Has anyone lost weight using mfp and gained it back

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Tanie98
Tanie98 Posts: 675 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I only have few pounds to lose until I reach my goal .It feels amazing being lighter and fit into my skinny jeans again. However, i am still going to track my calories when I reach my goal. Has anyone reach their goal and gained all back ? Was it because you stopped tracking and got too comfortable ?
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  • formerfatboy1
    formerfatboy1 Posts: 76 Member
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    Most of the time people who stop logging and exercise are the ones that think its a temporary fix. This is a lifestyle change and still has to be done day in and day out. If you hate starting over don't give up is what I always say. Keep kicking *kitten*!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    I lost 55 pounds the first time around and I'm back because I gained about 20 after I quit MFP. For me it was a couple of things.

    One, I didn't actually transition to maintenance. I meant to. I really did plan to track for maintenance for a while. But, you know, stuff got in the way. And then it seemed too late.

    Two, I never really addressed my emotional issues with food the first time around. Tracking my calories and setting weight loss goals was great, but without it I sort of forgot how to comfort myself without food. Bad days, flakey friends, and my own depression drove me right back to food.

    This time around I'm working hard to take it slow, transition into a maintenance plan, and work on fixing at least part of my relationship with food. Remembering that I've built a lot of coping strategies other than ice cream is going to be a big help to me. I'm hoping that I'm building healthier habits that will keep me on track this time around.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    U can't EVER stop tracking or start slacking, or else the weight will come right back. U may change the calorie count a bit when u get to maintenance but just try to realize that this thing u are doing is permanent. Chew gum and have low cal beverages if you need a mouth fixation.
  • 5stringjeff
    5stringjeff Posts: 790 Member
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    I only have few pounds to lose until I reach my goal .It feels amazing being lighter and fit into my skinny jeans again. However, i am still going to track my calories when I reach my goal. Has anyone reach their goal and gained all back ? Was it because you stopped tracking and got too comfortable ?

    Yes, I've lost weight using MFP.

    Yes, I gained (most of) it back.

    Yes, it was because I stopped tracking. Specifically, it was because I didn't retrain myself how to eat to maintain. When we lose weight, we learn to eat at a calorie deficit. When we hit our goal weight, we have to learn how to eat at maintenance. That's what I'm in the process of doing now - learning to eat at maintenance.
  • 13bbird13
    13bbird13 Posts: 425 Member
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    Yup, I lost and gained it back and am now doing it all again. It was totally, 100 percent because I got lazy and somehow lapsed into a "who cares?" mindset, resuming my old eating patterns that got me into trouble in the first place. I can and DO care, so I'm taking off the same 20+ pounds again. The lifestyle change is imperative, and I just wasn't ready before... now I think I am.
  • iheartinsanity
    iheartinsanity Posts: 205 Member
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    Exactly this. Just got too comfortable and went back to old habits (having a post marathon injury helped since I wasn't able to exercise at the time). Just began dusting myself off again getting back into it. I find food logging is 100% nessesary for success (for me).
  • MisterZ33
    MisterZ33 Posts: 567 Member
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    i realized some time ago that i will have to track my food intake forever.

    i just dont think i will have the discipline to do it otherwise - and i dont see that as a negative.

    there is a program designed here to help me...why not use it?
  • ttcbelieve
    ttcbelieve Posts: 181 Member
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    Has anyone reach their goal and gained all back ?

    YES!!!
    Was it because you stopped tracking and got too comfortable ?

    YES!!!
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    Yes, I've lost weight using MFP, but no have not gained it back because I still track. Was just wondering why I still track because I pretty much eat the same things everyday, but after reading some of the other responses, think I'll continue tracking.
  • spotts1983
    spotts1983 Posts: 4 Member
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    I lost 105 pounds last year and looked and felt amazing (hard for many people to imagine feeling amazing at 285 pounds). I went on vacation to the caribbean and fell off the exercise and diet wagon for the two weeks I was there. I only gained 5 pounds over those two weeks, but getting restarted once I returned was very difficult. I kept telling myself that I'd start again next week, and next week, and before I knew it September is here and I've regained 50 pounds from my lowest weight.

    Similarly to diannethegeek, I didn't address my issues with food for comfort.

    I've started again, and hope to be back in good form by the end of the calendar year.

    Good luck to you all, and to me as well!
  • Tanie98
    Tanie98 Posts: 675 Member
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    Yes, I've lost weight using MFP, but no have not gained it back because I still track. Was just wondering why I still track because I pretty much eat the same things everyday, but after reading some of the other responses, think I'll continue tracking.

