Anybody who has lost weight and gained it back?

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theblondetrick
theblondetrick Posts: 192 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have already been through all of this,lost 10 kg and gained it all back and put on some more.Now I'm trying to lose weight again,but it's so much harder than the last time.I don't see a big progress,like I did before. My mom just asked me if I'm still trying to lose weight,because she couldn't see any progress at all.That makes my want to cry.I'm depressed and discouraged.I'm sick of everything.

Is there anybody who has been in the same situation?
Can you give me any advice?
Is it common that you lose weight more slowly after losing weight and than gaining it back?
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Replies

  • lissavlog
    lissavlog Posts: 55
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    oh yes. i've been there BIG time. i lost 105# and after a few years put on 144#!!! i wasted my time & effort and i've been working hard to lose that weight again. i've lost 115# in the last two years. i've got about 34# to get back to my lowest weight. it has taken me longer, but i feel like i'm doing it in a way that's going to make the weight loss stick. before i dropped the weight in like 9 months, and obviously i didn't keep up with that lifestyle. just keep working hard and you'll get the results that you're looking for!
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    Is there anybody who has been in the same situation?
    Between 2010 and now I've done it twice. This time around the weight loss seems permanent, unlike the last two times. In 2010 I used Weight Watchers and running and lost about 10 lbs. Fell off the wagon due to ridiculous food cravings and hunger. Gained it all back, plus an extra 10 lbs. Tried again in 2011, again knocked off 10 lbs, fell off the wagon and then gained back the 10 and another 10. Ugh.
    Can you give me any advice?
    When I decided to try once again, I did a ton of research about how metabolism, nutrition, dieting, exercise work. I spent time talking to people who were successful and finding out what made a difference for them. I came up with a sound plan for myself. That included not just how many calories I should eat, but also, based on how my body works (and everyone's body is different), a plan for the types of foods, macronutrients (i.e. fat, protein, carbs) I should be consuming, water, exercise. Everything. I also committed to it as a lifestyle, not a diet.

    I think this is most important. I'm not on a diet until I lose the weight. I have changed how I eat, what I eat and my sleep and exercise patterns. I intend this to be permanent, not a temporary way to fix my weight and then go back to the bad, old lifestyle. My most critical advice is that you have to find a way to change your lifestyle on a permanent basis.
    Is it common that you lose weight more slowly after losing weight and than gaining it back?
    It can be, for some people. Again, every person's body is different. What works for me may not work for you. The key is to understand nutrition beyond a simplistic calories in/out model and to figure out what your body needs.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    I lost 40lbs/18kg about three years ago. Fortunately, I didn't gain ALL of it back, but I did gain about half of it back. Sad after all that work. I've only been trying to lose weight again for about two weeks and two of those days were quite bad so I know I have to be consistent before I can see what results I will get. Before I ate 1200 calories a day with one cheat meal per week and worked out for about an hour four days a week. This time I will be eating more and exercising less since I am recovering from surgery and am not in great shape. I have a recurring muscle strain so I have to ease into exercise. But I will say that I didn't lose weight in this second week. I guess I just have to tell myself that even if the results are slower, I am still working towards the goal.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    Yes but not as much as this time. In the past, my OMG! moment was always when the scales hit 160.
    This time I hit the high of 207 on 1/1/2009. I've been trying to bring my weight down ever since (21 pounds in 4 years). Sigh ......
    I don't know why it's so hard this time around.
  • CloneSN
    CloneSN Posts: 42 Member
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    I've had a back and forth thing of losing, gaining more than before, losing, gaining, then losing again. Now i'm going with small goals, hitting those goals, and step on the to the next one. Good luck to all of us! :glasses:
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
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    I lost 56 pounds about 3 years ago then gained back 70. It feels awful, but I'm trying not to think about it that way or it just depresses me.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
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    I was lsot 50 lbs a couple years ago, then turned around and gained 100 lbs. In the last year, I have lost 90 lbs (that last 10 lbs is eluding me but I am slowly chipping away at it). The weight loss was much slower this time around because I did through healthy eating rather than through a crash diet. If you can stay in control of what you eat, the weight will eventually come off.
  • VitaBailey
    VitaBailey Posts: 271 Member
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    Yeah, it's happened to me. I gained some back 25 lbs of a 75 lb loss. It was a bad feeling but eventually I got back on the horse and lost those 25 again again .... which is a hell of a lot better than gaining it back and keeping it on.
  • freckledrats
    freckledrats Posts: 251 Member
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    I've been back and forth over the years. My highest weight was in 2006 at 170 pounds. I'm 4'11" for reference. :/ After a year, I was down to 140, then slowly got down to 127, then down quickly to 110 lbs. That was my low weight, and I'd like to get back to there. I went up again VERY slowly to 139, got busy again. I was 139 when I started on this site.

    The trick is just to not let go when you get to your goal weight. That is definitely my problem. You shouldn't be on a temporary diet if you have weight problems. Instead, you should have a diet plan for yourself when you want to lose weight, then a diet plan for yourself once you want to maintain again. Hoping I can learn this habit for myself :)
  • StephCoff1969
    StephCoff1969 Posts: 357
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    Yes I have been there... A few years ago I went from 179 to 140, then I gained it all back with interest... At my highest weight I was at 220... Yikes... I had to slow myself down, work through why I was eating or not eating on occasion... For me it brought demons out that I had thought I had dealt with, obviously not... I started working on those "demons" and started logging here at MFP... I realize that this time will be different for two reasons... One... I am doing it the right way for once, and am learning how to eat for a healthy lifestyle... Two, my demons no longer hold me down... When something pops out of the woodworks I write it down and work through my feelings.. It isn't easy, but it is worth it...

