why do 95%of people put weight back on, ugh

KANGOOJUMPS

that seems pretty high.

jonnythan

For YOU it wasn't....for many people, it is. Food was something I used for something other than food. It was mental, it still is. Once I addressed that...I was on the road to being a healthy and fit person. It wasn't counterproductive for me...in fact, it made all the difference in the world.

But that's my point. The thing that makes people fat is eating too much. There are all sorts of reasons people eat too much, but it's still that they're eating too much.

"All you have to do is watch what you eat and exercise" is absolutely true. It might be very hard psychologically, but it's true.

Couldn't disagree with you more. For ME, you are dead wrong. I lost weight a bunch of times, but I always put it back on.....until I realized the emotional and mental component of it all. I realized what I was using food for...and it wasn't just about eating less and moving more. I had to look at WHY I wanted to eat more...and have ways to battle that. I have strategies now when I want to emotional eat and binge...and because of those, I can maintain a healthy body weight.

"You have to know why you are eating and if you are trying to feed your body or your head" is also absolutely true. Doing the work to figure out the reasons behind isn't easy, but it makes all the difference in the world.

I don't understand. You're agreeing with me, but telling me I'm wrong.

The thing that was making you put on weight was the food you were eating. When you eat less food, you lose weight. That's what you're saying. And that's what I'm saying too.

To lose weight, you eat less food.

I don't know the reasons I ate more food. I just like food maybe. I don't know the reasons you ate more food. I don't care about the reasons you ate too much food. The bottom line is that you chose to eat less food and you lost weight. I chose to eat less food and I lost weight.

I agree that it can be difficult psychologically, but in the end if you eat less food you will lose weight.

schaskes

1) A diet is something you don't have to worry about once you've reached goal and you can go back to eating normally once the diet it finished. This time around I actually see myself "changing my life and my lifestyle" - the changes I have made are sustainable because they are really no effort at all. They have become my go-to solution. There are no "no" foods on mfp. I can have whatever I want to eat, as long as I can fit it in to my day or I work it off.

2) Exercise used to be done so I could eat more, not to be healthy or fit - This time around, exercise has become a part of my daily activities. I see exercise as keeping me healthy, helping my mental health, stress-relief, time-filler (as opposed to eating to fill time), body sculpting (in terms of strength training) and just damned good fun. If I don't do exercise on any given day, I get antsy, I get fidgety, I get stressed. I am still shocked every day about this change in my relationship to moving my body.

THIS is me - except that I am just beginning maintenance. I plan to log calories and exercise forever...or at least for the next 7 years, until both my daughters are in college. I have made a completely different commitment to my long term health than I have on any previous "diet."

KodAkuraMacKyen

They don't reverse diet.

This is probably a dumb question but what is reverse diet? I put weight back on because I didn't fully understand what I was doing to lose it. This time around, I will never put it back on because I understand more what it means to be healthy.

ellejay1214

I did Weight Watchers in high school, and after I made my goal, I kept taking dance classes and watching what I ate. Unfortunately, my family fell out of healthy eating habits and I started being made fun of for not eating things that the others were eating. They called it my self-deprivation diet... and here I am six years older and forty pounds heavier because I didn't have the courage to stand up to the friends and family who told me to give up. There is really something to be said for a solid support system at home.

jonnythan

Nope, not what I'm saying. The reason I gained weight was because of how I was abusing myself with food. The reason I gained weight is because of the emotional connection I had to food. The reason I gained weight is because I was in essence using food as a drug.

To lose weight, you eat less food.

Yep and for me to keep it off...which is what this thread is about, I had to get better emotional coping mechanisms than food. I had to not allow myself to use food to deal with my emotions.

I don't know the reasons I ate more food. I just like food maybe. I don't know the reasons you ate more food. I don't care about the reasons you ate too much food. The bottom line is that you chose to eat less food and you lost weight. I chose to eat less food and I lost weight.

Clearly you are not an emotional eater...and that's great. I am. I know the reasons why I ate more food...and knowing those reasons helps me maintain. For other emotional eaters out there...and there seem to be some in this thread...recognizing when your head is messing with what you put in your mouth is crucial.

I said "to lose weight you eat less food" and you said "yep." You then go on to talk about the mental and emotional changes you need to make in order to accomplish the "eat less food" part.

So... again, we are saying the same thing. The thing you need to accomplish is "eat less food." You apparently need coping mechanisms and whatnot in order to do that, but in the end the thing you do that makes you lose weight is eat less food.

And, as a side note, I am an emotional eater. But I decided to do something so I did it. I understand most people can't do that, and that's fine. Make your coping mechanisms. But the answer is "eat less food."

Arkhos

For YOU it wasn't....for many people, it is. Food was something I used for something other than food. It was mental, it still is. Once I addressed that...I was on the road to being a healthy and fit person. It wasn't counterproductive for me...in fact, it made all the difference in the world.

But that's my point. The thing that makes people fat is eating too much. There are all sorts of reasons people eat too much, but it's still that they're eating too much.

"All you have to do is watch what you eat and exercise" is absolutely true. It might be very hard psychologically, but it's true.

Couldn't disagree with you more. For ME, you are dead wrong. I lost weight a bunch of times, but I always put it back on.....until I realized the emotional and mental component of it all. I realized what I was using food for...and it wasn't just about eating less and moving more. I had to look at WHY I wanted to eat more...and have ways to battle that. I have strategies now when I want to emotional eat and binge...and because of those, I can maintain a healthy body weight.

"You have to know why you are eating and if you are trying to feed your body or your head" is also absolutely true. Doing the work to figure out the reasons behind isn't easy, but it makes all the difference in the world.

