Why did/didn't you regain weight?

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  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    It's something that I've been thinking about over the last week even though I've never regained any weight, probably because I haven't even finished losing it yet. I read a lot of posts about people who have lost weight, put it back on, and are now losing it again. But none of them ever explained why.

    So naturally I did a little research and found so many conflicting answers. Some sources saying that 80-90% of people who lose weight will put all of it back on and then some more. So my question to you is, did you put on weight after you finished losing? If so, was it because you just gave in to your old lifestyle or because of your metabolism?



    I was 135lbs when I got pregnant 18 years ago. I gained 50+ pounds with the pregnancy, then it took 4 years to take it off. Part of my issue was that I was stuck at home with no equipment or motivation. I got a job and the weight melted off. I was 5 lbs above goal and couldn't drop them...turns out I was pregnant with #2.

    I gained like 30-35lbs with that pregnancy--I waitressed until just a few days before I delivered. I dropped back down to about 150lbs and stayed there for about 4 years. I went on weight watchers, and joined a women's only circuit gym...and gained 30lbs. Turns out I was pre-diabetic. The doctor put me on a low carb diet (50g net) to see if I could control it without medications. I lost 17-20lbs in about 6-8 weeks...and discovered that I was pregnant with #3.

    I gained 45-50lbs with that pregnancy. I dropped to about 175lbs and stayed there for almost 2 years. Around that time my oldest son was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum and was having a lot of issues at school, my youngest broke his leg at 19 months old and was in a body cast for 5 weeks, and my daughter found her attitude. I slowly packed on 50lbs by self medicating with food...and chocolate. I spent so much time taking care of everyone else, I wasn't taking care of ME.

    10 months ago I joined the Y, started walking/jogging on the treadmill 3-4x a week. It took me forever to lose weight, but I am sticking to it. I'm finding muscles I never knew I had. I may never get back down to 135lbs again, but I am determined to LOOK like I did, no matter how long it takes.
  • amykingsley1
    amykingsley1 Posts: 31 Member
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    Lost about 50, back up 10 over the summer. Why? The short answer: Beer. The slightly longer answer: Beer, and the complete lack of impulse control associated with too much of it. Too many mini vaca's over the summer.
  • cer0012
    cer0012 Posts: 7
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    I ate a lot of bad food and didn't exercise.
  • jenericstewart
    jenericstewart Posts: 10 Member
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    When I was a teenager, I lost 60 lbs over a period of five years. Once I lost that weight and still felt fat at size 16, the only way I could keep it off was to keep my calories below 1000. I exercised at least three times a week.

    My metabolism was super slow after years of chronic dieting. I didn't gain the weight because i went back to my old eating habits. i gained it back because it got really old keeping under 1000 daily calories.

    I now realize my metabolism was so messed up. Plus, I have PCOS, which doesn't help.

    This time around, I'm dieting differently since I can't lose weight like an average person, let alone keep it off. I'm hoping that by calorie cycling, IF, and/or Spiking things will be different.

    Everyone's different. This is my experience.
  • natalie412
    natalie412 Posts: 1,039 Member
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    I lost 20 pounds about 2 years ago - diet alone (maybe a little walking), then got back to old eating habits and gained back about 5-7 before I joined MFP and lost 37 (over 50 from my highest weight a couple years back). The first time I never got into exercise. Now I run about 20 miles a week, plus other workouts. I've been maintaining since May (and have actually lost another 7 pounds since I started maintenance). This time it really was a complete lifestyle change. I eat normal food - I certainly have treats, etc, but generally eat healthier and smaller portions, and burn a ton of calories, so I can eat more!

    The other reason I gained some back, was that I stopped weighing myself. This time I am determined to keep weighing in (for me that is generally every day), and if I consistently get above a certain weight for more than a couple weeks, I will start cutting back. That way I will have less than 5 to lose!
  • paulaviki
    paulaviki Posts: 678 Member
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    I lost about 20lbs before I got married, then I stopped weighing myself and ate what I wanted because I wasn't losing weight for a particular reason anymore. This time I've completely changed the way I eat and the choices I make. Plus I'm not going to stop my weekly weigh in once I'm at goal. I need to keep an eye on my weight!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    I was really overweight as a teenager and I don't really know why as I always ate healthily and walked a lot, plus did swimming, badminton etc after school. My dad is very overweight, so was his mum, so I guess genetics plays a part. Anyway, when I started university I barely ate, and did lots of walking/cycling so I lost loads of weight over my 4 year degree, and then when i started working, and joined a gym I lost even more. At my thinnest I had a BMI of 22, when I was around 24 years old.

    Then I did my teacher training degree (in the UK) and I started to put on weight then, possibly from the stress and the massive workload. I never got as heavy as i'd originally been though, and then when i got engaged I lost around 45lbs for my wedding, but then got pregnant a month later, so I put on weight then, despite exercise and healthy eating. I lost it all after I had my son, and then when he was 13 months I got pregnant again, and put on loads more. My daughter is now 17 months old and I am nearly as thin as I was when I was 24 (I'm 35 now). This time I plan on keeping it off!

