"If you're fat and lose weight, you're probably gonna get fat again"
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The stats are sobering. Anyone who doesn't take heed is either cocky or stupid, IMO.
I pray that it's not me.
I think I'm setting myself up for success. But reading articles about failure rates and having watched people IRL lose a lot and then gain back (surgery or no surgery), I have to take a good, hard look at it and do some thinking. Am I being arrogant when I think I will be the exception? Are my plans good, long-term plans and not just things I like now, but could change later if I stop liking them?
I think I have good plans. I think I'll maintain it. Sometimes when I read others' plans, I think, "You're a fool," and kind of slap myself on the back. Am I right or not? Is their plan the better one?
I don't know that I will be the miracle one who keeps it off. I think so. I have unique, sensible plans. But I just don't know.
The odds are against all of us. Most of us will gain it back.
It's a lot to think about. And kinda scary.0 -
Also, when individuals lose weight say via diet and exercise, their bodies have become more efficient at this point. For example, if I finally reach a weight of 150 after losing a 100 lbs and the woman next to me who is the same weight and height has been in the vicinity of 150 her entire life, her body hasn't had to learn to work as efficiently as the person who has dieted/exercised to lose the weight. It means I will always have to eat less than whatever that person eats to maintain. Although, one should never look to others to find out what is right for them.
Often we see people on the board that claim to hit a plateau even though their goal should set them up to lose 0.5-1 lb a week and they are doing everything right like weighing their food and logging it- what some of them didn't realize is that they are probably already very close to or at maintenance despite thinking they are at a deficit. It sucks, but it just means adjusting and shaving off more cals.
All in all, weight loss is difficult and I don't want to be one of those people that looks at other obese people and say, "If I can do it- why can't they?" I'm sure people thought/ think it about me. I can't apply my own failures or success on others. I can totally see how people get sucked right back into old habits. We are human after all.0 -
Weight watchers is quoted. Take the OP's link, scroll through meat head's diatribe and find the a link about WW(second link I think). . . .WW. Some of the studies are talking about greater then 10% of someone's body weight being the measuring stick. IDK, I think Weight Watchers may not be the best barometer.2 in a 1000... I would like to see the source of that ...
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Weight Watchers isn't the best barometer. They have a financial interest in lying. Plus, they don't keep up with people who quit paying them, so there's absolutely no way for them to know how many of those many, many people gained it back.
WW can't be relied upon as a good source.0 -
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An excuse not to commit
Don't care what happens to those who don't commit properly ...I've got this
exactly...it's like everything else in life..marriage, your job, paying off your mortgage...
It takes drive and commitment and the desire to keep at it regardless....
Like my profile says...you either want it or you don't....0 -
I wasted a click for the opinion of a penny-ante weightlifter's blog that quotes Cracked.com as its primary reference?
Thanks for my morning laugh. I love you crazy people.0 -
Thanks everyone
I think the reason most people don't stick to their diets and go back to old habits and regain everything and more, is that they went on a diet in the first place. Too much change is unsustainable. Sooner or later you will give up coz it's too much hard work.
For me, it's been a little change here, a little change there. Im not looking for a quick fix, but a total lifestyle change for the better, with each habit obtained slowly but surely. I set myself monthly goals, as studies have said that it takes 28 days for your body to develop or stop a habit. The first goal I set myself was to go to the gym at least twice a week. Done. 2nd goal: go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Done. This is my third month, and my goal was to drink more water (4litres/day) and to join MFP to start counting calories. Status ongoing, but going well.
I know it will be a long slow slog to get to where I want weight-wise, but at the moment Im more focused on undoing all the damage I've unknowingly done to my body with all the years I've been living a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle. Setting myself small, achievable goals stop me from being discouraged and in fact spurs me on everytime I finish a month with goal achieved!
I've got more than a hundred lbs to lose, but I know I will lose it, if not a year, then maybe two or three. As long as I keep it off after I lose it. That's my long long long term goal, in the far-off future.
Good luck to all of us!!0 -
Not attempting to derail OP's thread; a link though for habit forming http://jamesclear.com/new-habit Try the veal, I'm here all week.0
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_Terrapin_ wrote: »Not attempting to derail OP's thread; a link though for habit forming http://jamesclear.com/new-habit Try the veal, I'm here all week.
Now that was not a waste of time to read0 -
I have maintained for 8 years. The thing we know for sure about weight loss articles and most weight loss studies is that they aren't necesarily significant.0
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_Terrapin_ wrote: »Not attempting to derail OP's thread; a link though for habit forming http://jamesclear.com/new-habit Try the veal, I'm here all week.
Awesome. Just means I need to keep doing what I was doing, which was my goal anyway haha! just makes it easier for me to do it one at a time instead of making all the changes all at the same time. Thumbs up!0 -
The stats are sobering. Anyone who doesn't take heed is either cocky or stupid, IMO.
I pray that it's not me.
I think I'm setting myself up for success. But reading articles about failure rates and having watched people IRL lose a lot and then gain back (surgery or no surgery), I have to take a good, hard look at it and do some thinking. Am I being arrogant when I think I will be the exception? Are my plans good, long-term plans and not just things I like now, but could change later if I stop liking them?
I think I have good plans. I think I'll maintain it. Sometimes when I read others' plans, I think, "You're a fool," and kind of slap myself on the back. Am I right or not? Is their plan the better one?
I don't know that I will be the miracle one who keeps it off. I think so. I have unique, sensible plans. But I just don't know.
The odds are against all of us. Most of us will gain it back.
It's a lot to think about. And kinda scary.
