For all MFP returnees, why did we gain the weight back?

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  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
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    I haven't updated my ticker to reflect the weight I gained back but have gained back 15 of the 53 I lost.

    I like this thread, it's good to figure out what happened.

    I had a sort of mental breakdown last summer right around my MFP anniversary. I had stopped logging my food about a month before but was able to maintain my weight loss as long as I kept working out. Around Labor Day, I stopped working out and quit paying attention to my intake altogether. The level of stress around that time made it nearly impossible to focus on diet/exercise though I'd probably have handled it better if I had. Anyway, this resulted in a 15 pound gain.

    I'm choosing to just think about the net 38 pound loss instead of looking at this as a total failure. And, I already know what I need to do to get back to where I want to be. I guess I really need to update my ticker but I don't want to :sad:
  • Arthemise1
    Arthemise1 Posts: 365 Member
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    I lost 50 pounds, and then we moved. Selling the old house and buying the new house were very stressful events. The family got out of eating healthy in favor of fast food and junk. It took us all year to get back to it, but we are. The next task will be figuring out how to work exercise into the schedule.
  • Kenazwa
    Kenazwa Posts: 278 Member
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    I think I try to satisfy all my needs for pleasure through good food. Enjoyable at the time but the consequences have been terrible, 40-60 pounds worth.

    It's hard to give up that pleasure. I have so little of it in my life.
  • kpr121
    kpr121 Posts: 11 Member
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    That baby is soooooo cute ^^^^^^:happy:

    Thanks!! Greatest thing that ever happened to me! He's an eater too, so I know he's mine! Jk
  • krist3ng
    krist3ng Posts: 259 Member
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    I realized I was looking at it all wrong-- "calories in vs calories out" with no attention paid to nutrition. Which is unsustainable. I would say to myself, "ohh, this apple is 70 calories, and that means if I have it I'll only have x calories left to get me through the day." And with that messed up mantra in my head, I'd end up eating almost nothing. Until my boyfriend brought home some pizza. Or, "I can just have these little chocolates and it's the same amount of calories as the apple" and I'd always go with the unhealthy option.

    And I was always going way under my calorie goals, because I wanted instant loss/gratification. I was beating myself up whenever I ate, which in turn made me give up and give in to really unhealthy endless binges.

    I've restructured my food-related thought process. I changed my goal from "lose weight" to "get proper amounts of fiber and protein". Now I look at an apple and think "3g of fiber!" rather than "70 calories". Now, by the time I've hit 45g of protein, I'm usually stuffed for the day. And if I'm still hungry, I tell myself "don't care about the calories" and have something healthy. I'm still going under my goal calories-- usually clocking in between 1000 and 1100 a day-- but it doesn't feel like I'm depriving myself.

    Hopefully the 1000 calorie range isn't a MFP faux pas.
  • krist3ng
    krist3ng Posts: 259 Member
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    I haven't updated my ticker to reflect the weight I gained back but have gained back 15 of the 53 I lost.

    Aww, you really have to update your ticker! Let go of the past, accept the present, and welcome the future! (Wow, I sound so self-helpy).
  • theNurseNancy
    theNurseNancy Posts: 149
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    I didn't gain or lose any the whole time I was without MFP. I stopped using MFP early last year, but ate healthily until about fall, then ate whatever I wanted. I also exercised up until that point too. I'm back at it to make sure I'm getting enough protein and keeping good macros because I want to gain muscle tone.

    I guess my point is that not everyone who is returning to MFP is doing so because they've gained weight, and not everyone that uses MFP uses it to lose weight.
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
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    Done :bigsmile:
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
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    I haven't updated my ticker to reflect the weight I gained back but have gained back 15 of the 53 I lost.

    Aww, you really have to update your ticker! Let go of the past, accept the present, and welcome the future! (Wow, I sound so self-helpy).

    Meant to quote you above, haha :)
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I never left...so I have not gained any of the weight back...
  • dsearle1
    dsearle1 Posts: 8
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    I completely gorged over the holidays, like not holding back at all. I could do that no problem in my early 20's but now that I'm "old" I need to be careful. Now MFP says it'll take 5 weeks to lose what I gained. :(
  • phoenixrising31
    phoenixrising31 Posts: 15 Member
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    Almost four years ago, I started logging, did nutrisystem, was extremely vigilant about food and exercise and lost around 50 pounds. I decided to stop nutrisystem and had a hard time maintaining the low calorie diet without it and my husband had to work more and that cut down on the amount of time I could go to the gym to work out. Also, I plateaued for a few weeks and still had so much more weight to lose, and that made me also lose motivation.

    Those were all factors that caused me to go into vacation mode, where "I'm going to start dieting and exercising soon, so I might as well pig out as much as I want while I can still have the good stuff". Also, extreme laziness where I don't pack or cook food, led me to having a fast food diet. So over the last 3 years I've gained back all the weight and then some. Some little part in my head keeps thinking, "well, once you start dieting and exercising again, you'll lose the weight, so why don't you just delay." Also, it is sort of embarrassing going back to the gym and be SOOOO out of shape (at least the first time around I didn't have a frame of reference).

    Those were all the excuses from before and now I am trying to fix that, my eating is still not that great, still have a good portion of fast food in there, but at least they are healthier and lower calorie choices, and I'm slowly ramping up my exercise. It's a lifestyle change, not a crash diet.
  • marnijojo
    marnijojo Posts: 235 Member
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    You see, after losing nearly 60lbs in about 18 months (back in 2010-2011), this man came into my life and force fed me good food and wine and tied me up so I couldn't exercise regularly - it was all great fun until the weight started creeping back on....

