Those who gained back...

journey_man

...why did you?

My goal is far, but looking to learn now to avoid a similar fate down the road.

Alatariel75

Falling back into old habits, and not changing my mindset when I was losing. I saw the losing phase as a "diet" that had an end date, when I could get back to "normal". "Normal" was how I got fat in the first place.

Learning to maintain begins the day you decide to start losing. It's a challenge in and of itself.

Shynique37

I lost the 30lbs starting thinking I was fabulous because everyone was complimenting me. So I stop going to the gym started eating again & here I am again with 35lbs gained back. I need to learn to just keep going don't stop even when people say you look great. Keep going even when I feel great. No stopping until you reach your ultimate goal. I'm 240 I would like to be 220 by March 1. My goal is far too but you know what it's true change the diet mind set and adapt a new me attitude. I just joined this site a few days ago and honestly it's very motivating.

Walter__

Falling back into old habits, and not changing my mindset when I was losing. I saw the losing phase as a "diet" that had an end date, when I could get back to "normal". "Normal" was how I got fat in the first place.

Learning to maintain begins the day you decide to start losing. It's a challenge in and of itself.

This.

It's a lifestyle change. That's why stupid diets that completely ban certain types of foods NEVER work. It is unsustainable in the long term.

stormbornkraken

1st I got "too busy" for a workout. Total crap. If anything I needed the stress relief and outlet more at that time.
2nd became lax on portion control.

I know exactly what my lame excuses were and they contributed to a bad situation.

I am just as stressed as I was then but taking control of my lifestyle and health add energy and motivation. I accomplish more now, even with more on my plate. Win-win!

Just my experience. Best of luck with yours!

shanteel612

Weight started coming of slowly and I lost motivation to continue.

MyOwnSunshine

Faulty thinking. When you hit your goal weight, you're not "done." It's just a point in the process. You need to maintain the behaviors that you develop while you are losing in order to maintain.

If you log and work out while losing, you will have to log and work out while maintaining.

If you eat no carbs while you are losing, it's likely you will regain your weight if you suddenly start eating all the carbs you want when you reach goal.

Whatever you decide to do to lose your weight, make sure you can continue it forever.

ravenribbs

Deluding myself that diet alone or exercise alone would suffice. Not for me, it doesn't. The apathy and depression are close to the surface--a couple disciplined, kickass days will go a long way for me.........

journey_man

Thank you to everyone who replied for your candor.

Faulty thinking. When you hit your goal weight, you're not "done." It's just a point in the process. You need to maintain the behaviors that you develop while you are losing in order to maintain.

If you log and work out while losing, you will have to log and work out while maintaining.

If you eat no carbs while you are losing, it's likely you will regain your weight if you suddenly start eating all the carbs you want when you reach goal.

Whatever you decide to do to lose your weight, make sure you can continue it forever.

Well then we have a problem because I have no intention of logging my food for the rest of my life. Hoping that portion control can be exercised without. I am approaching logging as a learning tool for that. The risks are evident, but I'm just gonna have to try and see what happens.

jhmomofmany

I gained back nearly 20 pounds in about six to eight months from rebounding off a 10-day juice only fast. So stupid, SMH.

Even two pregnancies didn't set me back like that stupid juicing.

michellerawrrr_72

I gained back 10 pounds and honestly it's not the biggest deal. I'm not pleased, but I know exactly why and more importantly I know how to get it off again. I had knee surgery so that set me back, combine that with some loss in my family and boom my clean eating went out the door. I don't believe in diets and I have always allowed myself anything I want within reason. I learned that no matter the circumstances I need to plan and track my calories through all of life's challenges.

Nightdust

I gained 40 pounds back for several excuses. I moved, missed my family (especially my mom) and my home state. I hated my job, and my next one, and the one after that. I had too many changes. I got lazy with portions and didn't care about counting calories anymore. I hit my goal of 150-155 but was still very unhappy with how I looked and when I tried to lose more weight and lowering my calories to around 1250 a day I got frustrated and just quit caring. These were just excuses.

I made my mom proud like I had never seen her before when I reached my goal. She thought I was so beautiful but I couldn't see it. She's my best friend and I felt like I let her down. I let myself down.

Now a year and a half later I am here to lose what I gained back but this time with exercising a hell of a lot more and lifting weights. I didn't like the way I looked at my old goal weight because I wasn't toned like I could and should have been.

