How do people who lose a ton of weight put it all back on?
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1. Losing it in an unhealthy way.
2. Not learning the right habits.
3. Becoming sedentary.
4. Getting too comfortable.
5. Life events that happen to people that causes them to abandon their better habits.
For me it was 2. I lost most of my excess weight and thought 'Great! I can eat "like normal" again.'
This time the weight loss has been a lot slower and is being achieved by gradually changing one habit at a time. I feel healthier than last time I lost weight and I feel I could live this way forever if needs be. That, I hope, is the key to continued success. May we all achieve it :drinker:0 -
Seriously....who the *kitten* are you to judge her?! You have no idea what she has gone through in the time that she has gained her weight...or ever in her life. I lost 80lbs and then got pregnant and gained 95! *kitten* happens. It's HER life. Maybe she lost all that weight and realized she was happier being heavy. Maybe she broke her back and was on bed rest for 10 months. What's it to you?? We all live our own lives and we all go through our own obstacles. Mind yourself and stop being a judgmental prick.
lol...ok shannon.0 -
Sometimes when people lose weight rapidly they lose muscle mass too. This drives down their BMR, so when they go off their diet, they aren't just returning to their normal habits where they gained the weight...they're actually eating substantially more over their maintenance calories than they were before.0
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i dont know what it is, but, i will say this: why bother losing it the first time around in an unhealthy manner which you know will backfire? whats the point in the suffering?
it's easier said than done, i know, but why not just do it the right way and maintain yourself.
the girl i am referencing couldnt have been more than 140 lbs when i last saw her. today she was looking like she was pushing at least 260.
i remember when she was losing weight, she would go into the lunchroom and critique everyone else's meal. she was rude and judgmental about it too...serves her right , i guess.
Why are you 50lbs overweight? Shouldn't you know better? Shouldn't you have done something before it got to this point?
How about you worry less about the woman in the lunchroom and more about yourself. She probably put on weight for the same reasons you did, I did, and everyone else did. Food good, exercise bad.
seems like you are having difficulty understanding the crux of my post.
this isnt about how does one become overweight. it is about how an overweight person loses a ton of weight only to put it all back on. i would assume that person, going through all the pain and suffering once would be enough of a lasting memory not to get to that point again.
Are you not aware of the stats that show that most people put it back on?
And despite the wishful thinking, I don't think there's any evidence that how you lose it matters. I lost 60 lbs in 2003, kept most of it off in a healthy way until about 2008-09, and then regained all and more. Why? Wish I totally understood. Life happens, and my motivation to do what was necessary disappeared or took a back seat to other things, and I slid back into one bad habit after another and even though I knew what I needed to do to stop the process, for a significant enough period of time I didn't care that much. Now, I have certain experience that I hope will help protect again the same things happening and certainly don't plan for it to, but I'm also more humble about it.
(On the other hand, I never criticized anyone else's food choices, etc.)
It's the not caring that worries me. There are an infinite number of situations where I just wouldn't care. Hopefully, anything that happens will be temporary. I'm just not going to worry about the future.0 -
I worked with a lady who had gastric bypass surgery and almost died during surgery. She got down to a size 4. I never saw her that tiny. When I met her she was a size 20 and got bigger until she left for another job. She didn't stay with her diet from the surgery. She ate nothing but candy and taco meat while at work. She would eat the whole 8 hours too. She would come in, make a sandwich and then finally stop eating when she packed up to go home.
I haven't seen her since she left but other co-workers have and said she has lost weight. Which I'm happy for her. After almost dying during that surgery my *kitten* would have stuck with the diet.0 -
i dont know what it is, but, i will say this: why bother losing it the first time around in an unhealthy manner which you know will backfire? whats the point in the suffering?
it's easier said than done, i know, but why not just do it the right way and maintain yourself.
the girl i am referencing couldnt have been more than 140 lbs when i last saw her. today she was looking like she was pushing at least 260.
i remember when she was losing weight, she would go into the lunchroom and critique everyone else's meal. she was rude and judgmental about it too...serves her right , i guess.
Why are you 50lbs overweight? Shouldn't you know better? Shouldn't you have done something before it got to this point?
How about you worry less about the woman in the lunchroom and more about yourself. She probably put on weight for the same reasons you did, I did, and everyone else did. Food good, exercise bad.
I wish you could "like" comments on here!0 -
It's easy to do when you haven't deal with why you were overweight/obese in the first place.
Food can be an addiction for some. Some people need to get to the bottom of WHY they were overeating. Are they stuffing down emotions? Are they comforting themselves? what from? There are always underlying issues that need to be dealt with because when those trigger and you HAVEN'T dealt with it, you'll go right back to the coping mechanism you always had (eating) and gain it all back.
