Discouraged by weight loss study

13

Replies

  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    fastforlife1 wrote: »
    "Research has shown that ≈20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss when defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and maintaining the loss for at least 1 y. The National Weight Control Registry provides information about the strategies used by successful weight loss maintainers to achieve and maintain long-term weight loss. National Weight Control Registry members have lost an average of 33 kg and maintained the loss for more than 5 y. To maintain their weight loss, members report engaging in high levels of physical activity (≈1 h/d), eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet, eating breakfast regularly, self-monitoring weight, and maintaining a consistent eating pattern across weekdays and weekends. Moreover, weight loss maintenance may get easier over time; after individuals have successfully maintained their weight loss for 2–5 y, the chance of longer-term success greatly increases."
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/222S.long

    Well, I lost 22% of my BW and have maintained within a 2 lb range from my lowest (so a 1 lb swing either way from my target maintenance weight) for 5 months. I refuse to think that it is inevitable that I will regain... if I do, it will not be because it was inevitable, it will be because I stopped paying attention or caring.
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
    Read studies from here! http://www.nwcr.ws/ This group has studied characteristics of people who defy the odds and who DO keep the weight off after losing.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    Or you could figure out what successful people do:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1454303/2-years-of-maintenance-130-pounds-lost/p1

    I've lost and gained weight in the past. I never made lasting changes because I didn't really have a plan for maintenance. I do now.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    blankiefinder wrote: »
    fastforlife1 wrote: »
    "Research has shown that ≈20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss when defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and maintaining the loss for at least 1 y. The National Weight Control Registry provides information about the strategies used by successful weight loss maintainers to achieve and maintain long-term weight loss. National Weight Control Registry members have lost an average of 33 kg and maintained the loss for more than 5 y. To maintain their weight loss, members report engaging in high levels of physical activity (≈1 h/d), eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet, eating breakfast regularly, self-monitoring weight, and maintaining a consistent eating pattern across weekdays and weekends. Moreover, weight loss maintenance may get easier over time; after individuals have successfully maintained their weight loss for 2–5 y, the chance of longer-term success greatly increases."
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/222S.long

    Well, I lost 22% of my BW and have maintained within a 2 lb range from my lowest (so a 1 lb swing either way from my target maintenance weight) for 5 months. I refuse to think that it is inevitable that I will regain... if I do, it will not be because it was inevitable, it will be because I stopped paying attention or caring.

    Or, maybe because you got injured or sick or pregnant. I wonder if those eventualities were accounted for in the study
  • GBO323
    GBO323 Posts: 333 Member
    If I'm working hard on MFP, then I wouldn't give some study the empowerment to discourage me when I'm seeing progress. As the PA poster said, this study had bad intel anyways.

    The bottom line is this: Anything worth having/keeping is worth working hard for. People who have lost their weight are NOT doomed to regain it AS LONG AS they continue focusing on their nutrition. We have to think about what we eat. The difference is being wise to know how much is enough vs free-styling it and then wondering "How DID I regain 50 pounds when I worked so hard to lose it?" <rolls eyes>

    The odds are in our favor in maintaining weight loss as long as we know the journey doesn't end the day we hit goal. It just takes a different set of tools.

    Here's a WW Study done on Long Term weight loss....be encouraged!

    weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=2&art_id=13331
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    OMG, if I had eaten a donut for every time someone said they didn't think what I was doing could work, I'd weigh 500 pounds.

    The heck with the studies and anyone who thinks you can't succeed.

    If they tossed out a study that said nobody could do it, I still would.

    You don't quit because some ding-dong says you can't.

    You don't quit.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    People don't maintain their loss because they don't have an exit strategy. They lose the weight, then go back to whatever they were doing before they lost the weight, then gain all the weight back. You have to make changes that will stick forever if you want to keep the weight off.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    kahler2008 wrote: »
    What study? I'm pretty sure it's because they fall back into their routine instead of changing their lifestyle.
    Some of us actually make real lifestyle changes and we DO keep the weight off long-term. It depends on how bad you want to get healthy. "Do or do not. There is no try."
  • Entroopia
    Entroopia Posts: 32 Member
    edited July 2015
    LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »
    Here's two more statistics for you:

    100% of people who eat under their TDEE lose weight.