    Okay, not quite. I would love to blame it on someone else but the truth is, I also took my eye off the ball. I did meet a wonderful man, we married and we do enjoy cooking together and perhaps drink more wine than fits into my calorie 'budget' and I probably don't exercise as much as I should because I miss spending time with my husband (and I was just joking about the tying up thing!). But, bottom line, it is still my health and I alone am responsible for it.

    I am back to attempt to lose the 10-15 lbs that I have regained and I would like to take a few more off. Maybe a total of 20 and then focus on maintaining that weight.

    Good luck to all of you and I hope to see you around mfp often. But I am kind of a 'lurker' so you may not see much of me! :happy:
  • ivikatasha
    ivikatasha Posts: 192 Member
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    Been on here since 2011, always quit within a few weeks. I came back December 14th. I came back because it was time to get serious about this. I just finished nursing school, I was applying for hospital nursing jobs and I felt being an obese RN was.... hypocritical.... Plus 12 hour possible night shifts, it is time to get healthy now.

    The reason I quit before were because I was so restrictive. I cut out fast food, 'bad foods', a whole bunch of stuff. It would lead me to rage quitting. This time I have not cut anything. Today I ate chick-fil-a, and it fits in my calorie limit (no its not the only thing I ate) I just didn't get a large combo meal. I am eating what I want, just making better choices about it.

    I also told myself, if I can do this during the holidays then there is nothing stopping me. I lost weight during the holidays and still enjoyed myself.

    And today marks 30 days now, the longest I have ever stuck with it.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
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    I have followed what is becoming a pattern - get down to a certain weight, plateau, get frustrated, slowly drift away from MFP, gain enough weight that some of my pants stop fitting, come back. No matter how well I think I'm doing, I always revert to about 2800-3000 daily calories if I stop logging.
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
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    I got pregnant. 17 months later I'm still trying to shift this darn weight! I think not being at work is the cause of my problem.
  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
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    I lost the weight back in 2010, got comfortable and slacked off. Even though I gained some of it back in 2011, I was ok with how I looked. Then in 2013 I gained an additional 20 pounds and I am short, so not so good. Started staying fully on track in July 2013, did great until Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I guess that is expected. Fully focused again for the new year!!!!

    Trick is to not get lazy after losing the weight and even if you have a bad week, jump back into gear. Has been easier for me to get back on track than in the past.
  • brimarie95
    brimarie95 Posts: 81 Member
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    Wow, I am in this exact boat. Lost about 40 lbs and have put just over half of it back on. I totally lost all my motivation. Life circumstances changed. I was previously getting up at about 6am to work out and be to work at 930. During the holidays (2012 holidays), I let myself fall off the wagon with eating and working out, then my work schedule changed and I had to start getting to work at 730am. So, for the past year, I have wondered where my motivation went but wasn't doing anything to get back to it. I still am struggling with motivation, but I thought signing up for a biggest loser contest at work would help. It has, a little. Still looking for the motivation that I had a couple years ago. uggg
  • Reedern
    Reedern Posts: 525 Member
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    2 years ago I was totally dedicated and doing everything right and was losing the weight very slowly. Then all within a couple weeks, I had a mammogram scare, found out I was pregnant, and dislocated my knee. The knee is what really derailed and discouraged me. I managed to do really well through the entire pregnancy though only gaining a total of 14 lbs, but my big problem came after the baby was born. My knee was still giving me serious fits which prohibited me from any really good cardio exercise, I got more discouraged and then combined with my CONSTANT hunger during breast feeding I gained an additional few lbs. Now I am at my highest weight ever and I am miserable. I can't quite seem to find that same motivation that I had before. On the positive side however, I finally had surgery on my knee and I am now doing physical therapy twice a week and building it back to where I can hopefully start back with a really good fitness routine.... Now to just get control of my eating habits again!
  • hararayne
    hararayne Posts: 261 Member
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    Interesting idea. I'm not really a "returnee" I'm always lurking on here. I may skip a day when it's a holiday or have my days mixed up when I work overnights but I've been on here a lot for a long time. I have had no results. If anything I've gained weight. But this isn't really mfp's fault. I am not always perfect in logging. I may forget to log a snack or a drink. These add up. I work a ton of hours and this makes exercise difficult. It isn't even just the "time"thing. I'm mentally and physically drained after work. And it's winter. The cold doesn't make it easy to go to the gym.

    But I made a promise to myself a few days before the new year that I would be more diligent in weighing my food and logging correctly. I have started adding in meals at the beginning of the day based on what I pack before I go to work. If something changes, I change it, but it's much harder to "forget" if I planned it and it's already part of my log. I also increased my calories and made my projected loss 1.5 per week. This has made it far easier to keep within my counts. I also am choosing more healthy options. I haven't sworn off candy but now I make absolutely sure to count the number of gummy bears. (I limit it to 10 a day). This is a far cry from my bad days where I'd eat a whole bag of them. I've been logging religiously for 16 days approximately (I think) and I actually lost almost 4 lbs so far.

    So the plan for me,"this time" is: pick foods that satisfy me and help cravings (this means I eat avocado and real bacon shreds nearly every day) Drink tea throughout the day. Drink more water. Plan for eating dinner out and log accordingly. Plan my meals before work and pack a substantial meal and a few decent snacks. This is just phase one. Once I get my health issue figured out (been having a problem since November) I will continue with my eating for the next 3 weeks or so (maybe a little less) and then add in some exercise again. I've been reading a lot about heavy lifting and I want to do my Zombies, Run! 5k trainer again. Of course I will continue to follow my goals for eating properly. I'm just attempting some baby steps instead of jumping in head first and then getting bored or overwhelmed quickly.

    Long post but it was nice to share and read some other peoples struggles.

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