who has kept weight off for 2 years

Amen to that!

It is not a difficult process. Reduce calories, increase activity. People lose weight starving to death. They don't exercise. They have no food. Our problem is the lack of the 3D's. Desire, Discipline and Dedication.
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Congrats to all those who have kept it off. I have only been in maintenance, a few months but I dont plan on going back

Working on 3 years Maintaining in October. As everyone else has said, Tracking Food, Staying Active, and Understanding what a True Portion of Food looks like.

It's an interesting topic
My experience is that to keep weight off required a change in lifestyle and attitude towards food and exercise

Food should taste good, but also be good for you
if it's not, then it is an occasional treat and in moderation only
it is also counterbalanced by a corresponding increase in exercise intensity or time
If i eat a pizza while drinking beer, it means an extra workout that week
If not, i know it will be reflected on the scales and no use complaining about it or wishing it wasn't so

And I made breakfast the most important meal of the day - too many people skip breakfast
i have a big bowl of 5 grain porridge with rice milk and all other sorts of super foods that boost immunity and aid health
(I have hep c so I pay particular attention to my health)
I eat my breakfast around 7am and it lasts me until around 1-2pm when i have a large lunch

to keep weight off i need to get some form of exercise after work every day, and on 2 -3 nights i will only have a small dinner
Sardines on toast or a smoothie of berries and protein powder maybe with a banana
I may go to bed a bit hungry sometimes, but means that I look forward to a big low GI breakfast the next morning
The old saying - breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper

To lose weight and keep it off, for me anyway, requires consistency, determination, will power, and bloody hard work

i also got to know my body and accept that sometimes it needs a break
When you've been flogging yourself in workouts and every muscle aches and you grunt when you get out of the chair
it's time for active recovery - a slow to brisk walk or a slow paced cycle or similar

I still try and remember that will power is good, but deprivation isn't
Donuts are great, but are 'dead food' - all calories for a short lived psychological benefit
Nuts and seeds are great and are good for you
i don't feel deprived saying no to a donut - I'll have some nuts and seeds instead

i don't want to sound puritanical - this is just my experience and what works for me
i have hep c from previous drug use and still struggle with life sometimes
I believe that food is just another type of addiction and can be dealt with in the same way
When i'm focused on my health and my weight, it diverts me from less healthy pursuits

I consider myself to have kept most of my weight off too. Lost 40 pounds 10 years ago, and kept them off for 5 years, had a bit of a relapse (of about 15 pounds) that I had gained in few short months and lost just as fast, and now, another 5 years later, I've gained about 8 pounds in few months that I'm shedding again. All this with no exercise, until now.

I do feel that I've got this under control, each relapse was smaller, shorter and "easier to fix". The eating habits I got from my first (healthy eating) diet never went away. I can eat fast food and drink sodas, but I never quite enjoy them anymore - that, I think, is what makes this manageable.

What I wish I had done from the start though was to exercise... I would've spent the last decade looking soooo much better with a bit of muscle definition on!

I have kept mine off almost exactly two years, and am at the low end of my BMI at 18.5.

I know our experiences differ vastly, but if I were to base it solely upon my own, I would say this article is utter horse sh**.

The reason I was overweight was because my diet was terrible. I cleaned it up, reduced my portion sizes, increased my fruit and veggie intake, and guess what! This is freaking easy to maintain.

The only purpose articles like this serve is to be an excuse or a crutch for someone who doesn't want to put in the work.

Love this!

I love this too, and although I think there's merit to the research (yes, there ARE physiological differences between people who lost weight and the ones who didn't have any to lose to begin with), it doesn't in any way change the bottom line - figure out what your body needs and adjust your intake accordingly.

Not only kept it off, but have completed a 20 pound bulk and following cut afterwards. Going to start another bulk in two weeks.

I have kept off 70 pounds for 7 years now. I am 5'3, 123 lbs. I was a fat kid and an obese teenager. I did it through exercise and a complete overhaul of my eating habits. It took me one year to lose the weight. I am 29 and weigh 19 pounds less than I did in the 6th grade! Anything is possible.

lost 25kg in 9 months and purposely gained back 15kg over the following 4 years.

Just because you are a lower number on the scale doesn't mean you are going to be more healthy, stronger, fitter or aesthetically satisfied.

It's a lifestyle change not a diet. Diets are band-aids and are not meant to be done for life. Hopefully I say this correctly you need decent healthy diet *lifestyle* to maintain what you do. It's been two years since I first started back up after a decade layoff and I'm still going still getting closer to my goal of 190lbs I started at 238 now I'm at 198 just 8 to go. Slow and steady the tortoise always beat the hare.

how do u keep off hunger pangs?

how do u keep off hunger pangs?

eat

Almost two years for me! I started losing in April 2011 and hit my initial goal of 152 around the end of December 2011. I then went on to lose another 17 pounds and have hovered around 135 ever since.

It's a constant practice in maintenance. It will never be easy or effortless for me. And that's OK.

simple hardwork

Joined Mfp June 2011 and its now August 2013... Lost most of my weight in first 6 months and have been .. More or less .. Maintaining. (:

Thing is: I've still got more to lose!!!