    100% of people who eat at their TDEE maintain their weight.

    I find these far more useful and relevant.

    I like this a lot. I watch my husband (who is naturally skinny while I've always been chubby at best) and he never eats more than his body needs. He stops when he's full. If he eats a lot one day, the next he eats less. If he doesn't do a lot in a day, he tends to eat less. If you are willing to do the things that skinny people naturally do, you will be skinny. If you stay with the habits that made you and keep you fat, then you will stay fat. Most people would rather have the immediate gratification of a big, tasty meal than to stop and think about how it will effect them the next day. If this is the lifestyle you want, you will work for it and keep it regardless of whether or not it is very difficult every day.
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
    edited July 2015
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    The reason why they fail: they used a diet program to lose weight. They didn't ADAPT to a HABITUAL change of reduced calorie intake over a LIFETIME. Math still applies. CICO is still the reason for weight gain/loss/maintenance and most people who go on a crash or fad diet AREN'T willing to quit their desired eating lifestyle before the program. Same thing happens at bootcamps for the US services year in and out.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    This^ I actually understand why the study bothered you so much. You believe in stats- and I do too. But, even if the study was accurate and well done, (which is questionable) . The above quote info is hard science with no questions. So don't believe in will power if it doesn't work for you, believe in the math.
  • AlexanderAmelia
    AlexanderAmelia Posts: 29 Member
    redkitten25 wrote: »
    This one? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3164042/Majority-people-pile-pounds-never-lose-them.html

    OK, as a medical provider (PA), and one who used to work specifically in preventative medicine and wellness, it's a terrible article as those numbers (only one in 210 obese men and one in 124 obese women achieving successful weight loss) only counted people as successful in the first place if they achieved a BMI under 25 and maintained it there permanently.

    First thing to note is that while BMI is a useful and very accurate tool for measuring the health risks of populations, it is not necessarily applicable to individuals, you need to figure out what is an appropriate weight for you based on your individual body composition and it may be either lower or higher than the recommended limits.

    Also health risk rates are not a straight line, at 25.1 you don't magically become super prone to weight related morbidity and mortality, the increased risks tend to be negligible (again as measured across populations) until you reach 30, where they start to increase much more rapidly, the reason this is the cut off for obesity as opposed to simple overweight. So reducing your BMI from say a 34 to a 29, and maintaining that weight loss is very successful dieting from a healthcare point of view, but would not have been counted at all under this headline.

    You would also be considered "unsuccessful", if you had a 50 pound weight loss that got you down to say, a 24.9 (meeting their definition for success) but gained back 5 of it and went to maintaining, say, a 25.5 (their definition for "putting it back on", while sane folks (and your PCP) would likely consider this a major success.

    Yes, folks who lose weight often regain it, lifestyle changes can be difficult to maintain, particularly for those of us who are emotional eaters. So what? Do we tell smokers to keep smoking because they will probably have to quit multiple times before it sticks permanently? If you fall down, get up and try again,

    I lost 50 pounds, maintained that weight within a 4 pound range for 5 years (though my BMI fluctuated between just under 25 and 25 and a bit then, so it probably doesn't count, sigh) and then regained about 80% of it since 2010, half of that in the last year. I'm still better off than I was (and in much better health regardless of the weight because the exercise habits stuck even when the eating ones didn't) and now I'm on my way back in the right direction because I know I feel better when I eat right and am carrying less weight around. So on the whole I have benefited even if I didn't meet their ridiculous standard.

    Weight losses of only 10% of body weight are frequently adequate to make a significant difference in underlying health issues (particularly Type II DM), so don't give up based on a questionable study conflated with really bad reporting.

    Thank you.
  • AlexanderAmelia
    AlexanderAmelia Posts: 29 Member
    Cave_Goose wrote: »
    Be a statistic, or be your own person. Studies don't determine my success or failure--I do.

