How many times in your life have you lost 30 lbs or more?

martintanz
martintanz Posts: 280
in Motivation and Support
This is nothing to be proud of, except maybe as a testament to our collective refusal to accept living a life of obesiity.

My record
1. 1980 - High school, wanting to look better and tired of getting teased for being chubby. 30 lbs over the summer
2. 1987 - College - Put weight on freshman year. Finally got tired of it and lost 50 lbs in 5 months.
3. 1990 - Put those 50 lbs back on over 3 years. Took off 30 lbs.
4. 2004 - Lost control of my weight in the mid to late 90s, with weight topping out around 270 lbs. (not sure exactly as I was losing weight for almost 2 weeks before mustering the courage to step on the scale, and I was in the high 260s. Lost almost 60 lbs over the next year, most of it in the first 8 months. Kept it off for over 3 years, before slowly losing control and gaining it back.
5. 2012 - Gained back all the weight lost in 2004 and then some. Currently down 21 lbs from my all time high. And hoping that this time, I can get back to where I was in 2004, maybe even where I was in 1990, and keep it off for good.

So 5 times losing, and gaining more than 30 lbs. This doesn't even count the many mini diets I have been on where I lost 10 lbs or less, and gained it back. That is almost too many to count.

Replies

  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Just twice before this time I think. Both in college, both in an unhealthy fashion. Probably 35 to 45 lbs. each time.
  • livigabihuni
    livigabihuni Posts: 18
    My record isn't as long...
    I started gaining weight in college.
    topped out at 220 and decided I needed to lose weight...
    lost 20 lbs and just stopped.
    Gained 10 back before getting pregnant.
    Lost weight with my first pregnancy and after baby was down to 180 without doing anything.
    Gained all 30lbs back before getting pregnant again.
    After 2nd baby I weighed in at before pregnancy weight.
    Held steady there til pregnancy #3 came along.
    After baby 3 I was back down to pre pregnancy weight (still obese).
    When baby 3 was 7 weeks old I joined MFP and decided enough was enough.
    I lost 50lbs in 5 months then just kind of stopped.
    Gained 5 pounds back and have kind of just held steady there since May 2012. I would like to lose another 15ish pounds so I really need to step it up again but it is hard finding my motivation again.

    There's my life story :)
  • birdieaz
    birdieaz Posts: 448 Member
    Only once and that is how I intend it to stay. Needing to lose weight has been a whole foreign experience. I'm not sure if that made it harder or easier. I do know it made me stay in denial a lot longer.
  • Mexie1
    Mexie1 Posts: 48 Member
    Once, this time. I have previously lost 24lbs and 17lbs to get to the same weight as I am now.
  • oneakaqt
    oneakaqt Posts: 14 Member
    I'm currently on my 3rd pass and it sucks! After my 2nd child I lost 45 pounds. After my 3rd child I lost 35 pounds. I was pleased with my health and my body. My confidence was great and then five years later - POOF- 202.5 pounds, confindence gone, clothes don't fit and parts of the body started to hurt that I knew were signs of premature aging. It's amazing to me how quickly the weight sneeks up on you. I hate feeling so disappointed in myself.

    So here I am again and hopefully for the last time. I will loose 50 pounds and I will find a way to keep it off for good.
  • martintanz
    martintanz Posts: 280
    Look at it this way, at least you lost weight between kids. My mother in law claims she gained 25 lbs per child; and she had 4 kids. No sense in beating yourself up any more than you already have. I got depressed over a changed in work situations, then my father's passing away. I think I ate to deal with depression and anxiety.

    When I was at my father's house cleaning things out, I grabbed some of his shirts and brought them home. This winter, even those XXL shirts were starting to feel tight. Then I went to the doctor and found out exactly how much weight I gained. Anyhow, I am confident I will succeed. Hopefully 260 by the end of the month, for sure, 250, maybe even 245 by the end of the year (my half way point) , and hopefully, 220 - 225 by next spring. (and my ultiimate goal of 199 by the end of next summer)
  • ukulele2010
    ukulele2010 Posts: 126 Member
    Whew, never, thus far - thank goodness. I'm sure it is a challenge to lose 30+ lbs. I basically have a stop measure - when I get to a certain weight I decide that it is time to lose weight.
  • kdgolfer
    kdgolfer Posts: 19 Member
    I've lost 30 lbs or more at least 3 times. Joined and quit Weight Watchers more times than I can count since I was in my early 20's.
    I lost almost 60 lbs in 1991 the year I graduated from College and was on my own for the first time. Then again in 2003, I lost about 45-50 lbs.

