Depressing Statistic

imdamom
imdamom Posts: 42
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I just read an article in Good Housekeeping that said studies have shown that up to 80% of people who lose weight will gain it back in a year's time. I know I don't want to be part of that statistic. What are you doing or planning to do to make sure you aren't part of that 80% either?

Replies

  • Buzzkitty1
    Buzzkitty1 Posts: 134
    Well, since I'm at the starting gate, I'm trying not to worry about the finish line, or in this case, life after the race.

    I know my motivation may wax and wane, but I am commited to not letting my dedication ever do the same. Wake up every day and commit to making it a healthy one. That's all we can do.
  • sssrip
    sssrip Posts: 72
    Since this is a lifestyle change and not a diet that I will go off of I am not afraid of being part of the 80%.
  • Pieater
    Pieater Posts: 40
    My plan is to use this site continuously, or at least as needed after I've lost enough weight. I'll log in nearly every day forever if that's what it takes to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
    Since this is a lifestyle change and not a diet that I will go off of I am not afraid of being part of the 80%.

    I second this.
  • oEmmao
    oEmmao Posts: 466 Member
    i am going to buy my first pair of size 12 (uk/irish sizes) jeans, and spend some money on a few nice/expensive pairs and if i see them getting tight, then bam!! watch out!!

    no way i am going back to an overweight BMI once i get healthy!

    :flowerforyou:
  • 34at35
    34at35 Posts: 318
    According to my doctor, the reason is largely related to the body's production of the hormone, Leptin. Discovered in 1994, it is the hormone that creates the "fullness" feeling when you eat to tell the brain you've had enough. When you lose weight, particularly in a crash diet manner, the body recognizes that and stops producing Leptin, as a defense mechanism against the threat of starvation. When you stop losing weight, the body does not have enough Leptin to prevent you from overeating again and consequently, you regain the weight, and often more, rather quickly.

    My doctor believes the way to prevent this is by losing weight slowly, and in my case anyway, continuing to have me take the prescription appetite suppressant, Meridia, for about 6 months after I have reached my goal and adjusted my calories consumed to maintain my goal weight. That will give my Leptin levels time to rebuild themselves to the level required to maintain my goal weight. Then I will be able to stop the Meridia without regaining the weight.

    This sounds very logical to me. So I am doing what he says.
  • kgrutch
    kgrutch Posts: 223
    i have been at my goal weight for 3 months now, i am still doing the same things that i did when i lost the weight. i have increased my calories from 1200 to 1600. i also let my self have small amounts of things that i would have not have eaten while i was losing, ie occasional small chocolate or cookies or pizza but it is OCCASIONAL. you cannot have the belief that will be able to go back to the lifestyle you were living or the weight will come back. i weigh myself weekly and keep accountable. i go to the gym 6 days/week and run 5 days /weekk. i plan to keep the exercise plan forever, dont think of the weight loss as a few month process, theis is how you will living and eating forever (if you want the weight to stay off). i dont feel deprived at all, feel great and love being in such great shape!!
  • AngelaRae23
    AngelaRae23 Posts: 24
    Im making it less of a DIET and more of a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, something i can continue long after i've reached my goal.
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
    I plan on being a permanent fixture on MFP so that when I get to my goal I can STAY at my goal... no more YO-YO!! ... :flowerforyou:
  • malibootie
    malibootie Posts: 614 Member
    Honestly, I think this website will help me from gaining it back. I have been that person before who lost 30 lbs and then gained 40 back in the blink of an eye. And that kills me now, knowing that I have to do it all over just to get to where I was.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    I've lost 50lbs. It's took me a year and a half. Slow and steady. Lifestyle change. That weight has not come back, nor will I allow it too.

    That study is most likely referencing those who crash diet or use gimmicky diets like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. You can't come off those plans knowing how to eat in the real world! They will set you up for failure.