    Good luck to you and to your future success.... remember this.... Baby steps to Victory...
  • Fr3shStrt
    Fr3shStrt Posts: 349 Member
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    Yep.

    First, don't listen to negative people in your life. Lasting weight loss will take time and it will take a while for people in your life to even notice. Don't worry about them, worry about yourself.

    It may be slower going, I don't know for sure, but from everything I've been reading and a vlog I recently watched, it seems as though eating too little slows down the metabolism which will in turn make weight loss really hard. Then when you stall you can't go any lower you're kind of stuck, so it is best to lose weight (1# week) by eating as much as you can while still losing - that keeps your metabolism going.
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
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    Yes! This is very common.

    View it as a long-term success. Plan for a year, 5 years, 10 years out, not weeks or months and you'll get there. Slow & steady wins the race. At my highest, I weighed 383 and am now at 163, so trust me when I say I've yo-yoed my entire life (but this is the least I've weighed probably since elementary school).
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    I started on here about 3 years ago and lost 50lbs pretty rapidly on MFP's 1200 recommendation. About 8-9 months in, I started to plateau, and slowing gaining back. After a year of gaining back about 25lbs, I had to start over using the TDEE/BMR calorie goal. I now eat about 2000 calories a day and FAT is coming off now, I am no longer eating like a bird and walking myself to skinny fat land!
  • Astacia74
    Astacia74 Posts: 166 Member
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    Yep - I lost 30# in 2008 and kept it off for almost 2 years then, gained back 40#. I blame part of the re-gain on discovering beer :drinker: and part of it on my just getting to comfortable and eating like I was a teenager again.

    I am now down to my last 5# to lose and, yest, it took me A LOT longer but I think it has to do with a few things like age, lifestyle and the fact that I am doing it smarter.

    It's easy to lose weight when you deprive yourself (like on most diets), MFP helps you do it by changing your habits and becoming healthier not just thinner. Hang in there and don't let anyone discourage you and you will succeed :flowerforyou:
  • hallybell
    hallybell Posts: 6 Member
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    I lost 35 lbs total last year, I let 15ish creep back on. Luckily I didn't gain it all back, but I was starting to get tight pants and miserable headaches. Now I've realized I'll never be one of those girls who can't eat right and doesn't exercise. Oh well, hard work, bring it on.
  • mapnerd2005
    mapnerd2005 Posts: 363
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    I lost 52kg in 2010 and was 15 from my initial goal, got off track, and gained 18kg back. I'm back now and have reset my ticker to my current "starting point" to my FINAL goal.
  • rmkeech1
    rmkeech1 Posts: 12 Member
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    I lost about 70 pounds between 2009 and 2010 and then fell off the wagon and put back a little over 30 by the beginning of 2012. Started up again at the end of May 2012 and have lost 18 so far. The first time I lost the weight it was almost exclusively by doing cardio and watching calories. This time around I've added in a fairly robust strength training program along with the cardio and tracking food. It's taking longer to lose the weight this time but honestly I feel better and my waist, neck, etc., have gotten smaller. For some reason this feels more permanent. I've also got a better support structure this time around. My partner has always been very supportive but a few friends are also using MFP with me and that's really helping. It also doesn't hurt that one of my good friends who is using MFP too is a personal trainer so I get free input and advice.
  • jenns1964
    jenns1964 Posts: 384 Member
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    Oh yeah! In the past 10 years I've lost the same 50 lbs 3 times and gained it back....ugh! I'm working really hard to make this time permanent..
  • LindseyAlyssa
    LindseyAlyssa Posts: 156
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    I had lost 16lbs and it only took basically one stressful month to reverse it all. But I've lost it again, and you can too! Don't go for speed loss, go for longevity. I changed my diet into something healthier (for me) and did that for several months, 4 to be exact, and lost 11 lbs. I've continued to improve upon that and have now added in around 30 mins or more of exercise every other day and am back to the weight I was at before I re-gained, but with even better measurements. You just need patience, determination, and you need to believe in yourself!

    My advice?
    Take it slow. Focus on measurements rather than weight. Create non-weight based goals to work towards (like 20 pushups, 100 squats, etc.). And really work at changing your diet into a healthy one, even if you just take baby steps. Anything is better than nothing.

    Good luck!
  • Misseena
    Misseena Posts: 55 Member
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    I was about 200lbs when I started college, and I managed to lose about 50lbs when I was in my second year I felt great, and I managed to keep the weight off for about 4 years without any trouble. Then, I started my last-year of law school, followed immediately by the bar exam and a stressful 70+ hour a week job, and, due to the stress, time, and social components, I gained it all back (plus an extra 15-20lbs or so for good measure)!

    The best advice that I can give is to NEVER STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF! I knew I was gaining weight, and it made me terrified to step on the scale. Honestly, when I finally did step on the scale and saw that the number had gone up so high, I thought it was a joke. I assumed I'd gained--AT THE VERY MOST--about 20lbs. I'd actually gained about 65+! I was in complete denial!

    Hindsight is 20/20, but I feel like I could have had better control if I'd forced myself to face the truth as I was gaining. I will always be vigilant now and never let it sneak up on me again! I'm lost about 40lbs now, but I find that it is definitely slower the second time around! I wish you all the best on your journey!

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