    The minute I stop exercising several times a week I put weight on. I have a slow metabolism, and it seems my body looks for any excuse to pile on weight, so I have to be so careful.

    I think I've gone about healthy eating the wrong way in the past too by having too low calories, which has kind of messed with my metabolism. Now I have 2 small kids to feed I am much more aware of healthy, balanced meals, rather than lettuce leaves!
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    I've never been overweight, but I have on occasion gained 10 pounds in a year because of work conditions: Boring and stressful job, long hours, convenient vending machines, free food, too tired or depressed to work out. When the situation ended, I usually could lose the weight fairly easily, but as I've aged, my metabolism has slowed down and it's gotten increasingly harder.

    That's why it's important for a middle-aged person to manage his or her weight. If you gain too much, there may come a point when you can't easily get it off.

    really your goal is to lose 2.5 pounds? And you once gained 10lbs in a year.. OMG. Not. Get off this site, seriously!

    Attitudes like this is why most people gain back weight. Thinking 10lb or even 2.5lb gains are no big deal leads to 20lb in 2 years, and in 5 years you've gained 50lbs.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Over the years I have lost and regained several times. So far, this time I have kept it off for a little over 18 months. But I know I might still yet regain, because I've kept it off longer than this before. For me, the reason I regain is always the same. I get lazy and stop exercising regularly.

    I eat the same whether I'm gaining, losing or maintaining. For me, it's all about exercise because I can't be happy eating less.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I've never been overweight, but I have on occasion gained 10 pounds in a year because of work conditions: Boring and stressful job, long hours, convenient vending machines, free food, too tired or depressed to work out. When the situation ended, I usually could lose the weight fairly easily, but as I've aged, my metabolism has slowed down and it's gotten increasingly harder.

    That's why it's important for a middle-aged person to manage his or her weight. If you gain too much, there may come a point when you can't easily get it off.

    really your goal is to lose 2.5 pounds? And you once gained 10lbs in a year.. OMG. Not. Get off this site, seriously!

    Attitudes like this is why most people gain back weight. Thinking 10lb or even 2.5lb gains are no big deal leads to 20lb in 2 years, and in 5 years you've gained 50lbs.

    Agree 100% I find it hard to believe that anyone on this site to lose a significant amount of weight doesn't wish they'd started losing when they had only 10 lbs to lose.
  • hypocritelecter
    hypocritelecter Posts: 61 Member
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    I gained weight (145-208) because my mental health started to deteriorate and I didn't have the coping skills to deal. My progress (180-145) was lost. BUT!
    I've gone from 208-169 and have been slowly dropping/maintaining because I'm learning to take better care of myself. I'm not reaching for food when I'm upset. I'm not going to the convenience store because I'm bored. I'm not eating just because my friends are eating. I cut out pop, and reach for vitamin water instead. I went from a large plate for dinner to a small, and not going back for seconds. It took me a LONG time to reteach my body to accept these things, but I'm pleased so far with how I've come. I think the people that rebound their weight got to their low weight by unsustainable methods, or weren't dealing with the real issue(s) at hand that caused them to gain weight in the first place. You know?
  • FitBeto
    FitBeto Posts: 2,121 Member
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    I started off on MFP on 1300 calories. I lost consistently for about 8 months, a total of 50lbs. Then I plateaued for months and over the course of the next year, couldn't lose but actually gained back about 20.lbs

    I wasn't eating enough. This is why I stress to newbies on the the 1200 calorie diet that just because it seems like it is working, it isn't. I am now eating 2600 calories a day trying to repair my metabolism.

    I'm a colts fan now
  • felice03
    felice03 Posts: 2,732 Member
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    In the past when I have lost, I did not do it the right way...starving myself, pills, you name it I probably did it. It always came back because I didn't change my bad habits. This time around I did the work myself...logging, exercise, determination. It took longer but it has stayed off.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
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    When I was 18, I lost about 40 lbs. very quickly (210-170lbs.) due to an eating disorder. When I "recovered" and went back to eating how I did pre-ED, I regained that weight plus another 30-40 over the next 7 years (up to 250+)

    I lost 30 lbs between January and July this year, and then completely fell off my diet and exercise up until October due to depression. And I mean, going from working out to 4-5 days a week to completely couch potato sedentary, probably not eating HUGE amounts of food but not logging and binging every other night. According to the scale, I only gained about 2 lbs. (but those 2 lbs fluctuate, so really I've been maintaining) during that time. At first I thought my scale was broken, but my clothes have been fitting more or less the same as when I first hit 30lbs lost, so I figure it must be right :smile: . I am very relieved to not have gained back the weight, but I'm not really sure why that is. My guess is that because I lost the weight slowly, I didn't damage my metabolism like I had during previous weight loss attempts, and because I probably lost some muscle mass as I gained fat tissue from being so sedentary, and that evened out on the scale.

