why do allot of people end up gaining more weight back

Can't speak for everyone, but for me it was because I was on a "diet" that was far too restrictive, and as a result, when I finally couldn't do it anymore, I binged. So I gained the weight I lost back, plus extra due to the binge.

Because this has to be a lifestyle change and a lot of people don't realize that. They eat at a deficit and exercise thinking, it's only till I get this 20 lbs off. What they can't accept is that they have to develop these habits for life to keep the weight off, so they hit their goal weight, think YAY! I can eat again... and bam, back comes the weight.

Totally agree...

I have two theories:

1. Like others have said, it's a temporary goal and hasn't been made a permanent lifestyle change; or

2. In their haste to lose the weight quickly, they cut too many calories/exercise too much (basically have too much of a deficit) which destroys their metabolism.

Wellllll, speaking from my own experience, I just stop caring. I eat really well (I don't completely restrict anything from my diet though) and I keep up with my workouts. Then after a while I get lazy. I start skipping workouts, and eating more junk. I tell myself it's okay to have "just one cookie" tonight, and I'll eat better tomorrow. But then I tell myself that every day, and the junk is no longer an occasional treat. And it ends up being several cookies. I start drinking alcohol more regularly (usually just a few a week, but it adds up!) And I stop logging. (if I don't log it, it doesn't exist, right? Right?! :laugh: )

So I guess I fall into the category of not making it a permanent lifestyle change. I get lazy, come up with excuses and allow myself to binge eat. It's entirely my own doing.

As for why it's the weight back & then some I think it's because It's easy to ignore the weight gain for a while and pretend there isn't a problem. I don't weigh myself often, so when I do and I'm OVER the previous highest weight, I realize what I've done and try to start over.

This is just my theory. But I think most people hate exercise. Exercise is the magic ticket. All the people I see who have gotten weight off and kept it off are those who have developed decent exercise habits. Both cardio and resistance training. Thing is when you simply starve the weight off you lose a lot of lbm. And that lbm burns calories simply existing. So their new thinner body actually burns less overall calories than their old one. Which puts them in a position to gain a lot back. I also think that after the weight loss the body requires a couple of years of careful maintenance in order to acclimatize to its new form. Skin has to tighten and shriveled fat cells have to be flushed out and fat redistributed around the body. When one has just lost weight your fat cells are still there. They are just empty. If they stay empty your body will eventually get rid of them. But they will take any opportunity to fill right back up again.

If you have been on the deficit for a long time some minor metabolic slowdown may have also occurred. Which will can take 6 months to a year to reverse itself making it even easier to put on weight.

I also think that those that are habitually physically active in their leisure time are simply preternaturally disposed to burning off their excess calories. If they eat too much they tend to have a lot of excess energy which they then burn off in the gym. Someone without an exercise habit however is looking at a fat torpedo.

In short hitting goal weight is NOT the end of the battle. It is merely the start of phase two. There are in fact many reasons why people regain weight. But if you don't want to be one of them. Calorie count even at goal weight for at least 2 years until you are used to your maintenance and develop good exercise habits .

Oh and yeah you aren't going to keep the weight off if you go back to scarfing down whole tubs of ice cream in one go. YES i am aware it is delicious. I know it sucks. But moderation is for life not just for Diet times. At least if you want the diet to have any real meaning other than needless suffering. Cos having your weight yo yo up and down like *foul statement deleted" is actually worse for you than being a bit obese. Believe it or not.

This is just my theory. But I think most people hate exercise. Exercise is the magic ticket. All the people I see who have gotten weight off and kept it off are those who have developed decent exercise habits. Both cardio and resistance training. Thing is when you simply starve the weight off you lose a lot of lbm. And that lbm burns calories simply existing. So their new thinner body actually burns less overall calories than their old one. Which puts them in a position to gain a lot back. I also think that after the weight loss the body requires a couple of years of careful maintenance in order to acclimatize to its new form. Skin has to tighten and shriveled fat cells have to be flushed out and fat redistributed around the body. When one has just lost weight your fat cells are still there. They are just empty. If they stay empty your body will eventually get rid of them. But they will take any opportunity to fill right back up again.

