Any people lost weight and have kept it off for 3 years or more?

I went from 178 to 124 and stayed there until last year (injury), currently working my way down very slowly.

I was motivated by the fitness side, so started there. I started with Jillian Michaels DVDs, then added C25K, as well as circuit training (with dumbbells up to 20 lbs) and plyometric bodyweight workouts (bodyrock, then led by zuzana light, who has her own channel now - zuzka light on youtube). I started proper weight training kind of late, once I was in maintenance. I worked out with intensity most days, for 30-60 minutes.

(I should say that all that high impact activity was ultimately not good for my joints, despite good shoes and attention to form. Poor biomechanics, hypermobility, many years of sedentary living, and doing all that jumping as an overweight person added up to an ankle injury, which I think contributed to other injuries further up the chain and which I am dealing with still today. So I wouldn't recommend going that route, especially if you have any reason to suspect you might have bad biomechanics. Instead, I'd suggest staying away from high impact activity and focusing on weight training and low-impact cardio.)

Food: I used the TDEE method and went with a very conservative deficit, which I found very sustainable and easy to adhere to. I ranged from 1800 to 2200 (I'm 5'7, well 5.65).

Focusing on food quality helped me meet my calorie goals without getting hungry. I stuck with meat, veggies, dairy, nuts, legumes (beans less often), whole wheat/grainy bread and pasta, didn't get into fruits too often. Mostly cooked my food - meats and salads, and small portions of starchy carbs. I mostly used measuring cups - used scales for a while, but they broke down on me, and the measuring cups were fine for me. I also sometimes had frozen stuff from a "lighter" brand I liked (PC Blue Menu, if you're in Canada) for when I was lazy. I occasionally had fast food, but didn't make a habit of it (because it got me off track). I didn't keep trigger foods in the house, made myself go out to get single servings out of the house. I'd say I was pretty consistently eating 80/20 for healthy vs. treat foods.

The year of weight loss, I probably did get a bit obsessed It was all new, so there was just a lot to learn, about which foods and meals worked for me, and how to connect the food I saw and felt with portions and measurements. All that was useful and stuck with me. In maintenance, I was able to relax, because by then I knew what worked and didn't, and I had my menu of meals, which kept me pretty satisfied. I stopped counting calories around the third year into it, and it was fine.

To lose the last few pounds of regain that came up this year, I am having to learn new ways of keeping calories down, because I can no longer rely on those calorie burns, so my target is lower. 1700 feels very different from 2200 I'm still tweaking my diet to do that, but for me, focusing on food quality is still a winning strategy for satiety. Also, I'm reducing carbs, by a bit.

I have. I'm in my 50's. This was my first time trying to lose weight - I had just moved out of the top of my healthy BMI and dropped 40 pounds. I'm now around 21.

It was easy. I logged everything. I figured out what the major source of calories was I didn't care about (bread, milk, cheese). I dropped down on those. That gave me a deficit. Once I lost the weight, I loosened up a little and added more exercise.

I always ate food I loved. I don't eat food I don't like. I don't eat out of habit. I ate whatever I want, but small portions of things that are calorie dense. I log like I brush my teeth or wash my hair - it's something I do without thinking too much about.

Although I continue to log, it is quite rare that I have to stop myself from eating because I'm at the top of my calories. More often, my log tells me to eat more because I'm too low. Or it tells me maybe I should walk a little more tomorrow to make up for that second piece of pizza I ate today because it tasted so good.

Information is power.

Me!!! I lost 40 lbs (WW) 6 years ago, and I'm still maintaining
I may gain 3-5 lbs if I relax too much, but then I go back to basics and Voilá!
Back to goal

I'm coming up on completing Year #1 on maintenance. Here is what is helping me stay on-track and not regaining the almost 75 pounds I've lost:

1. Weekly weighing
2. Using MFP journal for maintenance calorie intake
3. Fitbit to measure activity and keeping it balanced with MFP
4. Allow myself ever so often a "no guilt" day. The longer I'm on maintenance, the less I want these.
5. What I have is a goal weight +/- 5 pounds for variance. Life happens and being 1 pound over my goal shouldn't cause emotional stress.
6. Reminding myself that if this is worth having, it is worth working hard for.

Honestly, my negative side tries to tell me that I'll be in the % of people that gain it back. My focused side says "PROVE THEM ALL WRONG....YOU ARE DOING THIS!!!"

Hope this helps. Look forward to sharing my 3 year mark when it happens.

FitBit to maintain an average of at least 10K steps per day
Weigh and log everything I eat in MyFitnessPal
Try to keep wasted calories to a minimum
Indulge in ice cream, fast food or restaurant meals rarely....and as a special treat
Weigh myself daily

bfanny wrote: »

Me!!! I lost 40 lbs (WW) 6 years ago, and I'm still maintaining
I may gain 3-5 lbs if I relax too much, but then I go back to basics and Voilá!
Back to goal

the bolded part for me too.

Me. 50 pounds for 8 years.
I yoyo around with about 15 pounds.

I try to focus on little bits of acivity..doing chores, walking the dog, walking to the market.
I no longer drink alchohol. I limit cheese, bread and butter most days.

I lost 95 lbs and have kept it off for 4 years. I initially lost it by diet and light exercise but I found the trick to be coffee, green tea and vitamins daily. I don't exercise much anymore and I sit at a desk all day. I keep my metabolism going so the foods I eat don't sit in my body. I do bi weekly clenses of lemon juice, cayenne pepper and water. Sometimes I binge and gain a few pounds but I quickly loose it by detox and greens for a few days. Its all about balance. I take supplements such as acidophilus, flax seed oil, fish oil, b12, hair/nail vitamins, acai and spurlina. They also help suppress my appetite. When I was 240 lbs I didn't take any vitamins. I found instant results once my metabolism sped up and I've been able to maintain it with a lifestyle change in diet.

I think rybo made a great observation. Calorie bombs. Some people may eat too much all the time. But I (and sounds like him and also the person who dropped butter and cheese most days) just have a few things that add just enough calories for a slow weight climb. Get rid of those and you're good.