What causes failure?

moontyrant

I hate the slippery slope argument, but with weight maintenance the evidence seems to make it apply here. When dieters reach their goal, they stop dieting and eating the way they were before- the eating habits that made them overweight in the first place. The fix is simple; eat differently and don't go back, even when you are satisfied with what the scale says.

As my sister puts it, "Say no to the hoagie."

maybyn

For me it was always about losing the weight as quickly as possible and ultimately ended when I just couldn't do it anymore either because I was hungry or craving my favourite foods.

I maintained my weight in my twenties and thirties by doing all sorts of stupid things. At 40, I stopped doing those things and gain weight. Dieted the first time two years ago and tried losing the weight exactly the same way as the PP described above. I was also very ignorant of calorie intakes and calorie burns and listened to too many opinions by too many people. Big mistake.

I am now much wiser this second time round. I know what to do to maintain and what NOT to do!

Saramelie

For me, extremes killed it everytime (I yoyo`d a lot). Eliminating something completly and then starting again and going crazy. Or overexecising and then getting sick of it, stopping and starting eating again. No balance. Never works.

hmaddpear

For myself, it was never learning good habits in the first place. I would gain the weight, then basically starve myself on a sub-1000kcal diet (well, I did start in the early nineties - that was the way you did it back then.) I wouldn't learn the good habits and when I eventually fell off the wagon due to being so hungry I could chew my own legs off, well the weight just piled back. And it always brought a few friends. Even up to this attempt, it was always about trying out a new diet - Atkins or Cabbage Soup (bleugh) or Slimfast. Not about learning what was sustainable. This time however, thanks to all the informative guys on the forum, I know I can get this weight off and keep it off. I'll have to be vigilant - weigh every week, once I'm in maintenance - but I'm eating food I enjoy, I know how to make a trade-off and I know what to watch out for.

Oh, and I'm really enjoying getting more active as well. I'm making small life changes, rather than unsustainable short-term fixes.

livingleanlivingclean

you don't fail unless you stop trying. coming back doesn't mean they've failed.

twixlepennie

Statistically 95% of us here will fail at long term weight loss success (keeping the majority of lost weight off for at least five years). The weight loss phase is for a very short period of time-usually a few months to a couple years. Maintenance is for the rest of your life-20, 30, 40+ years. A LOT will happen in that time-

-life changes (moving, new jobs, pregnancies, new baby/kids, marriage/divorce, carrying for elderly parents etc)
-catastrophes (death in the family, illness, illness of loved ones, accidents etc)
-stressful and busy times, when we're out of our normal routines
-holidays, parties, get togethers etc
-loss of focus/laziness; not creating new goals to work towards
-loss of motivation (no one is complimenting us anymore, no new, smaller clothes)-ie. lots and lots of the same, easy to let the mundane day to day get us off track

Plus other factors that come into play like emotional eating, those who deal with binge eating etc etc etc.

And then one of my biggest pet peeves-there's almost NO information on maintenance out there. Even this sub-forum was just added a few months ago. There's no books, blogs/websites or experts out there giving us guidance on how to maintain successfully. We're bombarded with resources for losing the weight, but we're left on our own to figure out how to do the rest of it, which is the part that we'll be doing for years and years. Very frustrating when you're transitioning and are trying to figure out what comes next!

I've been maintaining for a little over 6 months now and I've found it much more difficult and challenging then the losing weight phase was. However, I'm determined to not go back to where I once was (in the pre-diabetic range), so I will make maintenance work, no matter what I have to do. For me that means weighing daily, hanging out here on MFP, being conscious of calories (though I no longer track every day), exercising (for the first time in my life), always making/working towards a new goal and always having my weight/calories on the forefront of my mind. This is my life now, but it's worth it.

vjohn04

Because there is no 'goal' in maintenance, nothing to reach, no end point, no reward at the end. If there is no ultimate weight goal to reach, people tend to slack off habits and say.... well, I'll make up for this later. Then, life catches up- and before they know it, they've put weight back on.

Maintenance is hard. I've been doing it since Nov of last year. For me, I have to keep logging, because I don't trust myself to intuitively eat. I failed at intuitively eating for 32 years, I can't expect to be proficient in that skill in one year.

QuietBloom

Gaining it back .. caused by one thing, eating too much. Not too difficult of a concept.

Thank you so much Captain Obvious! :flowerforyou:

wild_wild_life

The HBO documentary clip the OP links to in this thread is worth a watch.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1115397-understanding-why-it-s-so-difficult-to-maintain-weight?hl=HBO+documentary+

QuietBloom

The HBO documentary clip the OP links to in this thread is worth a watch.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1115397-understanding-why-it-s-so-difficult-to-maintain-weight?hl=HBO+documentary+

Hey, I though you looked familiar. :flowerforyou:

hazeljordan1974

For me every time I gain weight back it is a mix of:-
Yay! I've done it, now I'm skinny I can eat what I like.
Complacency, just not keeping my eye on the goal
Destructive relationships when I just eat what they're eating and forget my own needs.