    Learning to eat right and change your lifestyle will prevent you from gaining all that weight back. Don't let those stats scare you.
  • freeflower3
    freeflower3 Posts: 39 Member
    Well, I am like you, just starting. I have tried off and on for past several years to lose weight. The reason is different now. It is simply a promise to God to take care of the healthy body he gave me. (I was 140 pounds thinner in 2001). I almost destroyed my originally healthy body by eating to handle stress/divorce.

    I have tried to lose weight for myself, my kids, my patients, etc, etc, but really, I never stuck with it. I didn't know how to hanle stress without food. When I started to look at eating poorly and not using my body for what it was designed for (movement) as disrespectful of the gift God gave me, I am feeling HIS strength get me through the stressful times and hunger from reducing calories.

    I really can't do it myself. Believe me, I have TRIED. This time, I cannot fail with God. He deserves the best I can give and I depend on Him to help me succeed.

    I plan on keeping track of my calories thru MFP long-term. I even bought an i-phone to be able to do it away from home!

    Best wishes!

    ~Michele : )
  • acureese
    acureese Posts: 169
    Since this is a lifestyle change and not a diet that I will go off of I am not afraid of being part of the 80%.

    I agree with this, too! :)
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I just read an article in Good Housekeeping that said studies have shown that up to 80% of people who lose weight will gain it back in a year's time. I know I don't want to be part of that statistic. What are you doing or planning to do to make sure you aren't part of that 80% either?

    I would only say look around here a bit.........I can name 50 ppl who have done it and kept it off for more than a year. Those are ppl I KNOW....keeping track of your food and knowing what you are putting in your mouth, will help you FOREVER!!

    Take your time. Learn. Listen. Try. Achieve. Continue!

    You CAN do this! :flowerforyou:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I've lost 50lbs. It's took me a year and a half. Slow and steady. Lifestyle change. That weight has not come back, nor will I allow it too.

    That study is most likely referencing those who crash diet or use gimmicky diets like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. You can't come off those plans knowing how to eat in the real world! They will set you up for failure.

    Learning to eat right and change your lifestyle will prevent you from gaining all that weight back. Don't let those stats scare you.

    see here is one of them!! WINNER!!:love::love:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    According to my doctor, the reason is largely related to the body's production of the hormone, Leptin. Discovered in 1994, it is the hormone that creates the "fullness" feeling when you eat to tell the brain you've had enough. When you lose weight, particularly in a crash diet manner, the body recognizes that and stops producing Leptin, as a defense mechanism against the threat of starvation. When you stop losing weight, the body does not have enough Leptin to prevent you from overeating again and consequently, you regain the weight, and often more, rather quickly.

    My doctor believes the way to prevent this is by losing weight slowly, and in my case anyway, continuing to have me take the prescription appetite suppressant, Meridia, for about 6 months after I have reached my goal and adjusted my calories consumed to maintain my goal weight. That will give my Leptin levels time to rebuild themselves to the level required to maintain my goal weight. Then I will be able to stop the Meridia without regaining the weight.

    This sounds very logical to me. So I am doing what he says.

    and another!!! WOOT!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    i am going to buy my first pair of size 12 (uk/irish sizes) jeans, and spend some money on a few nice/expensive pairs and if i see them getting tight, then bam!! watch out!!

    no way i am going back to an overweight BMI once i get healthy!

    :flowerforyou:

    and YET another !!
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    Eventually you have to realize you don't have a choice. If I want to live and have any kind of life at all, the weight has to come off and stay off.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    I plan on being a permanent fixture on MFP so that when I get to my goal I can STAY at my goal... no more YO-YO!! ... :flowerforyou:

    Me too! MFP is my not so secret weapon.
  • neenaleigh
    neenaleigh Posts: 584 Member
    im not at the finish line yet, but i have stopped losing...i am maintaining by watching what i eat at least 80% of the time and working out regularly....this lady who i am training for a marathon with says if i run 4 miles a day i can eat whatever i want whenever i want and not gain!!!!!!!!!!! im willing to try it! :drinker:
  • mish3131
    mish3131 Posts: 276 Member
    I plan on keeping a pair of pants and a shirt from my highest weight. Even now after donating clothing to goodwill last week game me a reality check of how far I have come. I have a long way to go, but it really left an impression on me.