If you have been on the deficit for a long time some minor metabolic slowdown may have also occurred. Which will can take 6 months to a year to reverse itself making it even easier to put on weight.

I also think that those that are habitually physically active in their leisure time are simply preternaturally disposed to burning off their excess calories. If they eat too much they tend to have a lot of excess energy which they then burn off in the gym. Someone without an exercise habit however is looking at a fat torpedo.

In short hitting goal weight is NOT the end of the battle. It is merely the start of phase two. There are in fact many reasons why people regain weight. But if you don't want to be one of them. Calorie count even at goal weight for at least 2 years until you are used to your maintenance and develop good exercise habits .

+1

They go back to old habits.

I know a woman who went from 310 to 120. She adjusted her portions and walked. That's it. She didn't like the walking. She did it to lose weight. Never even tried any other kind of exercise.

When she was at a healthy weight, she started walking less and eating more. Gained it all back and then some.

Total overhauls are better. Lifestyle changes lead to longer-lasting results. Eat right. Exercise. Change bad habits into good ones so that when you're done, being healthy is your lifestyle and you never really have to think much about your weight at all because it takes care of itself.

When you lose weight, it's not 100% fat -- you also lose some LBM along with the fat. When people crash diet or don't do resistance training while losing, they're more likely to lose more LBM. Then, when they gain weight back, it's mostly fat.

So...

Lose fat and LBM...then gain just fat back...you end up with a higher body fat percentage than before you started. And, because fat is less dense than muscle, you end up physically larger than when you started.

Yes, this. Plus, once you end up back at your starting weight, with a higher bodyfat percentage, your metabolism will also be slower (less LBM) which means it will take even MORE weight gain to level off again. That's why people gain extra weight above and beyond their starting weight when they yo-yo back up.

It's basically a vicious cycle, poor dieting begets unsustainable weight loss which begets inevitable regain and then some. Then the person has to crash diet even harder the next time, losing even more LBM, and bouncing back to an even higher weight again. Eventually you end up with someone who is not only (very) overweight, but at a very very high bodyfat percentage and low LBM. This makes dieting harder and harder until it's basically seen as an impossibility.

Just my theory anyway. But it happens a lot. One of the many reasons that a good diet plan with a focus on retaining LBM and long-term sustainability is so, so important.

Personally I destroyed my metabolism after around 8-10yrs of calorie counting (there was a pregnancy in the middle so can't be precise!!). Eventually ended up eating less and less, doing more & more cardio and GAINING weight. My body had gone into a kind of emergency storage mode.

After a long period of being utterly demoralised & getting NO help from the THREE different docs I begged for help, I stumbled across weights/resistance training. It's taking time to pull my body from its long term 'emergency mode', where all I do is store weight/fat, but now I'm eating MORE, more healthily & starting to lose the kgs again.

Plus my body looks better. It's better being a bigger & toned than it was skinnier yet wobblier ironically!

Why the original weight *plus* the extra....it's not scientific in my case.

1 lb of muscle is equal to 1 lb of fat is equal to 1 lb of cotton or 1 lb of metal...it's the same amount of weight (and you're talking about weight, not volume).

It definitely was not "going back to old habits" for me....the extra poundage in addition to the prior weight was because my OLD habits *also* consisted of a drive and desire to *want* to lose weight. After a loss and a regain....that "desire to win" disappeared...causing the "Extra" on top of the prior because I didn't give a crap AT ALL anymore...and therefore didn't even bother trying to *maintain* the fat me as I was before the loss. I was all about "don't maintain anything at all just feed your face and feel better, you know you're good at that."


NOT THIS TIME.....I'm totally going to to succeed.

When you lose weight, it's not 100% fat -- you also lose some LBM along with the fat. When people crash diet or don't do resistance training while losing, they're more likely to lose more LBM. Then, when they gain weight back, it's mostly fat.

So...

Lose fat and LBM...then gain just fat back...you end up with a higher body fat percentage than before you started. And, because fat is less dense than muscle, you end up physically larger than when you started.

+1 This right here - very well said!