It only takes 10 extra calories a day to put on a lb in a year - that is two skittles a day. Just think, if you ate an extra 14 skittles a day (and most of us could do that without even thinking) that's a full stone in weight (14lbs to the members outside of the UK) every year - with that factor of error it is little wonder we pile on the pounds - no single person goes to bed normal weight and wakes up obese - it goes on one tiny pound at a time so we don't notice it really, until that day when we can't wear last year's pants, dress or whatever.

I read this book - http://www.amazon.com/then-just-stay-fat-ebook/dp/B008XJKQUY and carry it with me most of the time, it keeps me on the straight and narrow, although this time round I have only maintained for 3 months - I'm hoping to keep it off this time.

acogg

For me every time I gain weight back it is a mix of:-
Yay! I've done it, now I'm skinny I can eat what I like.
Complacency, just not keeping my eye on the goal
Destructive relationships when I just eat what they're eating and forget my own needs.

It only takes 10 extra calories a day to put on a lb in a year - that is two skittles a day. Just think, if you ate an extra 14 skittles a day (and most of us could do that without even thinking) that's a full stone in weight (14lbs to the members outside of the UK) every year - with that factor of error it is little wonder we pile on the pounds - no single person goes to bed normal weight and wakes up obese - it goes on one tiny pound at a time so we don't notice it really, until that day when we can't wear last year's pants, dress or whatever.

I read this book - http://www.amazon.com/then-just-stay-fat-ebook/dp/B008XJKQUY and carry it with me most of the time, it keeps me on the straight and narrow, although this time round I have only maintained for 3 months - I'm hoping to keep it off this time.

That's a great perspective! Thanks!

Sabine_Stroehm

I think a lot of people fail because they think they are done. I used to think this way. Diet, lose weight, go back to not paying attention. Now I know I will need to weigh at least weekly and be ready to take action if I am over my maximum number. I never want to diet again.

^^Pretty much this^^

scottyg70

There can be a myriad of reasons why. A major ilness, a huge change in their life, lack of discipline and/or dedication etc.. However, I think the biggest reason people fail is they look at this as a short term endeavour. That, when they reach their goal, the weight just stays off. I hate when people use the word "journey". To me, at least, the word journey means you're going to arrive somewhere. Then what? I don't have numbers or stats but I'd say it's a safe bet that those you see who are successful, view their eating and exercise as a lifestly change. Something permanent. I think when people start figuring that out, they'll succeed.

cwolfman13

I wasn't sure where to post this question, so I figure I would ask those that are trying to maintain. Lately I have seen several people posting things like "Back to MFP again". I've seen a lot of people on here talking about how they lost weight and then gained some or all of it back so they are back on MFP. Why do people fail? Right now I have the drive in me to lose weight. Once it is lost, I don't want it back. What makes maintaining hard? What can I do to prepare myself better?

Basically, people talk a good talk about "lifestyle change" but fail to even remotely understand what that actually means let alone put it into practice. People diet and all they have their eyes on some arbitrary finish line (goal weight) rather than seeing the bigger picture...health, nutrition, and fitness are lifetime endeavors, not something you just stop because you get to some arbitrary number on the scale.

Also, people practice unsustainable dieting practices while they're cutting rather than really learning how to eat...what a serving size of something is...how to eat and enjoy "bad" foods that they love in moderation and proper portion...and generally fail to learn proper nutrition.

Lastly, people fail to set independent fitness goals for themselves...for many, if not most, fitness and exercise is all about losing weight rather than actual fitness and general health and well being...because they so closely associate exercise with losing weight, they just stop when they hit that number on the scale...finish line. In reality, exercise is far more important to maintenance than it is losing...if you stop exercising I can pretty much guarantee you'll put the weight back on.

ItsCasey

no discipline.

Pretty much.

I think most people who head into the process of losing a lot of weight have this idea that once the weight is gone, they can eat whatever they want. And even people who come to think rationally about it and understand that it will require lifelong vigilance will get tired of being in a deficit and tired of turning down things they want and tired of feeling guilty for having "off" days. And that can turn into a pseudo-binge cycle where you end up losing your good habits and gaining the weight back.

One thing I have learned through this process is that it doesn't matter what you know, and it doesn't matter what you have done in the past. We are what we repeatedly do.

msf74

Read this:

http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=415

In short, they eat more and move less

amonpas

Its a way of life change, not a diet. Only make the changes that you can continue to do for the rest of your life.

happysherri

I think a lot of people fail because they think they are done. I used to think this way. Diet, lose weight, go back to not paying attention. Now I know I will need to weigh at least weekly and be ready to take action if I am over my maximum number. I never want to diet again.

This

_jayciemarie_

I actually like counting calories. I like knowing what my body burns. I like having control over it. I can't say that I will be like this always. I have been for 5 months now. I would like to think that when I hit a goal weight that I will figure out what my TDEE is at that weight and continue to track my calories. I know it is easier said than done. I really just don't want to EVER go through the process of losing this weight all over again.