I don't understand. You're agreeing with me, but telling me I'm wrong.

The thing that was making you put on weight was the food you were eating. When you eat less food, you lose weight. That's what you're saying. And that's what I'm saying too.

To lose weight, you eat less food.

I don't know the reasons I ate more food. I just like food maybe. I don't know the reasons you ate more food. I don't care about the reasons you ate too much food. The bottom line is that you chose to eat less food and you lost weight. I chose to eat less food and I lost weight.

I agree that it can be difficult psychologically, but in the end if you eat less food you will lose weight.

Yes eating less you lose weight. We are talking about why people eventually gain that weight back. The reasons for why after going through the struggle of losing the weight a person would start eating more when they know that they will get fat again. It is the psychological reasons why someone first eats so much food that they gain 100lbs, loses that weight and then gains 150lbs later. For people to keep weight off long term, they have to change the way they think about food in order to keep from over-eating and gaining weight. You have to make a mental change in order to constantly keep to eating healthier. The problem is that many people didn't change the underlying reason they gained the weight to start with and so will gain it back. Her point was calling an obese person names more than likely will make their situation worse and not better - as gaining large amounts of weight is really self-destructive behavior. Changing that desire is how the obese will stick to 'eating less' over the lifetime.

That make any more sense?

jonnythan

Yes eating less you lose weight. We are talking about why people eventually gain that weight back.

Well it's because they eat more, but that's not what I was talking about.

I was responding to a post where someone said that "all you have to do is watch what you eat and exercise more" is wrong. It's not wrong. This is *precisely* what you have to do to lose weight. It is, in fact, pretty much the only way you can lose weight.

The mental or psychological process you must go through to get there is different for everyone. However, the target is the same for everyone. You have to eat less and exercise more.

1holegrouper

Three factors some to mind; 1) They didn't make a lifestyle change. 2) They didn't inspire people to follow them 3) they are not incorporating new things to keep things exciting (ex; running a road race, teaching a class, starting a new routine, starting a new sporting hobby, etc.) and get in a rut. We never stay in ruts.

Life's events can also threaten lifestyle changes (ex; job change, move, marriage, etc) and can also take you off course but when you have people who asking you how you did it and they start making changes themselves and results happen it provides a very strong sense of accountability and responsiblity which keeps you on the right path.

Keep in mind that our bodies can fool us very easily and we can make subtle changes that take us backwards.

jonnythan

No, we are not. The fact that you can't understand that...at this point, is telling.

And it's not that "I can't just decide to eat less" like that makes you such a stronger and better person. In fact, I believe the way I did it makes it much more likely I am going to maintain my loss. I maintained my loss for 4+ years which in terms of statistics is rare...and now I am quickly and happily back in a normal weight again. Obviously...what I do works for me. If it doesn't work for you...that's fine. However, it might help someone else.

I understand what you're saying 100%. And you agree with me. You lose weight by eating less.

Now let's move on.

mariapuhl

I'm definitely a person who has been there. But I regained my weight not out of lazy, etc. Just out of sheer busy. ugh. Here's a quick background.

Was always skinny until about... 7th grade, then just hit puberty and ballooned. Never really stopped gaining weight until I hit about 225/230 in high school. Great. I like food, so I ate a lot. My mom is a great cook so it never was fast food or eating out, it was just ridiculous portions of amazing food. I also didn't like sports, have a bad ankle, and so the idea of working out, gross.

2 years ago (end of sophomore year of college) I decided "eff this" and started to get healthy. I went from 0 to 60. From no exercise, to an hour a day on the elliptical, and strength training with my best friend 2x a week (sometimes less sometimes more). I went from about 2500 cals a day to 1700 then to 1200. I cheated, on special occasions, but maybe 3 times in the whole year. I lost 50 lbs. I kept going and maintained that for a year.

Then came "that semester". The semester where I had student teaching - so worked at a school every day from 7 - 4, then had class nearly every night from 5 - 9. I also had an hour drive to and from the school I was working at for student teaching, so tack that in. I just didn't have time to workout if I wanted to be able to do homework/study or even sleep. Yeah, I tried the study at the gym thing, but then I was just too dead to give my full attention to the students and found it unfair to them. I kept up my eating habits though.

So a year of that... I've put about 30lbs back on. Ugh. So annoying! But as soon as I could, I started working out again and have a trainer and making it a priority, since I can now. It's sucky that I was at a weight I really liked and now I'm back up here again to where I don't feel comfortable with myself, but I'm working on it and I know that I won't gain it back again (since I won't have that crazy a schedule ever again).

DexterDarko

The reason I put my weight back on was depression, but I'm on anti depressants now and hope things go well. It's like being a different person when I'm depressed or not.

jonnythan

Ahh...the moment when you realize you are being trolled and it took you WAY to long to realize it....

I'm not trolling. I am 100% sincere and serious on this topic.

The reason you gain weight is you eat too much. The reason you lose weight is you eat less.

The psychological and mental reasons someone eats too much vary from person to person and can be incredibly tough to conquer.

But it's a simple fact - and you agree with me on this - that you gain weight by eating too much and lose weight by eating less.

KarenJanine

Because they go n stupid, very calorically restricted diets, lose weight in the form of both fat and muscle mass, thus once they started eating normally their TDEE has been drastically lowered - due to lack of LBM, so they regain all their weight and more.

Basically, people end up getting fatter and less-muscled than when they started. It's kind of hilarious when you think about it.

This.

I made that mistake several times over leaving me flabbier than I started with a suppressed metabolism so whenever I tried to increase calories I'd gain weight. Luckily I found MFP last year and discovered I was doing it all wrong and am working hard to reverse the years of damage now.