I'm not a praying woman at all, so what I have done is analyzed the list of behaviors that those who have kept it off perform and adapted my life. Exercising most days? Check. Eat mostly vegetables and lean protein? Check. Vastly increase daily activity? Check. I also plan to recomp when I stop cutting so I can increase my muscle and hopefully increase my BMR.
Good luck to us all, but dedication beats stats.
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here's my take on this: I think our society is shifting more towards an attitude of "quick fix" and try all these pills for rapid weight loss, diets that promise fast results, supplements that do this or that "fast" and that is how they go about losing weight. And a lot of them get to their goal, which is all fine and dandy, but what do you take to maintain? There's no pill or quick fix diet to stay at your goal, so you go back to old ways and gain it all back again.
Very few people want to learn and develop healthy eating habits to lose weight because it's slow. But, I believe if more people learn better eating habits and they will absolutely stick to them for the long run and in return, that number of 2 out of 1000 will rapidly go up.
okay, there's my two cents. take it or leave it lol0 -
Extract from the article.
Now, I'm sure there will be lots of people chime in to say "I was X amount, and now I'm Y amount and have been for so many years." That's fine. What the article is starting is that through studies they found that is exceptionally rare. That the GREAT MAJORITY of people who were obese, then lost weight, became obese or at least "got fat" again later.
As much as I hate to say it, I do agree with the above statement. I have seen way too many people in my time lose a lot of weight, only to gain it back years later.
However, it does not have to be like that if, during the losing weight period, the person learnt new habits AND continued those once they hit maintenance.
And to Mystgrl, with your attitude you will be one of the statistics to lose weight and to keep it off. Good for you!!0 -
barbecuesauce wrote: »The stats are sobering. Anyone who doesn't take heed is either cocky or stupid, IMO.
I pray that it's not me.
I think I'm setting myself up for success. But reading articles about failure rates and having watched people IRL lose a lot and then gain back (surgery or no surgery), I have to take a good, hard look at it and do some thinking. Am I being arrogant when I think I will be the exception? Are my plans good, long-term plans and not just things I like now, but could change later if I stop liking them?
I think I have good plans. I think I'll maintain it. Sometimes when I read others' plans, I think, "You're a fool," and kind of slap myself on the back. Am I right or not? Is their plan the better one?
I don't know that I will be the miracle one who keeps it off. I think so. I have unique, sensible plans. But I just don't know.
The odds are against all of us. Most of us will gain it back.
It's a lot to think about. And kinda scary.
I'm not a praying woman at all, so what I have done is analyzed the list of behaviors that those who have kept it off perform and adapted my life. Exercising most days? Check. Eat mostly vegetables and lean protein? Check. Vastly increase daily activity? Check. I also plan to recomp when I stop cutting so I can increase my muscle and hopefully increase my BMR.
Good luck to us all, but dedication beats stats.
I just recently saw the thing about what people who have kept it off did when someone posted it here. I was so delighted to find that they do pretty much what I do, right down to the high-carb diet. Until I saw that, I though I was one of very few eating high-carb. Most here do high-protein and then you have those who are anti-carb...so the high-carb diet thing was a nice boost..
Still, doing what they do is no guarantee. It was really nice to see, though. 0 -
Agreed. Slow and steady=turtle=terrapin. . . . best of luck.mystgrl1604 wrote: »_Terrapin_ wrote: »Not attempting to derail OP's thread; a link though for habit forming http://jamesclear.com/new-habit Try the veal, I'm here all week.
Awesome. Just means I need to keep doing what I was doing, which was my goal anyway haha! just makes it easier for me to do it one at a time instead of making all the changes all at the same time. Thumbs up!
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_Terrapin_ wrote: »Not attempting to derail OP's thread; a link though for habit forming http://jamesclear.com/new-habit Try the veal, I'm here all week.
Now that was not a waste of time to read
I read it 2 years ago and the numbers sort of stuck; the telephone game analogy is pretty spot on.
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_Terrapin_ wrote: »Not attempting to derail OP's thread; a link though for habit forming http://jamesclear.com/new-habit Try the veal, I'm here all week.
I think this is right and wrong. The OP thread is a bit out from the latest scientific research I have seen recently but is mainly accurate and therefore is impossible to derail. It is a description of measured fact. The latest research says that 0.5% of men and 1% of woman who lose weight keep it off, this was as reported by doctors in the US with a significant sample. That means 99% of those who lose weight put it back on again even though they may think they have picked up new habits. I am sure all of the people who lost weight thought, as they were losing it, that this was it for good this time and were very surprised to find themselves fat again afterwards. For me the message is clear. It is something I've known about myself and that is we need to change ourselves (forever) more than we need to change our diets (for a short time). I am sure there are many ways of doing this but I looked around for a group of people who were fit and did what I can to become like them. This was after years of trying and failure. My avatar picture is the result of this - I am officially a triathlete :-). 3 years ago I wasn't and if I didn't change I knew that I was heading for failure and early death. For me it is important I changed me, my life, what I do, what I am interested in, even what I watch on tele. 28 days of habit forming is not sufficient (for me at least) because the neural pathways that cause me to self-destruct have been with me for my life and are constantly re-enforced by the capitalist system which sees profit as more important that anyone’s health (or life even). It took a lot more than that and involved a total emersion into a new lifestyle. I do this because I want to live and I want to make the most out of my life. It is better than what I had before, more fun and I feel better for it. I am saying this because I think the majority of us can go two ways – pretend we are different and end up fat again, or become different and boost the 1% figure a little.
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