Any goal weight achievers AND anyone regained it all back?

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Really appreciate your story. Good luck with all your goals.

Ditto and thanks for posting!

ben_running

I ballooned up in college. My freshman 15 was a freshman 30 in the first semester. I left home at 180 and came home at Christmas at 209. I stayed around 200 for several years. I had asthma all my life up until a miraculous healing event (I will just leave that for another day) occurred and I began cycling. I then got back down around 185 and worked to get as low as 178. At that time, I was cycling, running and lifting consistently.

A friend of mine suggested I stop lifting in lieu of swimming (I'm not a swimmer) and join him in participating in triathalons. The weight began to slowly creep up even though I was swimming as often as I was lifting before. Long story short, when I trained for my first marathon I weighed 200 and when I crossed the finish line I was 206 and I've been hanging there for about 2.5 years. I've tracked my calories during that time, but not religiously.

So there you go, from 2006 until 2012, I've managed to gain it all back, but it was purely out of lack of focus. I found that once you're at the top, its easy to fall off if you don't keep doing what got you there to begin with. (That's true of all things.) At this point, I'd be happy to see 190 again and will soon.

kace406

Thanks so much to everyone for sharing. It's always good to read the stories and know you aren't the only one going through something.

Here's my story:
I honestly don't know what my weight was until right after my college graduation. My mom is one who was and is always on a diet. It's an unhealthy way to grow up for any kid, but I took a slightly different reaction than most. I basically said, 'she's nuts', stayed active, had fun, enjoyed being a teenager, and never really cared about my weight. I was always about a size 8-10, not thin, but felt okay about it. I was a 12/14 4 years later when I graduated from college. I got pictures back from my college graduation day and barely recognized myself. In my senior year, I broke my foot and gained what I'm now guessing was 15-20 lbs. I started Weight Watchers 2 days later at 188. In about 5 months, I was down to 155 and so happy....wearing smaller clothes than I ever had, getting compliments left and right, etc.

I moved around that time frame and maintained that weight for about a year until it creeped up again. I rejoined Weight Watchers, got down to about 165, and hovered there until I met my boyfriend about two years ago.

On January 1, after a couple months of lazily trying to do Weight Watchers online, I joined MFP at 177 and created a healthy competition with a friend of mine. I've never been healthier or more committed than I am right now. I'm far less concerned about the number on the scale and focused on reaching my fitness goals.

I'm wearing the clothes that have been sitting in my closet un-worn for 2 years, and there is no doubt in my mind that I'll reach my goals this time around.

The reason I gained weight is simply thinking that, 'You know, I'm comfortable at this weight, I don't need to journal or be on a program anymore'. I know now that it's not about losing weight, but changing the way I approach food and fitness. It's also a matter of doing it for myself and for the right reasons.I have good days and bad days, I've never given anything up entirely, but the key is to not let one meal throw you off of your goals.

gerbies

In my early 20's, I lost about 60 lbs by cutting back on calories and working out (mostly running, but with weights). It took me about 6-9 months to lose the weight. I maintained my weight for about a year and then slowly started gaining (I was in an unhappy relationship). Over the course of a year and half, I gained the 60 lbs back, plus 10 more (pushing me over 200 lbs). My boyfriend and I broke up and then I continued to gain. Since that time, I have lost chunks of weight and then gained them back (usually 30-40 lbs or so).

I have now been on my journey since November 2011 and have lost almost 45 lbs. I haven't lost this much weight at one time in over 8 years, so I'm in a really good place. Though I have an ultimate goal of losing 115 lbs, my next big goal is breaking the 200 lb mark and moving into "one-derland" (32 lbs to go!). I haven't been in the 100's since I was 23 years old; I'm now 37.

lacharp

I did achieve goal weight but through Weight Watchers, not MFP. Took me about 8 months... lost 53 lbs, that was in 2004.

I was back up to my starting weight, plus an additional 10 lbs by fall 2008. It was a combo of factors. I only maintained my goal for a few months, then gained back 5lbs by the end of the year. I'd gotten into a relationship, and altogether gained another 15lbs of "happy" fat by the end of 2006. Then in summer 2007 I inexplicably gained 25lbs in a month, they never figured out why, it's suspected it had something to do with my developing gluten intolerance and/or my thyroid was out of whack, but my doc at the time never could really pinpoint it. After a year of maintaining that weight, but not losing despite trying, I ended up getting pretty depressed about my weight and just giving up for a while, which is how I put back on the last 20 of my re-gain. :embarassed:

It's frustrating! I have sworn to myself that when I get to goal again I'm not letting myself gain it all back!

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Wow, I really love and appreciate reading your replies! Thanks guys so much for posting!!!:flowerforyou: