Losing weight for nothing!!

I am watching what I eat...not dieting.
I didn't try to lose 2lbs a week for every single lb. I worked from 2lbs per week when I was rated as obese, and then kept cutting down my deficit the closer I got to my goal weight. This teaches me how much I can eat, so when I am at goal, I am already pretty much eating as I need to to stay that weight.
And if I notice I am gaining fat, I'll cut back a bit, or try and be a bit more active, till I like what I see in the mirror again.

People gain it back for the same reasons they had it in the first place.

Food is tasty, exercise is hard.

People will put a lot more thought/excuses into it. Something came up, they were depressed, winter was cold, didn't have the time, yada yada yada...

I lost a lot of weight, I was very happy with myself. I was so happy and proud that I started to slack off and promptly regained 20lbs. "Bulking" my *kitten*.

Point is it happens. The question is if you let it get worse or you do something about it. Same as when you start losing to begin with.

Absolutely all of this!

Another thing that seems to happen after you lose weight is a period of time that goes by where you seem to be able to eat what you want without gaining weight. I think what's really happening is your quantities just slowly creep up. You stop weighing yourself because you think you look the same. Then your pants start getting a little tight and you switch to stretchy material which gives you a false sense of security for at least 20lbs ;-)

I've gained and lost weight countless times and ultimately it's because I stop tracking and weighing.

They gain the weight back just like addicts relapse. They believe diet and exercise is only for fatties and that thin people don't have to do those things. So they lose the weight and then say "I'm fine now, I can eat like a pig and never work out!" Then they gain it back.

To avoid the yo-yo cycle, you need to view these efforts as permanent lifestyle changes. And you need to enjoy healthy eating and exercise.

Create habits you can maintain for the rest of your life. Don't "diet" by eating only "healthy" foods and never allowing yourself to eat the things you enjoy. Follow the 80/20 rule. Get regular exercise. Maybe the weight won't come off as quickly as some of those crazy diets where they eat next to nothing and exercise six hours a day, but you will not gain it back because you will not go off the new routine. Unlike the crazy diets that only last until they reach their goal, and then of course they put the weight back on because they went back to their old habits of eating a ton of calories and not exercising.

I know people have heard this a MILLION times, but it has to be a lifestyle change!!!!

This times 100. I'm not dieting. I'm changing the way I view nutrition, physical activity and how I treat my body. It's not a destination (to a certain weight), it's a journey (to healthier life).

Gosh I'm corny.

There are a couple of reasons for this.
1. People diet and diet and exercise and exercise until they reach their goal, then they go back to old habits and the way they used to eat and act.

2. People diet and diet and exercise, and as they do, they lose muscle as well as fat. This is especially bad on diets like Medifast or the various "cleanses" out there. Their bodyfat percentage doesn't change a whole lot, they are the same composition only smaller now. They have slowed their metabolism at that point, so when they start eating a bit more, they gain again...

To avoid this, you have to change your lifestyle. No more dieting. New habits. You also need to lift weights to maintain as much muscle as you can while you are losing weight, and to up your metabolism so you can have your cake and veggies too

Good luck. You're on here for a reason. If you want better health, go for it!

People keep asking me what "diet" I'm on... I respond by telling them I'm not on a diet per se, I've changed my lifestyle.

I eat healthy foods in appropriate portion sizes and exercise everyday, period. My mindset has always been to make sustainable changes in my life, otherwise I will just gain it all back.

If I have a craving for a specific food I'll find a way to either substitute an equally tasty healthy option or else work the actual food into my days calorie needs.

^ This.

When I was in the 'diet' mindset, I lost a great deal of weight only to gain 1/3 of it back over the next three years. 'Dieting' suggests it is temporary.

I've stayed on track the second time around by realizing I'm lazy. Working to get the weight off isn't easy. Why make it more difficult for myself?

I lost 50lbs in about 8 months when I first started here. I was netting about 900-1000 calories a day and the faster it was coming off, the more excited I got and would try to lose even more. When I met my fiance, we went out a lot, ate lots of food at restaurants and I slacked off a bit. That weight came back on very fast, probably because I ate so little to start with. Thankfully, I was lifting weights the whole time and only gained back 2 of the 4 pant sizes I lost, despite gaining back the same weight.

It's a struggle now. I've been focusing on a balance of eating what I want and like but not going overboard and being more active than ever.

Read this

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

QFT

I've kept close to 100 lbs off for the past 20 years. It's not impossible.

Here's what works for me:

*Record what you eat, majority of your diet should be "whole foods" (for lack of a better word, fully aware that "whole foods" is fairly ambiguous) - vegetables, lean proteins (i.e. cook your own food so you know what is in it), grains - I mostly eat rice, quinoa, polenta, and also, pasta and bread. Wheat is not bad unless you are allergic, wheat products just tend to have more calories - e.g. a cup of cooked rice is far more filling than a cup of cooked pasta, yet the pasta has more calories than the rice. I can eat 8oz of pasta easy for 800 cal, if I eat 1/2 cup of dry, uncooked rice I'm full - that's 300 cal, same with polenta and that's 240 cal. That does not mean pasta is bad - if it fits your cal intake for the day, eat it, if not save for another day.

*Don't make drastic food changes/food eliminations/VLCD/fad "dieting" - most people can't sustain it.

* Eat foods you like, and of you think you don't like vegetables, try different ones, there are a billion vegetables - I don't believe anyone who says they dislike *every* vegetable (though that's another conversation).

*Eat high calorie foods in moderation.

*Get some exercise each day - yep, fully aware that people can lose weight without doing this, but you will feel better and look better with exercise, it really is good for your mental health.

*Don't obsess or have desperation mentality, no one gains weight overnight, and it takes time for it to come off. Look at changing you habits for your health and weight loss as the extra bonus.

*If you are just starting, why not just spend a week recording what you eat. Be honest and get a baseline, it may make it easier to see how much you really need (or don't need) to cut to reach your goals.

I'm sure someone here will hate something I said, but, it's all worked for me, YMMV.