Weight cycling

katiemcm1125

Hi everyone! I have been weight cycling most of my life, which has really destroyed my metabolism. Statistically 97% of people cannot keep weight off for more than 5 years, but I cannot accept this. I lost 40 lbs in my twenties and had to do diets on and off to keep within my healthy range. In 2017 I went into a deep depression and gained about 80 lbs in the past three years. I cannot seem to lose the weight no matter what I do. The extra weight is hard on my joints and I am so uncomfortable. I don’t know what to do to lose weight and actually keep it off. Does anyone have experience of keeping weight off for 7-10 years? I’m so sad and feel hopeless.

Dogmom1978

Are you weighing foods? Did you set your stats in MFP (weight, goal weight, rate of loss per week, activity level).

CICO is what matters for weight loss.

katiemcm1125

I do measure foods and I have set all my goals. I think my metabolism is really messed up? I don’t know. Thank you for your help.

heybales

katiemcm1125 wrote: »

I do measure foods and I have set all my goals. I think my metabolism is really messed up? I don’t know. Thank you for your help.

Probably not.
But if you are like the 70% that can't maintain for year or even reach goal weight - you likely have done your share of extreme diets to lose the weight quick.
Great way to lose muscle mass each time.
And with being less active as you get older typically anyway - not getting it back either.
And yes some studies have shown a badly stressed out body can adapt in ways that stick around for years on end.

It's not broken metabolism, it's adapted.

Don't do extremes - that also causes water weight to be retained from the stress the body is under, which can hide fat loss on the scale - but is also bad state for body to be in.

yirara

katiemcm1125 wrote: »

I do measure foods and I have set all my goals. I think my metabolism is really messed up? I don’t know. Thank you for your help.

You say that you measure food. But do you actually weigh it on a scale? And do you make sure the database entries you chose are correct?

kshama2001

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

nanastaci2020

How long have you been tracking your calories? What is # of calories per day set at, and do you use a food scale? How much weight have you lost since starting *this time*?

Tracking calories and eating at a deficit really DOES work. But it takes time. So starting off with a realistic goal and expectations is important. I lost 50 pounds in 10 months in 2014. Kept it off for a few years, and put a little of it back on in 2019. Down 15 of those since June of this year, and have 2-3 pounds left to reach maintenance.

janejellyroll

I was never able to maintain my preferred weight until I realized I would have to figure out a way to eat the appropriate number of calories to maintain that weight for the rest of my life. That number may go up or down depending on my activity level, but at the end of the day, there's no way around the basic math of it. There's no finish line, there's no "on and off." Maybe this sounds daunting or unfair or just like a mean trick of the universe, but honestly -- every single person with a stable weight is doing this. It's just that not everyone is doing it consciously.

Some of us have to focus to make it happen. Sometimes we have to focus really hard! But the good news is that for many of us, it gets easier over time. We learn how to eat to maximize satisfaction, we develop positive habits, we learn new ways of dealing with the feelings we used to manage with food. Now maintaining is just how I live my life.

Good luck.

getting_stronger1483

I'm sorry to hear that OP. Yes i have kept most of my weight off now for 9 years. I made the commitment to myself to spend either one hour of cycling on my bike or do 10 000 steps per day (which equates to an hour and a half of walking). I also regularly do weight training to build up lean muscle mass. This is why lots of people end up with lowered metabolisms when they go on diets because they lose lean muscle mass unfortunately. I used the Strong Women Stay Slim by Miriam Nelson book as a guide for my strength training and nutrition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2224983.Strong_Women_Stay_Slim, but there's heaps of free exercises on youtube for strength training. Also its not for everyone but I weigh myself every day. If it looks like my weight is creeping up and its not down to water retention or that time of the month for me I actively work to cut my food and drink intake. I drink lots of water, eat lots of vegetables, minimize processed foods and stick to whole grains. I also will have a not so healthy meal every once in a while. I have also learnt what my trigger overeating foods are and made the decision not to buy big packs of those, its asking for trouble. Why make things harder for myself? Instead I will buy a single serve, eat and enjoy that.