It needs to be an inner transformation as well as outer.
:flowerforyou:0 -
i used to work with a person who over some time lost 100 lbs. i ran into her today and i was floored that she gained it all back - and then some!
i didnt know how to react...i was stunned when i saw her. i tried not to make a big deal but my expression was like "wtf did you do???"
it got me thinking about how hard she was dieting and little she was eating. but she was exercising and all that. i remember that she had kept the weight off for like 6 months at least because that is when i left that firm.
how can you work so hard to lose so much weight and then just lose control of yourself again?
im not judging...im in disbelief
Seriously!? This is a joke right?...........the overwhelming majority of people who lose weight gain it back.
You should have been more surprised had she kept it off.0 -
At one point I had a 121 lb weight loss, now it's 88 lbs. For me I just got tired of the logging, of the constant exercise, maybe even of that little voice that nagged how many calories something had. I can make excuses until the cows come home but in my case it was laziness, pure and simple. So, I reset goals and made new plans and I'm going to slowly get off what I packed on. Losing it one thing but keeping it off is a whole other demon.0
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Simply, food is an addiction for some people and just like an addiction to anything else, there is a good chance of relapse. We think we've got it beat, so we relax and become complacent. It sneaks up on us.
Don't get me wrong, I am not making excuses.
Speaking from personal experience, having lost 90lbs the "right" way (eating well and exercising), then packing on 60lbs over my pregnancy and eating McDonald's almost every day while breastfeeding. I'm an intelligent woman and I know better, I just lost control and once I decided I'd had it, I was overwhelmed.
I have nobody to blame but myself and I know it, so here I am on MFP fighting my way back. Only this time, I plan on staying on MFP even once I've met my goal, so I don't become one of those people again.0 -
I lost 90lbs in a healthly way (almost a year and a half) and I have gained it all back. Why?
Because I became way more social when I lost my weight and was playing sports instead of going to the gym and playing sports did not make up for the beer I drank afterwards. Well I gained 30 lbs in the first year after I lost so was still down 60 lb but then my mom got diagnosed with cancer so I was flying back home a lot for the next 8 months even though I was training for a half marathon and still playing sports I gained another 20lbs back during that time. Then she passed away and I ate my feelings and gained another 20lbs back. Lost that 20lbs in about 3 months and then I broke my right ankle and sprained the tendons which limited me from even driving and it took almost 4 months before it was healed enough for me to do anything more active then going for a short walk and I live alone so you know what is easy food when you live alone and can't drive? Pizza. Yeah I had a lot of pizza while I was laid up.
It isn't becuase I said F it I want to be overweight again but a series of events that led up to me gaining it all back in a little over 2 years. I am back on track and down a size in the month since I started logging again but it seems to be even harder to do this time around.0 -
1st hand experience as I lost 80lbs, and gained it all back.
2011 - I began my weight loss journey around March. Lifestyle changes happened slowly. I started walking around more places when I would have normally driven, stairs instead of elevator no matter how many floors. Small diet changes. Cut soda entirely, less pasta/bread, more veggies as a filler. By about July 2011, I was enjoying eating lean, keeping a 500 calorie deficit per day tracking everything. I noticed sleep was better, I got less winded. I had dropped about 20 lbs. Around August/Sep I began the Insanity workout, I started getting HUGE calorie burns, I was getting a 1000 calorie a day deficit, making sure to eat back my calories from the intense workout, while continuing my stairs/walking everywhere and the lean eating.
Jan 2012 hits , I'm at my lowest weight, going out often, hitting the gym daily meeting new people feeling really great. I maintain this lifestyle until June 2013.
My brother who was 30 died, I slumped HARD. started drinking and eating like I would before I started in 2011, no soda at least. I ran back to my gaming habit. 1 month after losing my brother, I quit my job and took a new one 500 miles away to be closer to family. So in 1 month Stress after Stress after Stress. My drinking still continues, but is considerably less than it was a year ago, however in the span of a year, having 1500 calorie surpluses a day. I'm back at my starting weight.
I've caught myself before exceeding it, however, nothing will take away the fact depression and stress can have such an adverse effect on a person.
Cruise on Tuesday too to Alaska... Bringing my execise attire, unsure how i'll do. I've currently lost that motivation to change my lifestyle and am trying to find it again.0 -
I worked with a lady who had gastric bypass surgery and almost died during surgery. She got down to a size 4. I never saw her that tiny. When I met her she was a size 20 and got bigger until she left for another job. She didn't stay with her diet from the surgery. She ate nothing but candy and taco meat while at work. She would eat the whole 8 hours too. She would come in, make a sandwich and then finally stop eating when she packed up to go home.
