weight before."

    Oh well, never give up. It take awhile to form a habit. The only time you fail is when you don't pick yourself back up again.

    I've been between 205-210lbs, my final true goal weight, since spring, and have been holding it off fine. The trick is to keep logging, So you can learn what it's like to eat all your calories, but not too much. Every time I fell back it was because I quit logging.
  • Turnaround2012
    Turnaround2012 Posts: 362 Member
    I have probably been through this cycle 20-30 times in the last 25 years.

    Two years ago I dropped from 200 to 175 by eating only 1200 calories per day and running like a madman. I was always tired and "hangry". Gained it all back in a few months!

    Then I tried last summer and I went only from 200 to 187 .. then went back again to between 205 and 210!
    Once Again I was "starving myself" and was very inconsistent.. I could not make it a lifestyle.

    Now.. I am am really taking my time making small changes and I have lost 17 lbs over the last 5 months.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1071235-if-i-did-not-lose-a-singlelb-kg-stone-i-would-be-happy

    I am planning for this to me my last time!
  • winonajosephine
    winonajosephine Posts: 122 Member
    I am totally a repeat offender! I gain and loose like no ones business and its not good... I need a lifestyle change! I always quit because eating right is a lot more time and prep and I am lazy and take the easy way out.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    This is my first time losing on MFP. However, the list of other times I've lost this same weight is nearly endless.

    Let's see, lost 35 on Weight Watchers, stayed off for over a year, but ultimately gained it all back because I learned nothing about nutrition or healthy eating.

    I've lost weight using Metabolife (when it still had that stuff in it that jacked up your heartrate) and lost 25 pounds or so.

    I lost some of the weight just calorie restricting and exercising too many times to count.

    My all time favorite <insert sarcasm font here> weight loss effort was taking Alli (not sure I spelled it right). It's that stuff that makes your body not process fat in foods, so it goes right through you. The idea is you eat a low fat diet but the fat you do consume doens't metabolize. Word to the wise. Do not go to Chili's and eat an order of Texas Cheese Fries while taking Alli or you may find yourself losing weight because you run to the bathroom fifteen times in one night because oily stuff is coming out of places that aren't fit for discussion on MFP. True story. Disgusting.
  • shadow997
    shadow997 Posts: 31 Member
    i lost 50 lbs my 1st time trying 213-163 gained back everything and more, went from 220- 180 now on third attempt 223 to 173 i hope !
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,993 Member
    Couple of reasons why I believe people quit and restart:

    Went on a diet plan that was unsustainable for life

    Spent more time exercising than actually trying to reduce intake

    Expectation of better results and became impatience from the weight loss process



    One who is truly motivated won't let any obstacles stop them from achieving the goal they are wanting. Just need to pull one's pants up and get it done.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    nm
  • Eirene80
    Eirene80 Posts: 36 Member
    Repeat offender here. This is my 4th attempt. 2nd within a year. It's a mixture of things. Part of it is that I'll have several weeks with little control over my eating or several days of stress eating in a week so I give up.

    The other is that people in my life are TOO encouraging. Asking if I'm wearing new jeans even if they're the same ratty stained pair they saw me in the last time we got together. When I say no they'll say something like "Well good, because they look really baggy! How much have you lost so far?" These are people I see 2-3 times a week, and they do it EVERY time. Plus my husband thinks rewarding with food is the only way to celebrate anything. It gets old, and I start feeling like a 2 year old being potty trained, with people clapping and cheering just for the effort. :grumble: I hate that. I'm more of the self-reliant type and I hate attention. So, to regain control of the situation, I just stop trying until they forget about it.

    This time I haven't told anyone, and all of my MFP friends are complete strangers, most of whom understand a binge, and tell me to brush myself off and move forward. :smile:
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
    Totally an offender. I created my account in 2012 - but didn't actually do anything about losing weight until Jan 2013, which is when I started actually using my account.

    In the past I've lost large amounts of weight several times, some deliberately when dieting and some unintentional when ill (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Glandular Fever are both first class at getting weight off), but each and every time I've gained it all back.
  • SJVZEE
    SJVZEE Posts: 451 Member
    Let me start of by saying 'offenders' isn't quite what I meant.

    My question is how many of us have started out fine then quit or lost all of the weight then put it back on? What goes wrong? How many people on MFP are first timers as opposed to repeat customers?
    Just wondering,,,

    First timer and now in maintenance. I did not do MFP for weight loss, but alternate day intermittent fasting :) One of the biggest pluses of this plan is that it taught me to have a healthy relationship with food and I now have the tools I need to maintain successfully.
  • vet272
    vet272 Posts: 183
    Let me start of by saying 'offenders' isn't quite what I meant.

    My question is how many of us have started out fine then quit or lost all of the weight then put it back on? What goes wrong? How many people on MFP are first timers as opposed to repeat customers?
    Just wondering,,,

    First timer and now in maintenance. I did not do MFP for weight loss, but alternate day intermittent fasting :) One of the biggest pluses of this plan is that it taught me to have a healthy relationship with food and I now have the tools I need to maintain successfully.

    I'm currently doing 5 2 for health reasons. Reassuring to hear you're in maintenance
  • ezconklin
    ezconklin Posts: 30
    I lost 44 pounds several years ago, since two pregnancies I have been a repeat starter so many times I cannot count. We I lost that weight years ago I had also been a serial starter. I dunno - something just clicked and I kept going. I feel that now too.
  • liv4him2
    liv4him2 Posts: 1 Member
    Read several of your posts and love them :) Your pic isn't half bad either
  • amehrkens
    amehrkens Posts: 162 Member
    Repeat offender here....I lost 135lbs and gained about 70 of it back. I lost the weight over 4 years by eating less and moving more. I thought for sure I was good as gold since I did it at a slow and steady pace.....and then life got crazy.... I am working on it again and this will be the LAST time I do this! I have been slowly working at it all summer and I have managed to lose about 15lbs, I went on vacation to Mexico last week and I decided today was the day I get serious about it! So back to MFP and back to the gym!
  • rowanwood
    rowanwood Posts: 509 Member
    Before MFP, I've been on the 'weight loss by accident' diet only. Life changed and I'd lose and then gain and repeat. So I guess that's repeat offending of a type...but I never lost weight by controlling my diet, just by letting life control me. And smoking. Not really a great plan.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    This is my first time here on MFP.

    I didn't quit trying to lose weight, I got pregnant again and gained it all back :tongue:
  • CreepingBriar
    CreepingBriar Posts: 11 Member
    This is my first time on MFP, but 4-5 years ago I lost a lot of weight when I became a vegan. I quit that lifestyle because it caused a lot of friction with my mother, and as my health deteriorated I was spending my whole paycheck on doctors and pills, with little left over for food. Then I was fired, which left me with even less money for food.Hamburger-less Helper became a staple of my diet. Now I am on disability, which means I have a little money, and medicare, which means my whole paycheck isn't going to doctors. As my mental health improves, I am trying to improve my physical health with it so hopefully I will not be a repeat offender, but someone who checks in every day as par for the course in my new healthy lifestyle.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I haven't left MFP, but over my lifetime I have been a repeat offender (lost, regained, lost again, regained, repeat). It's always because I stop exercising regularly. Always.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Spent more time exercising than actually trying to reduce intake
    Yep, this is me.
    One who is truly motivated won't let any obstacles stop them from achieving the goal they are wanting. Just need to pull one's pants up and get it done.

    This is me too. The problem always comes about 1-2 years after meeting the goal.

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