Yeah, hard/bad things happen in life. Basically you get over it and fight for what you want. That is why I gained my weight back and that is why I will never do it again and I WILL reach my goal. 135-140 at 5'3 toned. I will enjoy what I eat because I love food and what I do because I will not do exercise that isn't fun for me.

I am a fighter. We all are.

cafeaulait7

I lost too much weight because I kept eating what I thought I should calorie-wise and it ended up being too low. So I knew I had to eat more. That didn't work out so well for me

And all of my old bad habits slowly crept back over time, too. It came back slowly, but I gained every single pound back! Just those darned bad habits. You still have to watch them because they creep back in sneakily!

Chizakura

The wrong mindset.

I exercised solely to burn calories, not to become fit/healthy, not for fun, just to drop pounds. Once I was satisfied with the weight loss, I stopped all exercise and returned to being a couch potato. Over the years the weight slowly came back.

This time though, I know that when I get to my goal, it's the real deal. I've changed. I don't exercise to drop pounds. I exercise because I've discovered a love for it, and because I want to be fit/healthy. The fact that poundage comes off too just sweetens the deal. I know I'll keep exercising forever, because it's become a part of who I am now.

RaggedyPond

Had a baby and husband left for Korea for a year. I was too tired to care.

gapm

Thank you to everyone who replied for your candor.

Faulty thinking. When you hit your goal weight, you're not "done." It's just a point in the process. You need to maintain the behaviors that you develop while you are losing in order to maintain.

If you log and work out while losing, you will have to log and work out while maintaining.

If you eat no carbs while you are losing, it's likely you will regain your weight if you suddenly start eating all the carbs you want when you reach goal.

Whatever you decide to do to lose your weight, make sure you can continue it forever.

Well then we have a problem because I have no intention of logging my food for the rest of my life. Hoping that portion control can be exercised without. I am approaching logging as a learning tool for that. The risks are evident, but I'm just gonna have to try and see what happens.

I've been through two rounds of logging my food religiously. While logging my food, I lost 20 lb the first time and 10 lb the second. I could stand to lose another 15 to 30 lb, but I'm ok if I stay where I'm at.

In between the first two rounds I simply maintained; no weight lost or gained. After the last round over the past month I gained 5 pounds back of the 30 I had lost. So here I am again recording my food. The funny thing is that I don't think I eat any differently when I record my food vs. when I don't, but the scale says otherwise.

Francl27

Restrictive diet I couldn't follow once I started working, so I fell back into my old habits because I never learned to eat properly.

Michelle_Padgett13

I've lost and gained since puberty. Every time I gained it back, it was because I stopped being so active. Then, when I was at my fattest, I had a baby. Which pushed my "fattest ever" weight up another 50 pounds.

abbieleighton

I rediscovered takeaways and bread.

pickleRH83

I fell in love and moved in with a man, doomed

DonaldChadDavis

I lost 120 lbs. Then gained 60lbs and I've since lost 30lbs. I'm 267 down from 365lbs. I gained it back by eating too many calories. It may seem straight forward, but it's quite obvious how people gain weight back. They stop a calorie deficit diet, skip a maintenance diet, and go back to a calorie surplus diet. No matter the excuse I give, it's going to be as simple as I ate too much food.

Keep up with what you eat. There's no excuse for it. We live in the most convenient time in human existence. Food acquisition is easy but so is gaining knowledge about proper diet. It's a matter of making the right decision everyday, all day. And when you make the wrong one, own it, then move on.

PinkyFett

My thyroid sucks..

Darrelkun

I had surgery and couldn't exercise for 2 months. And I didn't have enough hours at work to afford food -- I could only accept what people gave me, which was usually boxed goods. (I still don't make enough, but I'm more demanding of healthy foods.) Being depressed from the after effects of surgery, not being able to work out, and not having enough hours at work all led me to eat bad food and gain weight.

I only gained 10 back, and I'm working on losing it again. Can finally work out once more. ^^

BeLightYear

I quit smoking and didn't care if I gained weight at the time.

Now to get back to my goal and stay there!

Allterrain_Lady

If you consider this like a diet with an end date, you're doomed to fail at some point. That's what got me. It's a lifetime change. Moving and eating right is supposed to last forever. This way the occasionnal treat doesn't show. Neither on the scale or in the way your clothes fit.