I haven't seen her since she left but other co-workers have and said she has lost weight. Which I'm happy for her. After almost dying during that surgery my *kitten* would have stuck with the diet.
candy and taco meat lmao i know that's not meant to be funny but it is0 -
She dieted, didn't do a lifestyle change. Had she succeeded at the latter, she would still be at the low weight. Lifestyle change means permanent changes in habits, but if you gain back all of it and then some, she didn't change a single thing with the rest of her life in mind. I know some seem to hate the word patience in this context, but how else will you incorporate everything healthy as well as permanently leave behind the unhealthy habits?0
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Usually its fad dieters, those who change their lifestyle would have to be completely reckless to go back, hell I have one day a week where I totally yolo it (yesterday! 5800 calories, no f%$#% given) and have zero issues.0
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Without reading most of this thread, I can assume what I'm about to say has been said, but...
Whatever worked the first time was not a sustainable lifestyle when it came to maintenance. I completely speak from experience because I have lost 85lbs twice, 72lbs once, 65lbs twice, 40lbs twice, and 30lbs twice. W. T. F. Why do I want to go through it again for around 100lbs? Because this time is different - and feels very much so. All the before times were eating once a day, fad diets, excessive exercise, and aiming for 4-5+lbs per week losses. There was no "Holy *kitten*, I can't actually do this for the next 30 years." mentality at all. This time? 15lbs in 80 days (I had two backslides for 5-7lbs each towards the start...that's how easy it is to fall), eating almost 2000 calories per day with a day for pleasure eating, strength training and interval cardio at a venue that is ideal for me. I believe one of the major key components (sp?) for long term maintenance, which I haven't explored nearly enough, is getting to the root of your overeating and choices. If you don't discover those, and find a non-destructive outlet or vice to reduce those stresses, gaining back plus some will be very likely.0 -
1. Losing it in an unhealthy way.
2. Not learning the right habits.
3. Becoming sedentary.
4. Getting too comfortable.
5. Life events that happen to people that causes them to abandon their better habits.
Any or all of these. I know it's shocking, people work SO hard to lose the weight most times. But it's life, and it happens, and can happen to anyone. Best to not worry about it and just wish them well. If they did it once, they can do it again
You never really know what people are going through that causes them to gain it back. They're probably in bigger disbelief than you are.
Numbers 3, 4, and 5 for me. I lost 90lb, I was very active but blew my knee out right around the time I met my huband. I hobbled around for a bit and in the new relationship went out to eat a lot etc. getting pretty comfortable in the process, I could barely move so I wasn't exactly burning off the extra cals I was taking in, then I opted for the surgery and then came more laying around all the while eating like my now husband... who is a pizza eating machine and has zero interest in any type of fitness activity that isn't golf. I fell right in with his way of living. Pretty soon I was well on track to gaining, I gained 40 lbs that first year. Of course I decided it was time to get my *kitten* in gear, but by then I had a new job and new responsibilities and a wedding.... I was stressed working really long days and was exhausted, so it was harder to fit in fitness, and eventually I stopped entirely. It was double hard when my brain had left off being one level of fitness and when I returned to the world of movement my body was in a total different time zone. It was very defeating and frustrating. I kept gaining....Keep in mind, just 1lb a week can be 52 lbs in the span of one year. It's not as hard as you'd think.
I continued gaining about 10-15 per year for 3 years after that initial 40 and then went "WTF??!" It's not like anyone gains 80 lbs in a few months, it happens slowly. The biggest thing is the total and complete demoralizing collapse that hits when you make the realization that all that hard work went out the window. Then comes depression and self pity which generally don't make anyone lose weight any quicker. That's how. That is in fact exactly how.0 -
Food is tasty, exercise is hard. There's your answer.
YES YES YES!!! Oh so true... :ohwell:0 -
I lost 65 pounds and gained 55. The stress of a teenager and moving in to care for my mom put me last. I let it all go… now I'm here after 2 years trying to get back to taking care of me! Anyone interested feel free to friend me0
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Before you judge others
I got divorced, went thru a major depression and started taking anti- depressants that had a side effect of weight gain.
How about live and let live...0 -
I understand gaining a few pounds back at the end of the day but all of it!? when you lost so much!? I don't see how someone could do that to themselves either. Myself looking to lose a total of 180lbs when i'm done... i can't imagine letting it all come back! MAYBE like 50lbs ABSOLUTE MAX (weight jumps quick when vacationing from home i hear) but the whole thing? wow no. I am just as astonished.0
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It's easy to do when you haven't deal with why you were overweight/obese in the first place.
Food can be an addiction for some. Some people need to get to the bottom of WHY they were overeating. Are they stuffing down emotions? Are they comforting themselves? what from? There are always underlying issues that need to be dealt with because when those trigger and you HAVEN'T dealt with it, you'll go right back to the coping mechanism you always had (eating) and gain it all back.
