For all MFP returnees, why did we gain the weight back?

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  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
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    Eating more, moving less?




    Too simple.
  • MrsG31
    MrsG31 Posts: 364 Member
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    I just let myself fall out good habits and back into bad ones. I was doing great last year and started logging less and less because I felt like I had gotten the hang of it, was able to make good food choices without having to look up the serving size and such. Then my husband and I went out of town (with no kids!!) for our anniversary. We walked a lot where we went, so I let myself enjoy food, treats, and alcohol. But when we got back,I stopped working out in the morning, and eventually stopped working out at night. I just fell off the wagon. Then pretty much all through November and December with all the holiday parties, family dinners, etc I just ate what I wanted too. I started noticing that my stomach was looking pretty pudgy again and didn't like the way some of new clothes I had bought over the summer looked on me.

    I know if I want to keep this off I need to make healthy eating, smaller portions, and exercising a part of my LIFE, a habit that is hard to break. I used to smoke and I broke that habit (going on 6 years now!) but now I want to form a habit.
  • patnrol
    patnrol Posts: 7
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    Glad to read that someone else has experienced the head game of acknowledging getting fat again. When I am gaining weight I use my past failure to think I can always lose it again. When I get to that wall of wanting to lose again, my past failure keeps makes me think it can't be done.
  • Llamedos1960
    Llamedos1960 Posts: 78
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    No excuses!

    I got fat through eating more and moving less.
    I lost some by eating less and moving more.
    I put some back on by eating more and moving less.

    No prizes for guessing what I'm trying to do to lose some more!

    Simples!

    :drinker:
  • heathmarie143
    heathmarie143 Posts: 38 Member
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    Was losing weight while on here last summer..... down about 15lbs and then my hubby lost his job and financial trouble set in. The stress of it all completely got to me and I stopped watching my calories and put most of it back on.

    This year I've decided that I need to stop letting everything else take precedent over my health, so I'm back and working on losing the remaining weight.
  • angiewf
    angiewf Posts: 175 Member
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    Thanx so much!
  • fuhrmeister
    fuhrmeister Posts: 1,796 Member
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    I started this site at 242lbs got down to 207 and am now back to 228.

    I got derailed when we bought a house and moved further out of town so I quit going to the gym and watched more TV. I got further derailed when my sister in law dies and just plain quit when my husband lost his job. I let life get in the way of being healthy and made a lot of excuses. Now things are back together, my husband is working and it is time to focus on thriving instead of just surviving.


    I love the MFP keeps me accountable and I really need the support and the cheers from the crowed.


    Good Luck Everyone!
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
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    I used MFP a couple of years ago and lost 35 pounds! At that time, I was also working for a fitness company, which greatly helped since I was very active at work and outside of work. Fast forward to 6 months ago, when I changed jobs and went from being very active at work to completely sedentary. I went to the doctor yesterday and he told me that I gained 16 lbs in 6 months, which is when my last physical is! YIKES!!! I am committed to fully being back on track now. This week has been challenging because I am really sick and haven't been able to start working out again, but as soon as this terrible cough and congestion goes away, I'll be back at it at the gym! For now, I am focused on eating really well and getting up from my desk and moving around as much as possible.
  • dmfrank78
    dmfrank78 Posts: 16 Member
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    I was doing pretty well up until two years ago when my husband of 34 years was diagnosed with liver cancer. In the early stages I was able to keep my eating and exercising pretty regular and managed to keep off the weight I had lost. But as time went on and things got worse my good eating habits and regular exericse went by the wayside. He passed away in October 2013 and, as you all know, things like eating well and exercising aren't all that important at times like this. I would still exercise maybe 1-2 times a week just to do something and eating was whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. But now I am ready to come back and continue on! I have plenty of time now to spend working on those good eating habits and have started back into exercising and I am definitely ready. It feels great to work out and I feel so much better even after only a week of eating better. No more ice cream for dinner!! :)
  • lhquinlan
    lhquinlan Posts: 1 Member
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    Gained a few pounds over Christmas, but back on plan. I made the conscious decision to just enjoy all the food during the holidays since I knew I would not continue the upward climb. My husband and I have gotten rid of any clothes that are too big. We only wear what fits. Because we do the Ignite plan through www.dailyburn.com, we honestly don't feel well when we eat off plan so were happy to get back on. I think sometimes, we don't realize how bad we feel when we eat the wrong foods since we are used to eating that way. Once you really clean up your eating, you will learn that certain foods (dairy, soy, gluten, sugar, etc) make you feel lousy! And who wants to feel lousy?
  • Robin1109
    Robin1109 Posts: 231 Member
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    I'm just really bad at maintaining! This is my THIRD time coming back to MFP for major weight loss. The first time was in 2010 where I managed to lose about 45 lbs in about 7 months. During the end of my really good stretch, I suffered a stress fracture in my ankle. A wedding and then the holidays kept me from sticking with a regular gym routine. Plus, I started eating more and not restricting as much. I might have been able to maintain with the gym but not going hurt me. I gained it ALL back within a year.