    Yup.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    edited July 2015
    The statistics are staggeringly against the majority of people keeping the weight off for 5 years. Over 80% of the people who achieve their weight loss goal, gain back the weight, and some people gain back even more than they lost initially. Many of us (I have lost over 160# and have been maintaining for 20 months now) revert back to eating more calories than our bodies need and gain back weight. I have found that I have to monitor my weight closely now and adjust eating as needed. I intend to be in the small percentage of those who keep the weight off, and for me, that means monitoring for life. The studies are discouraging, but it is up to each of us to change the statistics in a downward trend. We can do this, with perseverance, determination, and maintaining healthier eating/exercising habits for life. Best of luck to all in changing these alarming statistics!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,982 Member
    Habit is why people don't succeed. It's hard to gain weight if you eat at maintenance. Problem is that people who get down to a goal weight, stop eating at maintenance. And the weight creeps back on. Many have the defeatist attitude that it was so hard to get to goal, and they don't want to have to try to go through it again, so why bother?

    But the reality is, it's just math. And basic math at that. People just don't want to count.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I'm going to say it one more time. A colleague of mine does these types of studies. In realistic, longitudinal studies 65% of people regain. That means 35% don't. Come one. That odds aren't that bad.

    All the successful people here say the same thing - exercise and continue to be mindful of your food (log or just 'know). And don't go back to old habits.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    BTW: Success stories from the National Weight Loss Registry:

    http://www.nwcr.ws/stories.htm
  • Steelkid
    Steelkid Posts: 74 Member
    kahler2008 wrote: »
    What study? I'm pretty sure it's because they fall back into their routine instead of changing their lifestyle.

    Exactly. Great post. I've kept off over 100 lbs for the last five years. Still have a ways to go, but still working.
  • Steelkid
    Steelkid Posts: 74 Member
    Cave_Goose wrote: »
    Be a statistic, or be your own person. Studies don't determine my success or failure--I do.

    This is why I joined MFP. So many wise people.
  • tpyle65
    tpyle65 Posts: 17 Member
    Long term weight maintenance is not easy, but it is doable. I have not read the article, so I do not want to comment on its validity, but wanted to share my own experience. Until I made up my mind to change my relationship with food and exercise, I was not successful. Currently I'm at a very healthy weigh for my age and lifestyle, have reduced the dependency on drugs for various chronic diseases associated with obesity. Also, you can be very healthy with a BMI higher than 25! I know 25+ is considered overweight, and I'm OK with a 27 BMI, from my morbidly obese number at 42. And I have kept my healthy weight for over 7 years. Our current lifestyle requires a different way of eating and we have received so much conflicting information that is hard to know what is correct. Studies and books are everywhere, and at the end you need to make up your mind about what is your compelling reason to reach a healthy weight for you and your lifestyle, and make permanent changes in habits to support this decision. Is not about dieting, but it is about permanent changes--for life! As it has been well said above: if you decide to do it, you can do!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited July 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • Mentiri
    Mentiri Posts: 1,356 Member
    Take heart! None of those studies says that no one can lose weight and keep it off. I never aim to be 'most people', and this is no different. I have made diet and fitness changes that I know I can live with long term - you just need to look at the real science of nutrition and fitness, choose the changes you can stick with, and be your own person!
  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
    bsctov wrote: »
    I just read the scientific study (reported by most major news outlets) that says it's next to impossible for people who are overweight to maintain their weight loss long term, this has really dashed my hopes of looking good again..

    i lost 90lbs in total, i've maintained around 200 for the last 2 years now, hasn't been difficult to maintain at all.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
    redkitten25 wrote: »
    This one? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3164042/Majority-people-pile-pounds-never-lose-them.html

    OK, as a medical provider (PA), and one who used to work specifically in preventative medicine and wellness, it's a terrible article as those numbers (only one in 210 obese men and one in 124 obese women achieving successful weight loss) only counted people as successful in the first place if they achieved a BMI under 25 and maintained it there permanently.

    First thing to note is that while BMI is a useful and very accurate tool for measuring the health risks of populations, it is not necessarily applicable to individuals, you need to figure out what is an appropriate weight for you based on your individual body composition and it may be either lower or higher than the recommended limits.

