Is Maintenance Really Impossible?

The_Enginerd

Not impossible for sure. The longer you maintain, the more likely you are to keep it off. You just cannot treat it like a diet, it has to be a lifestyle change. I still log everything, and I met my weight goal back in November of 2011.

jorge_007

It is possible. I've been able to maintain my weight. Then again my maintenance is 3000 calories a day. If I eat 2000 I'll start dropping like 2lbs a week which I don't want. Running everyday really makes maintenance easy.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I've maintained a 50 pound loss for 8-9 years. Pick a realistic goal, lose slowly and don't do anything that isn't sustainable for the rest of your life. Also, don't fear the bad days/weeks -- just restart when they happen. I could technically lose 8 more pounds (I am happy where I am). But I leave my ticker that way to inspire me to do my best.

themedalist

I've been at maintenance now for almost a year. It isn't too hard but I do have to be vigilant. I allow my weight to fluctuate by 2 pounds but when it exceeds that threshold (only happened about 3 times since July) I take action by curbing my calories a bit or upping the exercise until I'm back in range. I remind myself that it's easier to lose 2 pounds than it is to lose 20.

Don't lose heart...maintenance is very possible. You can buck the odds and join us!

katevarner

I have lost and gained many times, but I find that I gain it back when I get lazy. As long as I am mindful of what I eat and take time to fit in exercise, maintenance is easy. When I quit moving and start eating what's easy instead of what's healthy, I regain.

I also have to weigh on a regular basis. Last time I regained it all (and then some--just like every time), I quit weighing when I didn't like what the scale said instead of moving more. This time, I'm going to keep weighing, almost daily for now, altho I'd eventually like to back it off and only weigh 3 or 4 times per month. Not ready for that yet, but I've only been maintaining 7 months. Hopefully the bad news on the scale will light a fire under my lazy butt.

mattschwartz01

Yes, it is possible but only if you've made a lifestyle change. The first time I lost weight, I failed to make that lifestyle change. This time is different - I've got the benefit of 10 years more of accumulated wisdom.

BunkyBumBum

I lost 75 pounds. 65 of it on Weight Watchers very gradually 3 years ago. 10 of it I lost due to a lot of stress, not eating much, and extra walking 2 years ago, I gained that back and that was in no way a healthy loss.

Even when I don't track or exercise, I'm not gaining it all back. I've been stuck at a plateau for a year, I'll gain or lose 3 pounds here or there, but in general, I stay the same weight. I suppose that's good and bad, good because I'm not gaining the weight back, bad because I'm also not losing my last 15.

I do "kick it up" if I notice my jeans getting a little tight, and I think that's the important part of keeping it off. Don't go eating whatever you want and buying new, bigger clothes and fooling yourself into thinking you're not gaining. That's how people wake up and realize that 50 pounds they lost is back. It'll creep back on a pound or two at a time, but if you pay attention you'll always nip it in the bud before it gets past 5-10 pounds. AS LONG AS YOU LOST IT HEALTHFULLY. People who lose weight by drinking only a shake or by eating only protein or starving themselves are not losing it in a way that they can live the rest of their life and I bet most of them do gain it back. If you've changed your lifestyle, one bad week isn't going to put all the weight back. You'll say "oh crap, my jeans are a little tighter" and you'll remedy it right away. Some people will say, "Oh crap, my jeans are a little tighter" and they'll step into an old pair a size up until they forget the smaller size they were and get comfortable in the bigger size, then it'll happen again and again until they're back in their fat pants and wondering what happened. I'm in a "tight jeans" phase right now, I gained 3 pounds because we've been eating out too much (sick and lazy) and I can feel my jeans rubbing on my thighs more than they used to. Now I'm watching my food and exercising and those 3 pounds, if history says anything, will come off easily in the next couple weeks.

dognamedpig

You'll probably just need to remain vigilant and aware.

This was a very interesting argument and I agree with your thoughts on the shifting values where something that was once a focus of so much attention becomes not as important when other things in life begin to gain.

OP, also I think that being young is a point of favor. Your neural connections are more easily built and maintained when it's taken effort to reach a goal. IMO

kimad

I don't think we are doomed if we treat this as a lifestyle change and don't go back to eating junk when we reach our goal.

^^ this

and I also think exercise plays a huge role. I think people who are active have an easier time with weightloss and with keeping it off.

I was able to keep my weight the same since last August...I was in spitting distance (lol) of my goal and I started to get comfortable and slacked off some - then took a vacation. I had to reel it back in, but it's becuase I have formed new habits, I never stopped working out, I was able not to fall completely off the wagon, back to the old Kim.

I think it's in your mindset, a diet ends ... a lifestyle change doesn't.