It needs to be an inner transformation as well as outer.
Bump to this. That's exactly what I was going to say. Most of us are carrying not just extra pounds but extra emotional baggage that plays into what and how much we eat. If you've trained yourself to eat less and exercise more, but haven't addresses the emotional/mental side of why you want to overeat in the first place, you've only won half the battle, and made it that much more likely that the bad habits you've fought so hard against will come back.0 -
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I agree. That's how it happened to me. I lost 75 pounds, but then got lazy and depressed. It's even worse after you've met somebody and want to spend all your time with them by shoving food in your face at parties, restaurants, movies, and hanging out. It was much easier for me to be accountable for myself when there wasn't a significant other testing my will at every meal. I got the same WTF looks from some of my friends who hadn't seen me for awhile. The also pretended it didn't happen, but I would attempt humor to cover up the pain and embarrassment. I'd say, "I know, I gained it all back, but my face is cute, so what?!" It wasn't that funny but it was easier to move on that way. I used to dwell on it, but a good friend of mine told me it's in the past. I can't go back and what's done is done. I can only concentrate on now, move forward and learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle now. All that work is gone and it's sad. Worse is the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't fight it.0
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I lost 40 pounds and gained 70 back. It's easy to gain all the weight back and then some when you lose weight in a very restrictive way. I ate super healthy and exercised every day. When I got to my "goal" -- I thought I could stop and went back to how I ate before I lost the weight and stopped exercising. This time -- I know this is something I will have to do on an ongoing basis. I eat what I want in moderation and I continuously stay active with exercises and activities that I enjoy. I know I will never stop logging my food because that is the only way I can be aware of how much I'm eating. Logging really doesn't bother me because I've been doing it for so long, it's part of my life now. I guess it's more of finding what you can stick with.0
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I'm sorry you faced hardship, but I do believe it is important to dig deep here, find out the underlying reasons to over-eating. Pharmaceuticals explain only so much and in this of all places I think it is beneficial to acknowledge that the emotional component is significant for many.Before you judge others
I got divorced, went thru a major depression and started taking anti- depressants that had a side effect of weight gain.
How about live and let live...0 -
Before you judge others
I got divorced, went thru a major depression and started taking anti- depressants that had a side effect of weight gain.
How about live and let live...
who's judging? who am i, anyway?
i just asked a question.0 -
I lost 50 then put 40 of it back on over the next year. I had a bunch of personal crap come down on me and I just reverted back to eating for comfort.
It doesn't take much really.0 -
Easy. I had lost 60 lbs. at one time, but gained it all back and then some. And NO! I was NOT doing something "unhealthy", "unsustainable", or any other judgmental crap most of you are spewing when you have no freaking clue! (Thank you, OP, for NOT being judgmental.) So, I'm back on the bandwagon. Yes, I'm fat. But, dammit, kudos to me for trying again...and again....and again. At least I haven't lost all hope.
I was doing Weight Watchers, which is EXACTLY the same as MFP, except you counted points, rather than calories. The only difference was I was paying for the website. I was losing 1.5 lbs. per week. What happened? My mother died, and I got stuck having to teach my dad how to be self-sufficient, since his mother never taught him, but that was that generation. On top of that I had my own family, with its own problems (kids were beginning to head into their teens, and all the crap that entails), so you begin to forget to take care of yourself, when you're far too busy taking care of other people. You don't weigh yourself as often, so you don't notice it creeping back on. Your clothes feel a little tighter, but you figure they shrank in the wash, so you buy new ones a little bigger. You begin to feel that life is too short to be hungry all the time, and killing yourself with exercise, and you'd rather enjoy life instead (I hate exercise...I'd rather chew broken glass or have a tax audit, but I force myself to do it even though the pain I get from it is excruciating, what with my arthritis), so you eat what you want, rather than what you "should" (says who?) and you spend your precious little free time watching TV, rather than "wasting" it doing something you hate, like exercising. You get older. You start to not care. After all, you're old. You're not supposed to look "hot", anymore.
The problem with that is that as you do inevitably get older, you start noticing things don't feel right. Your back and your joints hurt all the time. You can't eat those foods you used to love because they certainly no longer love you. Your blood pressure starts creeping up. People you went to high school with begin dying from things like massive stroke or heart attack. It slowly dawns on you, that yes, life IS short. You'd better make sure you can eke out every minute of it. That being said, though, life is still life, and is still meant to be enjoyed. You can't spend it denying its pleasures. Want that candy bar? Eat it! Just make damned sure you account for it.0 -
I remember when I had lost a lot of weight. I viewed weight loss as a temporary diet, rather than a way of life. I also had to ask myself why was I eating more. Some reasons were boredom, depression, craving, anxiety....0
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