Gaining it back; NYT article

Wow, when I read this article it also made me feel disempowered. I know I need to stop feeling like a victim of my body and take control back but it is hard. Last year over 7 months I lost 36 pounds and now in 6 months have gained back 6. I have been freelancing maintenance, trying to not go back to counting and measuring. Now I am afraid if I go back it won't work or that I will have to eat so much less for it to work I won't be able to keep it up.
On the bright side, I find support and inspiration out here and really appreciate the level head who said if my metabolism is permanently slower now, so be it. I just need to understand it and work with it. I have added an hour of exercise to my week which in theory will balance my lower metabolism. Thanks for being out here and sharing so freely!

scrittrice wrote: »

Wanted to add now that I've read the article that I've seen bits and pieces of the show but never watched a whole episode, and it sounds horrible! I can hardly believe it's legal, though I'm sure contestants sign some kind of iron-clad contract. This is what someone did post-show to weigh-in in order to win:

"Mr. Cahill set a goal of a 3,500-caloric deficit per day. The idea was to lose a pound a day. He quit his job as a land surveyor to do it.

"His routine went like this: Wake up at 5 a.m. and run on a treadmill for 45 minutes. Have breakfast — typically one egg and two egg whites, half a grapefruit and a piece of sprouted grain toast. Run on the treadmill for another 45 minutes. Rest for 40 minutes; bike ride nine miles to a gym. Work out for two and a half hours. Shower, ride home, eat lunch — typically a grilled skinless chicken breast, a cup of broccoli and 10 spears of asparagus. Rest for an hour. Drive to the gym for another round of exercise."

That made me unbelievably sad.

The sad thing is people watch this and think "that is what I have to do to lose weight? Forget it!" but they think in the back of their minds "but at least I know I could lose this weight, I just don't want to go through that". So they stay fat.

I lost 105lbs in 8 months kept it off for 2 years and only had problems when I changed jobs and then my mother died. I still exercise every day and eat healthy but was giving into binge eating and started gaining which, of course, made me depressed and eat more! Sometimes it doesn't matter what formula you use to lose weight, but needing support in dealing with the demens in your head! I've been using MFP for 4 yrs now, but this is the first time I've engaged in the community forum and it is paying off with my first 3lb weight loss in almost 2 yrs.

A while back someone made a comment on "My Home" thread about eating real food: I think that's why most diets fail (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, etc.), and you can add “Biggest Loser to the list; you follow their eating/exercise plan, eat their "food," or count points, finish the diet/exercise plan and go back to your old eating habits (and not keeping up w/exercise) and put the weight back on (and then some!). Not only do these programs not teach you good eating/exercise habits ("I can eat all the cake I want as long as I don’t exceed my points for the day"), the foods some of the programs provide are pretty much loaded with sugar (1st ingredient in Slim Fast), excess salt and who knows what chemicals (that are more than likely not good for you). I tried to lose extra 7/8 lbs. by trying different diets (that I found in fitness mags ("clean eating") but had a hard time sticking to their allowable food list and regimen (eating five to six times a day, etc.). What worked was cutting back on sugar and cutting back on overly processed food; I use plain frozen veggies (most of the time) instead of canned, and add my own seasonings, etc. I also use regular half & half in my coffee instead of powdered coffee creamer. But I am realistic, I probably won’t completely eliminate all overly processed food, just try not to eat as much as I used to (I don’t want to give up pizza, etc.). Thing is eat foods you enjoy and like (why try to eat asparagus when you can’t stand it), include indulgences (cake, cookies, ice cream, chocolate, etc.); it needs to be a lifestyle you can maintain for the rest of your life; not a project or "diet" with an end date. Thing about those programs is the people lose the weight, go back to old eating habits, gain the weight back and go back on the program; it’s all about the $$$, not really helping folks lose the weight for good.

So my very basic question in response to the article is for those here who are successfully maintaining a largish weight loss after a reasonable calorie deficit to lose weight. .5-2 pounds per week. Total loss of, say 40 or more pounds.

Are your maintenance calories what you expect them to be? Can you eat the maintenance calories a standard TDEE calculator gives you for your age/weight/height/sex and maintain your weight?
Or, do you find that you need to eat substantially fewer calories than expected to maintain your weight loss?

kommodevaran wrote: »

I lost around 50 pounds in a little over a year, and have maintained for 18 months.

I'm female, 45, 5'3, hover around 125 pounds, am quite sedentary, and eat on average 1750 - 1800 calories. A standard TDEE calculator estimates 1775 calories for a sedentary - lightly active female with my stats.

So, yes, it's as expected.

Good to know. Thanks for your response!

laur357 wrote: »

So my very basic question in response to the article is for those here who are successfully maintaining a largish weight loss after a reasonable calorie deficit to lose weight. .5-2 pounds per week. Total loss of, say 40 or more pounds.

Are your maintenance calories what you expect them to be? Can you eat the maintenance calories a standard TDEE calculator gives you for your age/weight/height/sex and maintain your weight?
Or, do you find that you need to eat substantially fewer calories than expected to maintain your weight loss?

I lost 40 lbs at an average of 1.25 lbs/week, then lost the next 10 at about 1/2 lb/week. I'm currently 67 lbs down from my highest weightafter losing further weight at 1/2 lb/week for running performance. I've maintained my current weight for 2 years. MFP thinks my net calories to maintain should be about 2000 (M, 35, 5'10" and 150 lbs). I'm actually netting 2300-2400 calories just to maintain my weight, with an average TDEE of 3000 calories/day with the amount of running I do.

laur357 wrote: »

So my very basic question in response to the article is for those here who are successfully maintaining a largish weight loss after a reasonable calorie deficit to lose weight. .5-2 pounds per week. Total loss of, say 40 or more pounds.

Are your maintenance calories what you expect them to be? Can you eat the maintenance calories a standard TDEE calculator gives you for your age/weight/height/sex and maintain your weight?
Or, do you find that you need to eat substantially fewer calories than expected to maintain your weight loss?

Are your maintenance calories what you expect them to be? Yes

Can you eat the maintenance calories a standard TDEE calculator gives you for your age/weight/height/sex and maintain your weight? For the most part, taking into account that these calculators are just reasonably good estimates...nobody has a TDEE of exactly XXXX calories.

do you find that you need to eat substantially fewer calories than expected to maintain your weight loss?

I eat around 2,800 - 3,000 calories to maintain my weight...which is basically the range I get from various TDEE calculators given my stats and activity level.

I lost 40 Lbs over the course of about 9 months. I lifted weights and some cardiovascular work regularly. I didn't kill myself with exercise and I didn't crash my diet. I lost about 1 Lb + per week eating roughly 2,300 calories per day.

Kelleygirl79 wrote: »

I lost 48.5 lbs over 7 months at an average of 1.75 per week. I'm 54, 5'6". I work out 5-6x week about 30-45 min a day.

My TDEE comes in at 1805. I don't think I used MFP to figure that, I don't remember. I never count or eat my exercise calories, I consider them bonus. They don't have a high count anyway (kettlebells) That way I'm forced to focus on what I eat.

And it's working! Sometimes I eat a bit more (up to 2000+) and sometimes I can reel it in to 1500-1600. I've had great meals and my favorite desserts frequently. I've stayed in my 150-155 range without fail for 5 months. I have been anywhere from apprehensive to FREAKED OUT about maintenance but I'm now beginning to relax and be confident in my maintenance lifestyle.

The math I used during this whole process has been absolutely SPOT ON. *whew!*

This is encouraging!