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

13

Replies

  • davadoto
    davadoto Posts: 105 Member
    Good question, I pretty much asked myself the same one last time I came back.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/davadoto/view/yet-another-fresh-start-what-s-the-key-to-success-582744

    In summary, I would say that refusing to acknowledge how serious my weight problems are + ANY stressful situation is what usually sabotages my efforts. Now I'm starting to work on having a more positive, stronger mindset and finding other coping mechanism than food: relaxation/meditation, prayer, music, hobbies, blogging, drinking water, giving away all of my unhealthy food so they won't be around when I have the urge to binge. Works...most of the time :embarassed:
  • fitphoenix
    fitphoenix Posts: 9,673 Member
    This time I am not going to stop logging until I actually reach my goal weight.

    I would suggest not stopping then, either. Phrased like that, it suggests that goal weight is "the end". Instead, moving into maintenance is a new aspect of the lifestyle change, and getting used to more calories (no longer eating at a deficit) will probably require the use of logging for a period of time. ^_^
  • ashlee2012
    ashlee2012 Posts: 34
    The first time that I decided to really take control and change my life, I used MFP to get me on track. I lost 65 lbs, at that time, and my now fiance lost about 80. I didn't leave MFP and gain a bunch of weight back (although I have let about 10 of those pounds creep back up in the last few weeks around the holidays!) but after maintaining (mostly) for a year now, and an upcoming wedding, I decided I wanted to jump back into weight loss mode instead of maintenance. MFP helped before, so I'm back to get that help again.

    I don't do gyms, I don't do fad diets, but what I do is take control of my eating habits, eat to live, and get up and MOVE everyday. Most days this is just walking at a steady, brisk pace for as little as 30 minutes to as long as 90 minutes. Some days I'll pop in a work out video, other days I will take a break.

    For me the biggest key to losing the weight and keeping it off, and the key that I hope to use again this time is truly incorporating things that work into your lifestyle. And sometimes, accepting that your lifestyle isn't working, and making those necessary changes. Good luck everyone!
  • tabithakat64
    tabithakat64 Posts: 4
    Messy breakup from abusive ex partner, house move into my new boyfriends mum's house where I have little control of what I eat and no privacy to exercise has lead to me gaining weight again.

    We're moving into our new house at the end of the month and then we will have more control over what we eat in the evening and at weekends.

    I started using MFP again a couple of weeks ago along with eating more protein and less refined carbs and have also started a weekly exercise class but will be going back to doing the slim in six vidoes which worked for me before.

    I have 42lb to loose until I reach my goal weight. Ideally I want to have lost the weight in 21 weeks, but definitely by the end of August as I'm going to South Africa in September.
  • Kaylyn221
    Kaylyn221 Posts: 123
    I got pregnant :P
  • minibandit
    minibandit Posts: 77
    Close family member got diagnosed with dementia - after several admissions to hospital and then got diagnosed with a slow growing inoperable lung tumor.

    Went through a period of eating on the hop and being too lazy/tired to cook because was flying between caring for them and my kids...
    ...and comfort ate terribly!
  • Fiery_Vixen
    Fiery_Vixen Posts: 795 Member
    I got pregnant again lol
  • Arne_becomesxXx
    Arne_becomesxXx Posts: 504 Member
    Cheating husband!

    What the.......is he looking for while having such a cuty at home????

    For me it has been, a breakup with my gf after 8 years, moving, injury, than a depression followed by beer and pizza....and then I gave up myself for month :ohwell:

    Gained back more than lost and on the heaviest I´ve ever been.
  • Momabear4411
    Momabear4411 Posts: 16 Member
    I am horrible at sticking with anything! I lost 12 and gained it back plus 4 lbs! I really got tired of logging my every meal. I am back because I need to do it for my health and to take some strain off my knees. I miss having some me time too! MFP keeps me honest about how much I eat! I struggle with portion control. Without that I over eat big time! I started back yesterday I hope I can stay on track this time.
  • 1113cw
    1113cw Posts: 830 Member
    My weight came back on because I stopped going to the gym and re-embraced my comfort eating and wine drinking habits and went into a denial about the scale creeping back up.

    Exactly this... same thing. Stopped the gym, stopped managing my eating, too much wine, personal dramas... and in denial about it all until I got to the point where I was literally disgusted. And not a single pair of pants fit me any longer.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    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:

    +1
  • JNettie73
    JNettie73 Posts: 1,211 Member
    I let all my good habits go away due to the stress of not having any free time.

