Is it impossible to keep weight off?

:happy: If you are trying to keep your weight at a steady place then it is more important to concentrate on exercise than it is on food.
A daily routine that keeps you fit (it doesn't have to be obsessive) is better and more enjoyable than worrying about what you eat all the time.:bigsmile:

:happy: If you are trying to keep your weight at a steady place then it is more important to concentrate on exercise than it is on food.
A daily routine that keeps you fit (it doesn't have to be obsessive) is better and more enjoyable than worrying about what you eat all the time.:bigsmile:

No.

One actually needs to monitor both to maintain weight - increases in consumed calories or decreases in exercise regime both lead to the same place.

And you don't need to make it a "worry". Tracking and monitoring don't need to be an emotional roller-coaster.

If "being mindful" of your exercise and food intake now means "obsessing", then yes, it is impossible to keep weight off without obsessing.

However, if you are able to keep track of your food and exercise and ensure you are keeping within maintenance, then no, it is not impossible by any stretch of the word.

I've maintained my goal weight (after losing 50+ lbs.) for more than half a year now.
1. To lose the weight, I chose eating and exercise habits that I could sustain over the long haul. No fads. No quick fixes.
2. I lost the weight slowly, averaging about 3/4 pound per week. I had set my goals on MFP to lose only a half pound per week.
3. Once I reached my goal weight, the only change I had to make was a slight increase in daily net calorie consumption. Everything else about my eating and exercise remains the same.
4. I continue to log my food and exercise here. It helps me stay on track.

My weight has yo-yoed for decades. This time, so far, keeping it off is working. Sustainability is my bottom line.
I post a number-crunching, graph-heavy maintenance update about every 30 days. Links are on my profile page.

Stop obsessing about diets, and make a lifestyle change of watching your calorie intake, and find an exercise program that you like to do. If you lose weight and then go back to your old habits of overheating, it's a no brainier you're going to gain it all back.

I don't think it's helpful to call it "obsessive. " I think that in our food culture nowadays, one does need to make an effort to be careful. A passive approach (i.e. just eating what comes one's way) would lead to weight gain for most people.

The same way that in a sunny location a white girl needs to wear sunscreen or get a burn -- in my food environment one must take care to stay at a healthy weight.

Not obsession -- just good sense.

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I read an article that says that if I want to keep the weight off, I have to obsess about food and exercise, and it really discouraged me. Who has kept the weight off? What do you do to keep it off? I just don't want to gain it all back...

What article is this?

You just need to stay conscious of the foods you choose and understand the consequences of eating too much of anything. I keep my weight off because I choose to track calories in and out. It's all about moderation in food and accountability to myself.

It's not impossible and it's possible to not be obsessive. You have to be aware of what you eat, focus on a generally healthy lifestyle. I work with a woman who has never been overweight, but she monitors what she eats and she exercises. She and I have run some 5Ks together. I eat without being obsessive and I have the occasional indulgence. You can't just go and eat whatever you want all the time and keep the weight off. You can indulge occasionally, maintain an exercise routine and monitor your intake without obsessing and keep the weight off.

Obsession? No. Maintaining good habits for life? Yes. If I need a tool like this site to help me maintain my good habits, then so be it. I obviously haven't done very well on my own up to this point. We are worth the effort don't you think?

The biggest change for me was to stop reading pop culture diet and exercise articles

Everyone needs to do this!!! Some of the stuff out there is beyond idiotic.

The biggest change for me was to stop reading pop culture diet and exercise articles

+1 and this is nothing new. I should have paid more attention to my mum but it is not too late. My mum starting logging her calories and doing aerobics 40 years ago when she turned 50. She maintained her weight between 120 and 130 for 30 years, When her weight crept up, out came the log. When she hit 80, it stopped being necessary for her to track (she has to work now to stay at 100 pounds) but at 90, she is doing pretty darn good. Is transitioning just this year from aerobics to silver sneakers for exercise. If she can do it, so can I and so can you.

Have a read of this:

http://www.weightymatters.ca/2014/06/more-on-almost-impossible-feat-of.html


8 years later, 11% of participants have kept off more than 15% of their weight.

And 73% had kept off some. They don't say how much they had to lose to start with.

What I liked about that article was that it said the participants were probably advantaged because they were trying to manage diabetes and weren't motivated by aesthetics. I find that interesting because I'm 55 and this is my first weight loss attempt. I had never been motivated to control my diet by trying to look good. What got my going this time was trying to avoid the diabetes that runs in my family. Now THAT was something I was willing to work for.

Same here--there is diabetes in my family, but I also knew losing weight would take the pressure off my aching joints. I am motivated to keep the weight off because I feel so darned fantastic and energetic, and my joints no longer ache.

Why do you feeling like that. Food and exercise plays an important role in weight gaining and losing. Do not do too much exercise, but if you want to maintain your fitness, you have to do exercise regularly.

We don't obsess about these things, but we do THINK about them ....... we plan what we eat & how much ...... we plan on getting exercise & how much. I've lost 40 lbs and kept it off for years ...... and there are many people here who've lost way more than that & kept it off as well.

Don't set yourself up for failure before you even begin ...... no excuses, just do it.

This. If you decide it's not worth it once you get there, you can always turn around and go back the way you came.