ETA: as a yo-yo'er I have also realized I will be using MFP for life. I will be weighing myself for life. I will be following this new lifestyle change for life.

longtimeterp

It is possible. I've been able to maintain my weight. Then again my maintenance is 3000 calories a day. If I eat 2000 I'll start dropping like 2lbs a week which I don't want. Running everyday really makes maintenance easy.

even every other day is great, and the more weight i lose, the easier on me the running is, the more i can do, the more i can eat! I love that math!

etmcintosh

I feel you. I have been fluctuating up and down 30 pounds my whole life (since I was about 16). Every time I lose focus, I gain it back. When I try to diet, I feel like I am starving the entire time. I'm starting to think that if I don't feel hungry, I've probably eaten too much. Even with a lower carb high protein diet, I feel hungry. Good luck to you. Maintaining is just as difficult as losing.

MB_Positif

I lost 50+ pounds (through Medifast) but I have been off their prepackaged meals for almost a year now and actually lost weight even while I was eating regular food again! I know I can never go back to eating like I used to, and I have committed to being more active, and I LIKE these changes, I wouldn't want to return to constantly overindulging and sitting around all day!

Well, part of the above statement is right and wrong. First, it's GREAT that you are committed to being more active and eating less. You are absolutely RIGHT that you can never go back to overindulging and sitting around all day if you expect to maintain your weight. You do, however, need to learn how to eat a healthy amount of calories to maintain your weight, you can not eat and/or exercise yourself into a calorie deficit for the rest of your life.

I have basically been maintaining for over a year. I am up a few pounds after having a major surgery and going on vacation, but I am still within 5 pounds of my lowest weight which is basically a fluctuation and all of my clothes still fit. Maintenance is possible.

PetulantOne

People lose the weight doing stupid insane crash diets, lose a bunch of muscle mass, stop starving themselves and then gain it back as almost all fat.

QFT

If you're "dieting", like there's an end game, you're probably in for disappointment.

Mr_Bad_Example

People gain weight back because they lost it doing things they can't sustain... like drinking Slim Fast.

In order to maintain your weight loss, you have to do what got you to your goal in the first place - eat what you need to and burn what you can.

crazybookworm

Everywhere I look I am confronted by statistics saying anybody who loses a significant amount of weight WILL gain it back, there is almost no doubt. They said 99% of people who diet will regain all the lost weight and then some...

The key word, DIET. You are making adjustments and creating a program to maintain a LIFESTYLE. When dieting, you are doing things to help get the weight off, not thinking about the long term.

When making a lifestyle change, you are working hard to develop a healthy manageable way of living that is realistic to last a lifetime.

Bettyeditor

Everywhere I look I am confronted by statistics saying anybody who loses a significant amount of weight WILL gain it back, there is almost no doubt. They said 99% of people who diet will regain all the lost weight and then some....

True. That's why you should never diet. The whole concept of "diet" is flawed. The whole idea of making a temporary change to achieve permanent results is madness. As a matter of fact, many credit the diet industry with being the cause of the obesity epidemic. That's right: DIETING IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF OBESITY in America. (http://www.intuitiveeating.org/content/warning-dieting-causes-weight-gain-short-video-evelyn-tribole-ms-rd)

A new body is the result of a new lifestyle. That does not happen fast. And a new lifestyle is not temporary. It can be summed up in the mantra "Never do anything to lose weight that you are not willing to do for the rest of your life."

One of the more sensible approaches I have seen is this: Calculate the maintenance calories of the fit, trim person that you want to be, and eat that every day until you shrink down to match that calorie level. Simple. By the time your body matches that calorie level, maintenance is almost a guaranteed success. You have been doing maintenance the whole time you were losing! You are now a pro at maintenance! No adjustment needed! (Hint: The maintenance calories for the fit, healthy person you want to be is nowhere near 1200 calories!)

Just like there will always be people trying the latest "get rich quick" scheme, making a bit of money maybe but eventually losing their shirt on some scam or another, there will always be people in a hurry to get skinny fast. But the ones who succeed in weight loss and fitness are the slow-and-steady ones. The ones who know that they can't save money for a couple months and then give up.... and still expect to retire well... they need to save a little every day, every week, every month, every year. Real weight loss is not sexy, and it is not spectacular. It is slow. It is steady. It is consistent. It requires patience. It does not try to speed things up with shakes or pills. It is sensible. And in the end, it wins the race.

Articeluvsmemphis

It all depends, it's a matter of habit, circumstance, and mindset.

I too liked all the changes I was able to make and lose 80pounds, but that did not sustain me throughout the last 6 or so months when I weight went up/down due to stress and me over eating and being underactive. I slowly put back on 10pounds and said as long as I do no more than that and can bring it down.

Then I exceeded that 10pounds and now am looking at having gained 20 of those pounds back.

