Are you in the 97%?

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  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I have been in both the 97% and 3%. I've lost weight and kept it off for 5 years, but I've also lost weight and gained back, sometimes after 5 years, sometimes less.

    I eat pretty much the same all the time, but every time I get lazy and quit exercising regularly, I gain weight. This usually happens whenever there is some major change in my lifestyle. I don't adapt to change very well, I guess. :ohwell:
  • penny0919
    penny0919 Posts: 123 Member
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    Nope, I'm not in it.

    5'7 , slim child and until age 21 was 130-140

    Gained 30 lbs between 21-22 (170)

    Lost 25 lbs gradually and got married at 145 at age 25.

    Got up to 152 before I got pregnant with baby #1 (isn't it sad I can remember these exact weights??)
    Pregnancy #1 152-200 lbs
    Got down to 160 before Pregnancy #2
    Pregnancy #2 160-200
    Got down to 160 again before Pregnancy #3
    Pregnancy #3 160-200 (notice a pattern??)

    Now after baby 3 I am sitting in the mid 180s. My eating got OUT OF CONTROL after her birth due to many, many factors (my emotional eating was completely out of control).

    Until I fix my tie between emotions and eating I will probably never permanently lose weight.
  • justcat206
    justcat206 Posts: 716 Member
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    For most of my adult like I put on what I like to call "insulation" in the winter - I'd gain 10 lbs come fall, then lose it again in the summer. The last year or so I've been holding steady within a 5 lb range - so no drastic yoyoing, but I'm definitely more consistent about eating and working out ALL year now, and not just in summer. (helps that I've started lifting which I can do year round. Used to only walk/run outside then sit on my butt all winter).
  • sthig1973
    sthig1973 Posts: 1 Member
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    I'm late to this thread (and it's my first post). I'm 5 years now keeping my weight down... so I assume this makes me a 3%er. I'm 41 years old and am lighter than I was in the 8th grade. I was not a "fat kid" just a big kid... but after college I got pretty overweight hitting upwards to 270 (I'm now at 183)

    These days if I do not remain diligent I will put weight back on quickly. I've swung about 15lbs over the past 5 years. Generally I locate the culprit of the weight swing and eliminate it. The last swing in weight was largely due to salt and wine. So I've eliminated any additional sodium (table salt) to my meals and am rather careful about wine consumption.

    I don't see an end date to the current life style I hold. I eat the same thing roughly everyday but allow myself cheat days here and there... and on cheat days, I go big... so the next day I have a "food hangover" and realize how dumb that was.

    I also exercise rigorously 6 days a week burning anywhere from 300-500 calories (average). I won't be able to maintain that throughout my life, but I figure while I can, I can.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    definitely. I have managed to lose 10 lbs and now I am back to my start weight after 3 years of trying to lose more...:brokenheart:
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
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    I didn't read the thread just OP...

    I grew up thin, but once I hit puberty I became quite chubby. Never too heavy, just slightly over weight, and generally flabby. 3 years ago I was at my highest weight and decided to tackle this once and for all.
    All I wanted was to get to a healthy BMI and stay there.

    The reason I believe I will never go back to my old weight or higher is because I was committed to find breakthroughs in my approach to food. I believe that weight gain and overeating is a symptom and by understanding why we do what we do we can learn how to fix the problems. I am very strong now and am not concerned that I will be in the 97% anymore.

    Many fail because they tackle the symptoms and not the causes. They learn to buy low calorie foods but not satisfying foods. They try fad diets and don't consider holistic approaches like fitting your macros. They educate themselves about nutrition but don't analyze what break them (stress, boredom, anxiety, loneliness...). Etc.... etc....

    Bottom line- getting to and staying at a healthy weight is a personal journey. It takes a long time and you have to learn about yourself in the process.
  • elvensnow
    elvensnow Posts: 154 Member
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    I'm part of the 97% sadly.

    I lose about 80 lbs in a bit over a year. I maintained for about another year. But I moved across country to be close to family and the new social activities, lack of exercise, and basic bad habits caused me to gain 30 over the course of a year. Nothing like yoyo dieting here. Just bad habits.

    And I know I could have maintained even eating as I was if I had just kept with my exercise regimen. But we sold our treadmill before the move (didn't want to transport), and I hate gyms so ... yea I stopped, bad me.

    I don't know if I could ever be part of the 3%. Maintaining a goal weight for previously-obese is hard. It requires constant diligence and a commitment that really is more than I might want to handle later on down the line. There's plenty of research out there to show that once-obese people have a lower metabolism than the never-obese at the same weight -- so yes it makes it just that much harder for us to maintain weight than people who have never had weight troubles. Even maintaining that one year I did (wasn't even at goal) still felt like I was "dieting" -- I was still counting calories, exercising daily, etc. It was still a LOT of work just to stay at a weight I wasn't even happy with.

    I hope I can lose and maintain it for a while. But then I plan to have kids... so I'm just going to assume that might put a wrench in the works =P
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
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    You know what I think is funny?
    If you see weight management the same way you see house maintenance you won't regain.
    I mean, nobody cleans their house and says- Yay the house is clean, I'm done forever, it will always be clean! No, you clean it, it gets a bit messy you clean again, if you're lazy, next time you need to put in more effort...
    Same with weight. You lose it, and then if you don't continue to monitor it, the "junk" piles up and you have to put more effort into "cleaning" it again.
    But most people think they can just fix their weight problem by losing it with a diet. But if they don't develop daily habits at keeping in check it won't help them.
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
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    Even maintaining that one year I did (wasn't even at goal) still felt like I was "dieting" -- I was still counting calories, exercising daily, etc. It was still a LOT of work just to stay at a weight I wasn't even happy with.

    When you get to goal, the work doesn't end. Anyone who wants to be fit for life has to watch what they eat and exercise regularly.

    What helps is establishing easy to follow habits and finding workouts that you enjoy. Also solving daily challenges like schedule issues or knowing when you're most hungry during the day and giving more calories to that part of day.

    I hope you make it. You just have to find what tactics are the easiest for you to sustain.

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