    Ecxactly, its so easy to lose track and slip back into old habits. Tracking keeps me accountable
  • pbl1966
    pbl1966 Posts: 207 Member
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    Lost 35 lbs and maintained it for 1 1/2 years. I have gained back 10 lbs of that over the last year due to sloppy and non-existent logging. Determined to get at least 5 of it back off and keep it away. Regular, honest logging is what works for me!
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    I didn't gain it all back, but I gained a bunch back during my last year of graduate school. I was quite depressed and gorged myself on my old favorite foods. However, I got re-started and I'm quite a bit lower now than my former lowest weight :)

    Advice, if you do stop tracking:

    1) Weigh regularly. It is much harder to lie to yourself about how much you are re-gaining when you have to look at the number on the scale.
    2) Toss your "fat pants" and buy pants with a non-elastic waistband. If you can't fit into your pants, you're eating too much.
  • kvanderbeek1
    kvanderbeek1 Posts: 50 Member
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    That's me. I lost 50 with hard work and logging. Then I had a surgery and I couldn't find the energy to workout as much and went back to my old eating habits. I've gained 40 back. I've started again a couple of weeks ago so I'm hopefully heading in the right direction again. Good luck all!
  • ChevyLu
    ChevyLu Posts: 2 Member
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    I only gained it back during a brief time I quit using MFP. I lost it again as soon as I got back on track.
  • Camille0502
    Camille0502 Posts: 311 Member
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    Fortunately, I didn't gain it **all** back. I lost about 42 pounds and gained back 25 of it over the course of one year. Why?
    - Stopped logging
    - Not enough exercise
    - Denial
    Now I'm back - logging and accountable. Even when I was losing weight, I told myself that I would always need to log what I ate. For some reason, I decided I didn't need to log anymore. Hmph!
  • markrichtsspraytan
    markrichtsspraytan Posts: 89 Member
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    I lost about 30 lbs and gained about 10 back over 2 years. I still fit into the same clothes, so I don't think the weight gain was that big of a deal, I just don't look as toned and slim as I did before. I stopped counting intentionally though because it was causing me anxiety, making me a pain to be around when food was involved, and just wasn't good for my mental well-being because I was too obsessed with it. I tried to learn how to eat healthy and potion right without measuring. I think my overall habits have changed for the better and the weight gain was from having less time and ability to exercise. I realized I was snacking too much and eating too much post-dinner junk at night, so I started counting again to help me feel accountable for junk eating and hopefully curb it.
  • ajnb88
    ajnb88 Posts: 339 Member
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    I'm trying to (on advice from the gym after inBody analysis) and it's annoyingly hard :laugh:

    After two years of trying to eat less (~1400-1800), being told to consume 3k a day is proving rather difficult, both physically and mentally.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I'm going for optimism here.

    Yes, I lost weight on MFP (40 pounds). No, I haven't gained any back. I'm 55. This is the first time I ever tried to lose weight. It took me about a year to take it all off. I've kept it off a year and a half (lost a bit more after I hit my final goal).

    Yes, I do log everything I eat. I also weigh every morning and don't worry if it goes up and down a few pounds.
    I've also learned a lot. I know what foods have a lot of calories what doesn't. I've learned a few things I can cut way back on and save myself 500+ calories a day without noticing.
    I also walk almost every day and use a FitBit to log all those steps and add them onto my maintenance calories.

    So CONGRATULATIONS on getting so close to your goal. Lots of people have lost weight and kept it off. And look at all those folks who lost it, regained it, and are back again, ready to keep it off this time. I think this is a lifetime thing.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I only have few pounds to lose until I reach my goal .It feels amazing being lighter and fit into my skinny jeans again. However, i am still going to track my calories when I reach my goal. Has anyone reach their goal and gained all back ? Was it because you stopped tracking and got too comfortable ?

    Regardless of the approach to losing weight, the vast majority put the pounds back on. This is due in large part to talking a good talk about lifestyle change, but really, ultimately failing to implement such a change.

    I'm not talking about logging and keeping a diary either...that's not the lifestyle change in my book. The lifestyle change comes from developing healthful habits while you are using that you ultimately take into maintenance...and this is where people go wrong. They lose the weight and then just fall back into old eating habits, stop exercising, etc...and then they are surprised that they gained all the weight back.

    Proper, solid nutrition doesn't stop just because you lost the weight...really, the difference between maintaining weight and losing weight is only a handful of calories...that's it. I don't log and have maintained for going on around a year and a half as such...but I'm always mindful of what I'm eating...I don't mindlessly eat...I don't eat a whole lot of "junk"...I keep a rough tally in my head...and I make sure I exercise regularly. Failing to do any of that would likely cause me to start putting the pounds back on.

    I would also add that I continue to monitor my weight...I am generally anywhere from 180 - 185 Lbs with natural weight fluctuations with my average being around 182ish. If I start to see a little uptick in the trend and start to see my average go up by a pound or two I evaluate what I'm doing and I can usually pinpoint something either in my diet or exercise that I'm doing differently...so I just cut that out and drop those couple pounds no big deal. But you have to keep on top of it.

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