    Also health risk rates are not a straight line, at 25.1 you don't magically become super prone to weight related morbidity and mortality, the increased risks tend to be negligible (again as measured across populations) until you reach 30, where they start to increase much more rapidly, the reason this is the cut off for obesity as opposed to simple overweight. So reducing your BMI from say a 34 to a 29, and maintaining that weight loss is very successful dieting from a healthcare point of view, but would not have been counted at all under this headline.

    You would also be considered "unsuccessful", if you had a 50 pound weight loss that got you down to say, a 24.9 (meeting their definition for success) but gained back 5 of it and went to maintaining, say, a 25.5 (their definition for "putting it back on", while sane folks (and your PCP) would likely consider this a major success.

    Yes, folks who lose weight often regain it, lifestyle changes can be difficult to maintain, particularly for those of us who are emotional eaters. So what? Do we tell smokers to keep smoking because they will probably have to quit multiple times before it sticks permanently? If you fall down, get up and try again,

    I lost 50 pounds, maintained that weight within a 4 pound range for 5 years (though my BMI fluctuated between just under 25 and 25 and a bit then, so it probably doesn't count, sigh) and then regained about 80% of it since 2010, half of that in the last year. I'm still better off than I was (and in much better health regardless of the weight because the exercise habits stuck even when the eating ones didn't) and now I'm on my way back in the right direction because I know I feel better when I eat right and am carrying less weight around. So on the whole I have benefited even if I didn't meet their ridiculous standard.

    Weight losses of only 10% of body weight are frequently adequate to make a significant difference in underlying health issues (particularly Type II DM), so don't give up based on a questionable study conflated with really bad reporting.



    The daily mail speak absolute crap all the time - really . If it says anything in this paper just assume the other side of the story is right and you will be right 99% of the time. The other 1% of the time they have messed up and actually printed the truth by mistake
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
    Most people fail at any self improvement effort

    Drugs, alcohol, weight, even higher education

    It is easier to quit....

    So what?

    If you want it you will work for it. Study be damned.

    The common element to success is often a profound personality shift on how we view the issue. It takes a lifetime change,

    Still at the end of the day, you choose which one you are. Do you succeed or fail with a study as soft landing pad.

    I believe we can.
  • cityjaneLondon
    cityjaneLondon Posts: 12,710 Member
    I intend to log my food and exercise for the rest of my life. Why not? The alternative is misery.
    I happily maintain at 1800 cals a day. Eat well, make myself burn 600 cals on machines. I don't see any reason to stop as I feel terrific!
    I have been maintaining for over 18 months. Weigh twice a week. Count every cal.
    I'm worth it!
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    ive always been a gambling woman challenge accepted
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    http://www.sciencealert.com/odds-of-an-obese-person-attaining-a-healthy-weight-are-incredibly-slim-study-finds
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302773
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    bsctov wrote: »
    I just read the scientific study (reported by most major news outlets) that says it's next to impossible for people who are overweight to maintain their weight loss long term, this has really dashed my hopes of looking good again..

    I don't have time to read through this whole thread, so apologies if this has come up before, but here it goes: the most recent study that has been getting all the press included a large sample of patients in the UK's National Health Service. It tracked their weights/BMIs. But it included everyone, not just people who were trying to lose weight. It's great evidence that the modern western culture and diet encourages being overweight, but the journalists who are spinning it as "proof" that weight loss is nearly "impossible" are either stupid or venal.

    This comment on Reddit's /r/loseit sub goes into more detail.
  • Supersallysunshine
    Supersallysunshine Posts: 21 Member
    I am 227lbs currently, I highly doubt I will ever be at my ideal weight (according to doctor). I think I can make it to 175 or so... doing this will drastically change my health and wellness. I am sure fewer overweight people maintain the ideal BMI, but that may not be their measure of success. I want to feel good, look better and live longer then I would at my current weight. Any weight I loose will help me achieve that, so I think I can be successful, just not in this studies eyes.
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