    My first time on here I dropped 27 lbs. Was doing great. Then I accepted a position for a second job teaching preschool. I worked that job from 6:30 am - 2pm. I immediately jumped in the car and drove 40 minutes to my second job which began at 3. At 5:30 pm I hopped in the car and had a 1/2 hour to get to grad school. I would leave grad school around 9 and get home by 9:30. When I got home, I would eat dinner with my husband and go to sleep. I spent weekends catching up on laundry, writing lessons and preparing for my preschool class, and working on stuff for grad school. The constant being on the go and a laundry list of things to do always hanging over my head took it's toll on me. I was tired all the time. I was stressed. I was angry. I was sad.

    The first month I watched what I was eating. But the stress got to me. I didn't have time to cook healthy meals and resorted to a lot of comfort foods. I stopped watching my portions and began eating whatever I wanted. I literally would eat an entire box of mac and cheese myself as one meal. Doing things that all the time for every meal was the worst thing I could have done to myself. Naturally, I gained all my weight back. :blushing:

    But you live and learn. I made mistakes and know it is nobody's fault but my own. I cannot change the past but what I can do is focus on the future and make a change for the better. That is exactly what I am doing now! :happy:
  • jobean12
    jobean12 Posts: 99 Member
    Sounds just like me. I self sabotage all the time........ why can't I allow myself to reach my goal and stay there??? UGH ....so frustrating.....and if I fall off the wagon a little I figure, "well, I already blew it, may as well enjoy" ......then I have a whole day of bad choices and binge eating......... I'm SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • harley_rose
    harley_rose Posts: 236
    I had lost 30 lbs from Aug 2011 to April 2012, thought I knew my portion (plus got tired of calorie counting everything) so I told my boyfriend at the time I was taking a break from it. Well I took a break from working out as well. Summer was the worst time for me since we are always riding our Harleys places eating out and drinking beer. That summer wasn't too bad for me I only gain back 10lbs but the year of 2013 I gain back the last 20 lbs. I got married at my heaviest weight, when I seen my pictures I knew it was time to get back to working out. I have stopped drinking cold turkey, back on MFP and working out 5 days a week since Nov 2013, I have only lost 15lbs pounds, but this time it isn't so much the weight as it is the fit of clothes and the way I feel in the morning.
  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
    I lost 53 pounds a couple of years ago on MFP.... Gained 20 of it back this last year.
    Reasons?
    Laid off from work for three months. Bored and ate WAY more than I should have.
    New Job (YEA!) requires me to be a Road Warrior (BOO).. but hey!.. it pays the bills and is interesting :)
    The big down side of the new job is I dont always get eat healthy. Sometimes Im forced to eat in restaurants.
    Lack of exercise
    And the biggest reason I gained ? Not logging what I ate.
  • dramamime
    dramamime Posts: 10 Member
    Simple as - I stopped tracking and stopped caring about myself. I need to track in some way for the rest of my life if I want to stay at a normal weight.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    There are so many things that can derail people. Life happens, people quit paying attention to journaling for whatever reason, then get lax about their choices, thus the weight comes back on.

    I had lost 115 pounds, has excess skin removed (about 26 pounds), and the recover was a bit more taxing than I expected. I ended up having to force myself to eat to the point where it didn't matter what I ate as long as I ate. That scared me because you don't get to be super obese by not liking to eat or not liking food. All the while, my father was battling cancer, and passed away in December.

    Things just happen, and typically that's one of the results - the weight comes back.

    But whether it's the new year, or people just had a "realization" or "a-ha moment", people seem more ready to re-focus and get "back in the saddle." (ME TOO!!)

    I think I saw on facebook something to the effect that when life happens, yell, "PLOT TWIST" and move on!
  • kpr121
    kpr121 Posts: 11 Member
    Having our first child (see profile pic!) last year, along with working a desk job that has seen 60-70hr work weeks recently, really put a damper on my diet goals. Funny that my wife is now in better shape than she ever has been (she gives credit to having to chase the little one around all day and not having time to sit down and eat!), and I’m here looking like I’m the one who carried the extra baby weight!

    Anyhow, I am focusing on trying to be responsible for the new year and moving forward, so I can run around with my boy when I get off work instead of coming home and sitting on the couch!

