Anyone Lost Over 30 and kept it off for more than 5 years, who doesn't work in the fitness industry

themommie

I started my weight loss journey 12 yrs ago, I lost 135 lbs,but it took me almost 3 yrs. I used MFP, walking,going to the gym and exercise videos. I have kept it off within 5 lbs until the last yr gaining 12 lbs and going up and down. My husband had 2 brain surgeries last yr for Parkinson’s and is currently doing radiation and chemo for tonsil cancer that has gone into his lymph nodes. So for me it’s been stress eating, and not exercising as regularly due to being at medical appts. But I am getting back on track before it gets any more out of control. I find it really is a mindset thing. I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired and was more consistent than I had ever been. Before I tried everything to lose weight but I would view it as a diet meaning I did it for awhile , then would slowly go back to my old habits. never really changing . This time it was a lifestyle change

Shaggy_Dominic

I am another one. No other way to be now :-)
We all can do it.

sharon81

First comment for me ever on MFP and I've been on and off since 2009. I am typically in the "I gained it all back plus" group.
This time feels different. I have been losing for just over a year now and am down 40lbs. I have gained 3-5 lbs back but then lost it immediately again. I find that the hardest part for me is getting enough movement in my day. I have a sedentary job (office) where I force myself to get up and walk about but that burns very few celeries intermittently. I HATE exercise and find myself doing great for about 3 days and then not going back to it, so my plateaus are longer than I'd like them to be. My longest just passed, it was 3 months long, same weight every day!!!
So, to answer your question, not longer than 5 years and not even 5 years as I am still losing. But I've lost 40 and counting in 1 year and I feel confident this time.
My secret?
Keep starting over. EVERY day. So, you ate 500 celeries over yesterday, Today is a new day! Don't give up, if you have a bad week or bad weekend or month. Just keep starting over,. Keep logging what you eat even if you stumble....
That's my two cents worth !

waxingturtle

@sharon81 that's good advice and I'm doing just that. Logging it all and knowing I will have to log everyday as a routine for the rest of my life bc I NEED to do that. Thanks fur sharing.

@Shaggy_Dominic thank you. I'm hopeful by hearing others have done it!

@themommie thank you for commenting. It's reasonable to gain some when your life is in turmoil. That's why we have this app, right? I'm glad you're getting a handle on it again. Best wishes for good health to your husband!

AshinAms

I lost 40kg (88 pounds) back in 2010 on MFP and have kept it off for the last 13 years (with a 10kg (20 lb) fluctuation up and down due to life stresses). I don't work in the fitness industry although when I was losing the 88 lb I did do a lot of sports.

I think that it would be a bad idea to base losing weight on having a guaranteed active lifestyle as a lot of those 10 kilo fluctuations since 2010 with me have been due to not being able to exercise over the years because of serious injuries (car accident, back injury). What goes in your mouth is definitely the most important factor - I gain weight whenever I stop tracking calories but now I have the tools to come back to MFP and start tracking again and knowing I will need to do that for the rest of my life due to a disordered attitude toward food. Here to lose the last few kilos now to get down to a truly healthy BMI.

springlering62

Oooh oooh oooh 👋🏻

I will hit keeping my first thirty lost off for five years next week, so now I officially qualify.

Not a trainer, not in the fitness industry, but have taken liberal advantage of both.

I’ve had an in-person dietician and a phone dietician, and two superior trainers (plus another two that absolutely sucked and one who was good but insisted on treating me like a grey/headed possum and ignored me when I said “challenge me and make me whine”.)

It all came down to weighing food, habitual logging, learning to love new foods (we walked past church’s Chicken with the dog a little while ago and I nearly urped from the grease odor. Win!!!!!) and learning to love exercise plus be willing to try new things.

The board community here was also instrumental.

I went on to lose 97, then made the difficult decision to add some back because I was so thin I looked like I’d snap. 142 is my current ideal weight (I think) am hovering at 146 because of a minor foot injury. Ya injure one darn thing and everything else starts hurting. Yay, age. Not! I figure a good bit of it is extra water weight for the soreness all over. Five years of meticulous logging and weighing has learned me that that’s really a thing so I’m not panicked.

dgper

I lost 35 lbs. and have kept it off for 5 years. It "helps" that I have some pretty severe digestive disorders that sometimes make it hard for me to eat, but for the most part it's been a matter of giving myself a 3-5 lb. limit on how much I can gain before taking real action (calorie reduction, intermittent fasting, going off starches). I weigh myself every day. That was the one hard and fast rule.

gunnmike

60 pounds off for about the last decade or so. Not in the fitness or "appearance " industry.