    I also plan on staying on MFP since this site has helped me more then anything else I have ever tried.
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
    I'm planning on losing slooowly by making changes that I can actually maintain.

    Believe me, I was someone who once thought I had made a "lifestyle change" and, while I haven't gained back all of the weight I once lost, I have regained some. Turns out that hitting the gym for 2 hours a day wasn't something that I could maintain as a lifestyle for long! Making a lifestyle change is totally the way to go, just make sure that the changes you are making can change as your lifestyle does (new jobs, new kids, new significant other, etc.)
  • kbarker65
    kbarker65 Posts: 22 Member
    Been there, done that, and don't plan to do it again. Twenty-three years ago I lost over 100 pounds by dieting - the Pritikin Diet that time. Over the years, the weight would come back on 20 or 30 pounds at a time. I'd try to take it back off by dieting - 1200 Calorie Diabetic Diet, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, etc. - and I'd sometimes succeed, but I NEVER learned to eat better.

    Twenty-three years later and almost as heavy, I stumbled onto this site. This site makes it so simple to account for everything I eat. I can manage what I eat, and make healthy choices based on accurate information. This time, weight loss, and maintaining a healthy weight, has become a lifestyle change for me, and lifestyle changes, unlike diets can last for the rest of my life.

    I feel like this time, when I lose that 100 pounds, I won't ever let it come back. This site has taught me that weight loss really isn't a destination - a healthy lifestyle is a journey that I enjoy being on.
  • SugarDiva
    SugarDiva Posts: 403 Member
    Since this is a lifestyle change and not a diet that I will go off of I am not afraid of being part of the 80%.

    I agree with this, too! :)

    Motion carried! :)
  • nolan_84
    nolan_84 Posts: 31
    It's only a depressing statistic if you are part of it... which we all have the CHOICE not to become! I will never gain this weight back. They say never say never... I'm saying NEVER!!! It's all about lifestyle and CHOICES! Accountability is key! We've all made an excuse as to why we gained weight or why it was okay for those 5 lbs... no more of that from this guy... There is no excuse for being unhealthy, only accountability.
  • sdwelk11
    sdwelk11 Posts: 825
    Since this is a lifestyle change and not a diet that I will go off of I am not afraid of being part of the 80%.

    I second this.

    I third this!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Yes, I hope people don't mind me adding my 2 cents into this but I tend to agree. The reasons why 80% (and the number is actually higher than that; believe it or not) of people who lose weight gain it back is because most people never really figure out how to be healthy.

    the body is a complex machine, eating healthy isn't about a diet that deprives you of some kind of food, or limits you to an unreasonable amount of food, or augmenting your eating with some kind of pill, or chemical, or restrictive band around your stomach. While I understand why people would resort to such things, I firmly believe that they don't solve the underlying issue.

    think of being overweight like having a deep and infected wound. You can treat the infection with antibiotics, but if you don't treat the wound itself, you will never be healed. think of the extra fat on your body as the infection, it's what happens if you let your open wound (I.E. bad eating habits, and/or mental attachment to eating) fester.

    So how do you avoid being a statistic? Learn about your body, learn about how to eat right, learn what kind of activities you can fall in love with, and do them, figure out what triggers your desire for eating bad food or eating too much food. Are you an emotional eater? Are you a bored eater? Do you truly know what a portion is? Do you know what RDA recommendations are (or what ever nutrition guidelines you feel comfortable following are).

    These are the questions that (if you can answer them) solve the underlying issues, some kind of diet, or pill, or other crutch isn't the answer, it's just going to further alienate your body from your mind and make it that much harder in the long run.
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