Just real life cases I know: my sister loss about 60, gained most, about 40 of those back. Friend gained back 80pounds, more than what she initially loss. Another friend (on MFP) gained back all(+some) of their weight.

It is hard, you have to renew your determination everyday. I thought the changes I had made over a 1 1/2yrs. period were sustainable but I guess they were not fool proof. I liked exercise b/c it was a novelty to me, but now it's a chore.

I liked eating healthier, now I run like the plague away from most healthy foods.

This is just my story, I obviously have not gained everything back, so some good habits are still in tact, but I have 19yrs. of bad habits vs. 2-3yrs. of good habits, so you tell me which might overthrow which.

I make no excuses, choices are my own, but weight loss is a beast. Maintaining is a beast of its own.

Injury, depression, stress got the best of me, and I solved my problems with food, which added to the problems, irony.

SanteMulberry

Everywhere I look I am confronted by statistics saying anybody who loses a significant amount of weight WILL gain it back, there is almost no doubt. They said 99% of people who diet will regain all the lost weight and then some...

I can understand that some people are naturally larger, and maybe just don't have the right genetics to maintain any significant loss...

It would also make sense that, if somebody went on a diet, lost the weight, then went back to eating like they did before the weight would return.

Maybe if you struggled with a binge eating disorder or some sort of physical condition long term success would be limited...

But none of this applies to me, I have always been a little chubby due to never learning about healthy eating or exercise habits, but when I moved out I gained a large amount of weight because I was always at home, never cooked, and straight up binged on junk, especially when I was depressed.

I lost 50+ pounds (through Medifast) but I have been off their prepackaged meals for almost a year now and actually lost weight even while I was eating regular food again! I know I can never go back to eating like I used to, and I have committed to being more active, and I LIKE these changes, I wouldn't want to return to constantly overindulging and sitting around all day!

What circumstances would cause the weight to return? Am I doomed? Is there anybody who has kept weight off for over 5 years, or is that completely impossible, as statistical evidence seems to suggest?

Of course, with age comes some weight gain but I am only 19 I still have a while to go, right?

It is just a terrifying thing to hear over and over when I have worked so hard to get where I am today.

I haven't gained an ounce in over three years. But I'm not at maintenance yet. I follow a lower carb plan, so when I'm on maintenance, I will continue just as I am now, only I will set my macros just a little higher. Instead of keeping my carbs between 70 to 100, I will just let them drift up toward 150 (150 grams of carb is the upper limit for maintaining your weight loss, when you are a lower carb person). I will continue with my exercise at least at the level that I have now. The reason why people regain is because they stop recording their food, go back to their old ways of eating, and they stop exercising as much. I made a permanent dietary change three years ago (no added sugar, no processed food). I missed it at first (and I never ate a lot of sweets or junk food) but now I don't at all since I feel so much better for focusing on nourishing my body very well. That is the only way I could ever stick to a weight loss plan---by paying attention to nutrition and health (and sugary foods and junk foods just don't fit in that plan). People say, "Oh come on, you've lost a LOT of weight, one piece of cake isn't going to hurt anything!" or "You mean you will never have a cookie again?" I tell them that I COULD have a piece of cake if I wanted one but I likely would not enjoy it as I am not accustomed to eating sugar anymore and it would taste too sweet to me. As for cookies, I will probably allow myself to eat a FEW Christmas cookies on Christmas this year. But it will be one day's indulgence only. Since I have blood sugar issues, and been hypertensive in the past, I will not reverse months of hard work because I cannot discipline my eating. NOT gonna happen.

TheEffort

Maintenance is possible if we change the word from "diet" to "nutrition"... if we stop comparing ourselves to the standards of others; even small changes and daily effort can become the healthier lifestyle behavior.

I believe it's doable, if you want it bad enough.

Froody2

I lost 50kg (~100lbs) in 1993 and yet, here I am again, 20 years later needing to lose 66kg (~145lbs). I swore I'd never let myself gain weight again - and I didn't, for about 7 years. Then it slowly began to creep back ...life got in the way. Divorce, moving cities, being a single parent, having no money, going to university, starting a new and stressful job with erratic work hours, finding and marrying my now husband, being generally happy, all contributed to my allowing the weight to creep back on. Then I woke up.


Some habits have stayed with me from that initial weight loss (good and bad, depending on your POV), i haven't eaten butter on bread, drunk anything other than diet soft drinks or had sugar in my tea and coffee. Unfortunately, the habit of counting calories, of being vigilant and staying active didn't stay with me. I think if the changes happen slowly you're much less likely to recognise the danger signs. Lastly, moderation sucks. Id love to be ale to scarf down huge amounts of chips and not get fat but that doesn't appear to be my lot in life. So be it.

The cost of being thin may be eternal vigilance?