    Then I went on a trip to Hawaii with my family and was so disgusted with myself. I came home and got to it again. I got back on the horse January 2012. By December that year, I had lost 55 lbs and was my lowest weight since college! (10 years ago). The holidays happened again, a trip to Europe, and then just this assumption that I could maintain without regular exercise. Nope. 30 came back.

    So, now I'm here to lose the 30 I let myself gain back and then some. I have two weddings to be in this year for family members and want to get back to feeling how great I felt at a lower weight! It really is a lifestyle! This time, I have to be better about balancing once I'm ready to maintain.
  • littlebrownbat3
    littlebrownbat3 Posts: 54 Member
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    I actually lost most of my weight without joining. Then my best friend died, and I gained a whole lot of weight by sitting on the couch and eating my feelings (my grief tastes suspiciously like cheetos and vodka) and getting drunk and miserable.

    I got super depressed, and was suicidal. I woke up one morning with a bottle of sleeping pills in my hand and decided I couldn't keep going like this. I started to feed myself. And then I started to work out more (I still hate it, but honestly, I need to or I get sad again, and not being suicidal is greater motivation than dress size). I got medical help. Finally, I got to a place where I wanted to join MFP and try to get myself back together. The more I stuck to macros the better I felt, and now I just stay in there to keep myself healthy. Medication and counseling isn't enough by itself, so diet and exercise are key to staying sane for me.

    This time, the goal isn't weight loss, it's staying mentally healthy. That is what I'm changing.
  • chopper_pilot
    chopper_pilot Posts: 191 Member
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    My warmest hopes for the returnees and the newbeez is that this time, they take the time and effort to educate themselves and apply that to their hard work, so they dont end up wasting tears and blood and sweat doing the things that wont actually help them in the end... just because they listened to friends and family and fad-ish propaganda, or were close-minded about what could really help them or not. I want them to succeed this time. Not end up deflated and sad because it isnt working :frown:
  • HowDidThatHappen
    HowDidThatHappen Posts: 20
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    I actually lost most of my weight without joining. Then my best friend died, and I gained a whole lot of weight by sitting on the couch and eating my feelings (my grief tastes suspiciously like cheetos and vodka) and getting drunk and miserable.

    I got super depressed, and was suicidal. I woke up one morning with a bottle of sleeping pills in my hand and decided I couldn't keep going like this. I started to feed myself. And then I started to work out more (I still hate it, but honestly, I need to or I get sad again, and not being suicidal is greater motivation than dress size). I got medical help. Finally, I got to a place where I wanted to join MFP and try to get myself back together. The more I stuck to macros the better I felt, and now I just stay in there to keep myself healthy. Medication and counseling isn't enough by itself, so diet and exercise are key to staying sane for me.

    This time, the goal isn't weight loss, it's staying mentally healthy. That is what I'm changing.

    Hugs to you. Thanks for sharing.
  • HowDidThatHappen
    HowDidThatHappen Posts: 20
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    3 1/2 years of grieving + comfort food = huge weight gain

    Hopefully I'm ready this time....

    Good luck and a ((((hug))) you can do it!
  • Brianna716
    Brianna716 Posts: 303 Member
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    My dad and stepmom split up. Being an emotional eater at heart, I started eating junk food and quit going to the gym. Dating an alcoholic didn't help, I drank a lot of calories too. And then summer concerts happened where... surprise surprise... I drank more.

    It's not terribly hard for me to lose weight (153-129) but what I need to figure out is how to deal with life and my emotions affecting my eating in the long term.
  • cgd67
    cgd67 Posts: 188 Member
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    Hit a plateau (for quite a while), bad attitude, then quit running, ate poorly… you get the idea!
  • PeaceVegan
    PeaceVegan Posts: 37 Member
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    My portion sizes increased, I had more treats than I really should and I stopped exercising regulary. Then I noticed my clothes were getting tight and (this is a very honest confession now!) So, I just thought sod it, I'm getting fat again and ate some more.....Hmmmm, recognise the cycle, I know I do??



    This is it exactly ... how sad! I was down 106 lbs a couple years ago and here I am, gained about 60 of it back. ... sigh ... no excuses ... it's my own fault and I know what I did or didn't do. Time to recognize the cycle and change it!
  • Shreddingitnow
    Shreddingitnow Posts: 37
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    Cheating husband!
  • BeckyGee84
    BeckyGee84 Posts: 124 Member
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    I had another baby. But this is my 2nd and last baby so hopefully I won't have a reason to come back a 3rd time!

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