    The negative part is that I've sort of tried to "ease back" into my previous healthy routine, but the scale is not showing any progress. I think I need to go back to carefully weighing my food, monitoring my calories and working out every day for the scale to start moving down again :/
  • MidsummerNightsDream
    MidsummerNightsDream Posts: 25
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    I lost a lot of weight in 2004-05, and have maintained the loss all this time until last year when, due to a medical condition, had to give up my swimming routine 3x/week and gained weight. I do still walk 3 miles 3x/week, but can no longer swim. I think losing this activity and not replacing it with another lead to my gaining 20 lbs, which I am now actively working to lose.

    I have had no trouble with maintaining my food intake and in fact have embraced this lifestyle change forever, but stopping an important part of my exercise routine didn't work out so well for me.
  • JohnMessmer
    JohnMessmer Posts: 536
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    I have not regained, and I will not regain. It is a mindset I choose to follow and I shall do whatever is necessary to ensure its accuracy.



    ________[img]http://sfgf.lilyslim.com/PzhJm6.png width="400" height="80" border="0"[/img]________
  • Serenitytoo
    Serenitytoo Posts: 449 Member
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    I lost almost 100lbs a few years ago and plateaued with 50lbs left to lose. I got discouraged and kind of gave up. I put on about 40lbs. I am back on track now. Not sure why I got so discouraged but I do know that happens easily to me.
    This is me almost exactly. I lost over 100lbs in 2009, plateaued with 50 more to go. Got discouraged, went through an insanely stressfull situation at work which lasted over 2.5 years (only just came to a close a month or so ago). I was pleased I had only gained back 40lbs as of last year this time, but then threw out my back and was out of commission for over a month, then met my wonderful bf and started eating out more and working out less because of how much time we spend together and I am now up another 20lbs Grr!. At the root of it all my issues is the fact that I am an emotional eater, and I stress eat. Not a great combination when I had to go through what I did. I am trying to get back on track now, but it is a slow process for me. I am needing to re-learn portions, and proper eating. My bf and I are both trying to eat healthier, cooking more at home and I need to get my workout routine back on track. I had many contributing factors but what it comes down to is I went back to old habits and bad choices.
  • kellibenage
    kellibenage Posts: 41
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    lost and gained much weight over the years and honestly I keep doing it over and over because I LOVE FOOD! I love to eat. I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, I eat when I entertain, I eat when I'm alone. I can eat lunch now, and my mouth wants to eat again in an hour.....not that I'm hungry, I just will smell something, or see something that seems like it would be delicious and I eat!

    So yes, I know..... it's lack of self control, or whatever you want to call it. I do feel frustrated that I simply cannot eat things that others can eat. No, I didn't say that I can, but have to eat smaller portions. I mean I CAN'T because they trigger me to eat more and more and more.

    So, truth be told I will probably always be the gal trying to figure it out because my love for food just overrides my mind and I just keep hoping that today will be the day that my mind changes. If not, I will try again tomorrow. :wink:
  • fun_b
    fun_b Posts: 199 Member
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    Here are the diets that I have tried in time order:

    Low Carb - Lost over 40 pounds but when I quit the diet I had between 4-6 pounds which I kept gaining/losing.

    Weight Watchers - Managed to lose the 4-6 pounds plus another 14 pounds. Lowest adult weight ever and I blew it over xmas 2010 when I overcelebrated and put on 4-6 pounds within a few weeks.

    Low Carb Again - Wanted to lose weight for my birthday but realised I couldn't keep it up so I went between 4-6 pounds loss and then gain.

    Weight Watchers Again - Tried to go back to the plan but then Propoints was introduced and I hated the plan and was not able to stick it out more than two weeks.

    Myfitnesspal - Last year I tried it out but I was not patient enough. I lost a few pounds but because I did not see big changes on the scale, I slowly gave up.

    Special K - Worked initially, lost three pounds until I ended up back at starting point (where I was after first low carb atttempt ended).
    Slowly started to gain an aditional 8 pounds (oh the horror)

    Low Carb Again - To be fair, I lost the 8 pounds I gained and a few extra. I realised it wasn't something I could keep up long term.

    My Fitness Pal - Started immediately after low carb diet! So far going well and I have almost got down to the weight I was when I did weightwatchers the first time. The difference I have found this time is that I am more patient about losing the weight. I am not expecting quick results or trying to lose weight for a special occasion.

    I feel quite exhausted writing this.
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
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    What a great thread!

    I lost 20 kilos two years ago by mainly weight lifting and then I injured myself a couple of times in sports and lifting so couldnt do what I enjoyed and loved doing so just stopped altogether. I then met a new group of friends who liked the party lifestyle so I drunk a lot of rum and cokes, shots and cocktails and ate like a wilderbeast while hungover.

    Im finding it really hard this time around to drop the weight like I did two years ago, I also have another injury FML! but steady as they go I guess.

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