Loriabbrill

I am an addict and when I gave up the real bad stuff I took up food....it became my friend...I used Smarties to quit cigarettes (almost 8 years ago) and then just kind of adopted food as the comfort, the fix, the new addiction. A "justifiable" fix! So 120 lbs. later I went on here over a year ago and lost 35 pounds! Then we had 2 losses in the family, and I needed the "drug" again. Well, 40 pounds came back, so here we are again. At least I know it works, tried and true. The key is the mindset and recognizing that eating the food is the symptom, not the problem. As any addiction. I need to dig down deep and address the issues that lead me to need a "vice". But now high blood pressure and health concerns come into play, so its time....it's a choice and only I can make it for me. I want to be able to tie my shoes again.....Good Luck and God Bless....

morty1966

If you really want to lose weight then you will change the way you think. Otherwise you will continue to yo yo back and forth with it. Try the' Beck: the diet solution' book. It is cognitive behavioural therapy, and involves changing your mindset little by little. I have tackled loads of bad habits that I know have stopped me losing weight or helped me to put weight on in the past. Each activity you do is small, but adds up to huge changes. It cost me £5 on my kindle, the best fiver I've ever spent.

As for not logging my food: It takes me 5 minutes to do, and stops me over eating. I don't see a time when I won't do it. It is a small price to pay for being healthy and staying healthy. I understand when people say 'I don't want to' but that is like saying I don't want to clean my teeth or empty the bins. To me some things just have to be done, they are a no choice activity.

simplycorey

My busy season with work is around the holidays, which means more time at my desk, less time for workouts, being lazy about tracking and eating way too much junk. I've only gained a few pounds back and as much as it sucks, at least I recognize what I need to change before it goes much further and I'm getting back on track.

animatorswearbras

Falling back into old habits, and not changing my mindset when I was losing. I saw the losing phase as a "diet" that had an end date, when I could get back to "normal". "Normal" was how I got fat in the first place.

Learning to maintain begins the day you decide to start losing. It's a challenge in and of itself.

Yep saw the whole process as a wedding diet, when I started gaining again I kept half arsed dieting for a couple of weeks but with no motivation as big as my wedding, slipping back into bad habits, now I've gained every single pound back and a couple more for good measure it's given me a wake up call that I've squandered all the hard work I did, this time I'm going to make a change for life (cringe, super corny I know) and not just hit target and walk away.

Zombieinkpot

In my teens I lost 70lbs in a little over a year by joining weight watchers. It was great, I was eating healthily and exercising. Then my dad got sick and I helped looked after him. I gained it all back and then some through binging.

In my twenties I lost 70lbs again in a little over a year through seeing a nutritionist. It was great, I ate lots of food, exercised and felt much better about myself. I could see my collar bones for the first time in my life, I did a mini marathon and lots of travelling. I dropped lots of dress sizes. Then I got depressed and gained back all the weight in six months through binging. I've been depressed over five years now, and I've gained an average of 28lbs every year.

I've been thinking about it a lot recently, While I understand now that I have an unhealthy relationship with food and using it to manage my emotions, I can't lay all the blame on that for why I gained back the weight. I think I also got tired. Both times I'd worked really hard and even though I'd lost lots of weight, I still looked fat. I still wasn't pretty or happy with other areas of my life. Weight loss hadn't been the answer to all my problems, so I gave up the fight.

Now I'm trying MFP. I'm hopeful that with this new insight I will be successful this time. I'm taking it one day at a time and doing it for what it is - weight loss. I want to be able to move around easier, take care of my invalid mum better and have more fun with my dog. I'm going to be really careful when I get to about 15 months in and eat at maintenance for a while if I have to - anything to beat the pattern. I know I'll have to watch what I eat for the rest of my life. As someone who has been obese her whole life, I know the odds are against me, but if I can get to goal and keep there, I'm very happy to log everything I eat for the rest of my life.

Good luck losing weight and keeping it off!

dym123

about 20 years ago I lost 80lbs, started competing in marathons and triathlons. Because of my high metabolism I could pretty much eat what I wanted and not gain weight. Well asthma and bad knees caused me to retire, but I failed to change my eating habits and put on 100+ lbs. What's different now, though I do work out, my focus is on nutrition and healthy eating.