    Just like any addiction (like quitting smoking), we need to just keep trying and by practice we will get it right by making it a lifestyle change and not just a diet.

    I am now at my lowest weight for this year and my goal is to be at my lowest weight in 8 years.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    6...(usually 60-80 lbs range) This is the last time... :blushing: :blushing: :blushing:
  • redscylla
    redscylla Posts: 211 Member
    This is the fourth time. Now I need to move on and lose the next 40 lbs. *sigh*
  • hollyNhollywood
    hollyNhollywood Posts: 426 Member
    1st time- Right after high school I moved out on my own and started working a 3rd shift job. I fell into a bit of a depression. And it didn't help that every morning on the way home from work, I'd stop off at Mickey D's and buy a sausage and egg mcmuffin w/ cheese, hash browns, and a sprite. Then went home and went to bed. I got up to about 170. Went down to 120-125 by just walking and "low fat" diet (trendy at the time)

    2nd time- After 4 years with a boyfriend where I gained about a pound a month, I might have even gotten up to 175-180. Things ended very badly (cheated on me, moved in w/ her and married her w/in 3 months). Couldn't eat a thing and drastically lost about 35-40 lbs within 3 months. Of course it didnt' stay off....

    3rd time- After getting into a new relationship and putting a lot of the weight back on (got back to about 165), the relationship ended very abruptly and I moved to L.A. and started eating better, (became a vegetarian) and exercising (hiking and gym). I dropped about 25-30 lbs.
    After getting on medication and losing exercise motivation, I gradually put that weight back on, plus about another 5 lbs.
    (I seem to always end up about 165ish)
    Where I found myself (at 170) when I found this site. As of today, I've lost 23 lbs and will soon be passing that 30lb mark again. But this time, I have no intention of ever putting it back on again.
  • Danam48
    Danam48 Posts: 129 Member
    In my 20's I lost 50 pounds and eventually gained back 75 pounds
    In my 30's I lost 75 pounds and eventually gained back 100 pounds
    In my 40's I have now lost 60 pounds and counting.. never gaining them back!
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Just this one time that's I've been tracking. If I had in the past I had no clue because I wasn't dieting or even weighing myself so I didn't know.
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    When I was a teenager and was getting fit for the army I dropped 35 lbs. And this year I dropped 57 lbs so far hoping to be the last time I have to do it.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    When I lose 30 pounds it will be the first... I'm at 22...
  • sweetsungirl
    sweetsungirl Posts: 94
    Twice: The first time is when I left home at 17 yrs old and started eating anything and everthing that was cheap or could procure from work (at McDonalds). I was in a relationship at the time. Over the course of the 2 yr. relationship, I gained 30 pounds. When we broke up, I dropped those 30 pounds because I had changed jobs and was living off of a quart of skim milk and eight cups of gas station coffee a day.

    Enter boyfriend and now husband. We dated for 6.5 years before we got married. Over that time, I ballooned up to an all time high of 230lbs! After we got married, I realized I was OBESE. I got my wedding photos back and there I sat, sadly in my XXL merlot colored dress. I could not afford a XXL wedding dress. After the initial "omg" moment, I joined the cheapest gym I could find, bought fitness magazines and taught myself how to exercise and eat properly. I dropped 80 pounds that time. I was at an all time low weight.

    Since the age of 16, I had been smoking a pack a day. I wanted to improve my health even more after my 80lb weight loss. I quit smoking and gained 25lbs back over the course of a summer. Since then, I have continued to exercise and eat properly about 50% of the time. My weight has crept up again recently. I now need to lose at least 30lbs again *just like the topic* sigh...here we go again for the third time.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Just once, but I did the up and down by 10 lbs dance for years.

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