    Feel free to add me and we can help each other stay on track this time around!
  • HowDidThatHappen
    HowDidThatHappen Posts: 20
    That baby is soooooo cute ^^^^^^:happy:
  • HowDidThatHappen
    HowDidThatHappen Posts: 20
    This time I am not going to stop logging until I actually reach my goal weight.

    I would suggest not stopping then, either. Phrased like that, it suggests that goal weight is "the end". Instead, moving into maintenance is a new aspect of the lifestyle change, and getting used to more calories (no longer eating at a deficit) will probably require the use of logging for a period of time. ^_^

    Yes I am probably going to have to keep logging for a long time. At the moment I am working on my coping strategies. I have replaced my wine habit with learning the clarinet for example. So far this is working for me.......
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    I haven't updated my ticker to reflect the weight I gained back but have gained back 15 of the 53 I lost.

    I like this thread, it's good to figure out what happened.

    I had a sort of mental breakdown last summer right around my MFP anniversary. I had stopped logging my food about a month before but was able to maintain my weight loss as long as I kept working out. Around Labor Day, I stopped working out and quit paying attention to my intake altogether. The level of stress around that time made it nearly impossible to focus on diet/exercise though I'd probably have handled it better if I had. Anyway, this resulted in a 15 pound gain.

    I'm choosing to just think about the net 38 pound loss instead of looking at this as a total failure. And, I already know what I need to do to get back to where I want to be. I guess I really need to update my ticker but I don't want to :sad:
  • Arthemise1
    Arthemise1 Posts: 365 Member
    I lost 50 pounds, and then we moved. Selling the old house and buying the new house were very stressful events. The family got out of eating healthy in favor of fast food and junk. It took us all year to get back to it, but we are. The next task will be figuring out how to work exercise into the schedule.
  • Kenazwa
    Kenazwa Posts: 278 Member
    I think I try to satisfy all my needs for pleasure through good food. Enjoyable at the time but the consequences have been terrible, 40-60 pounds worth.

    It's hard to give up that pleasure. I have so little of it in my life.
  • kpr121
    kpr121 Posts: 11 Member
    That baby is soooooo cute ^^^^^^:happy:

    Thanks!! Greatest thing that ever happened to me! He's an eater too, so I know he's mine! Jk
  • krist3ng
    krist3ng Posts: 259 Member
    I realized I was looking at it all wrong-- "calories in vs calories out" with no attention paid to nutrition. Which is unsustainable. I would say to myself, "ohh, this apple is 70 calories, and that means if I have it I'll only have x calories left to get me through the day." And with that messed up mantra in my head, I'd end up eating almost nothing. Until my boyfriend brought home some pizza. Or, "I can just have these little chocolates and it's the same amount of calories as the apple" and I'd always go with the unhealthy option.

    And I was always going way under my calorie goals, because I wanted instant loss/gratification. I was beating myself up whenever I ate, which in turn made me give up and give in to really unhealthy endless binges.

    I've restructured my food-related thought process. I changed my goal from "lose weight" to "get proper amounts of fiber and protein". Now I look at an apple and think "3g of fiber!" rather than "70 calories". Now, by the time I've hit 45g of protein, I'm usually stuffed for the day. And if I'm still hungry, I tell myself "don't care about the calories" and have something healthy. I'm still going under my goal calories-- usually clocking in between 1000 and 1100 a day-- but it doesn't feel like I'm depriving myself.

    Hopefully the 1000 calorie range isn't a MFP faux pas.
  • krist3ng
    krist3ng Posts: 259 Member
    I haven't updated my ticker to reflect the weight I gained back but have gained back 15 of the 53 I lost.

    Aww, you really have to update your ticker! Let go of the past, accept the present, and welcome the future! (Wow, I sound so self-helpy).
  • theNurseNancy
    theNurseNancy Posts: 149
    I didn't gain or lose any the whole time I was without MFP. I stopped using MFP early last year, but ate healthily until about fall, then ate whatever I wanted. I also exercised up until that point too. I'm back at it to make sure I'm getting enough protein and keeping good macros because I want to gain muscle tone.

    I guess my point is that not everyone who is returning to MFP is doing so because they've gained weight, and not everyone that uses MFP uses it to lose weight.
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    Done :bigsmile:
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    I haven't updated my ticker to reflect the weight I gained back but have gained back 15 of the 53 I lost.

    Aww, you really have to update your ticker! Let go of the past, accept the present, and welcome the future! (Wow, I sound so self-helpy).

    Meant to quote you above, haha :)
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I never left...so I have not gained any of the weight back...

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