Your weight at the time of your first diet vs your highest weight after
Russellb97
Posts: 1,057 Member
My first real diet was a no-carb plan at 19 years-old and I weighed 235lbs.
I lost 30lbs in 3 months but within a year I was around 245lbs.
8 years later and after another 7-14 times of dieting I weighed 330lbs
Anyone else have a similar experience?
I lost 30lbs in 3 months but within a year I was around 245lbs.
8 years later and after another 7-14 times of dieting I weighed 330lbs
Anyone else have a similar experience?
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Replies
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Buddy I'd give anything to look like I did the first time I thought I was fat and needed to lose weight.38
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yes. well headed that direction at least. 8 years ago size 16 (women's XL) --->3 years ago size 0. Was tired of having *kitten* sleep from years of dieting, intermittent fasting. Binging started and my low weight was impossible (for me) to maintain. Extreme exercise and intense focus on calories started the binge/restrict cycle. It started with a few a week of a few hundred calories over....quickly became a daily struggle to ever eat at maintenance or under. Low carb diets help keep calories low but energy is awful, mood is awful. Now am a size 8/10. Work out hard daily and skip breakfast to help offset the calories but I always end up slightly over which has made me gain slower (outside bouts of going over by 1-2k calories on bad days). I sleep so much better when I eat over maintenance which sucks because for every other reason of health, I suffer. Terrified of becoming morbidly obese but kind of unsure what to do at this point. I exercise like crazy and have better days when I fast and eat paleo style but ultimately feel like *kitten* if I stay in a deficit of even a few hundred for more than a few days at a time. it's awful. hormones also out of whack so that may play a role.
TL;DR A lot of people struggle with keeping the weight off. Have talked to a lot of former fitness competitors too who get burned out on the constant dieting, struggle to maintain a certain physique. I'm sure many do just fine after weight loss but for a lot of us, it's really really hard to keep off forever.1 -
My first diet was when I was 14 and I weighed 135. I did Atkins and worked out obsessively and got down to 115.
When I was 18, I weighed 160. I got down to 145 and stayed there until I was 20. Then I got up to 208 over the course of two years. Got down to 150. Stayed there for a year and I've been yo yo ing between 190 and 225 for the past 5 years.
Now I'm just trying to make sensible choices instead of "dieting."3 -
My first diet was sometime in my mid 20s and I did South Beach...I wasn't overweight, but I had lost my six pack that I had always had...have no idea what weight I was. My highest weight 4 years ago was 220Lbs...I'm more or less back to my "wish I had a six pack" body that I had in my mid 20s...but I'm ok not having a six pack now.1
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Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
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Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
Short answer, yes, there are several theories that point out to that being a possibility. You may lose more lean mass that you should during dieting. You may adapt to having muscles that can handle the exercise you do more efficiently. You may experience adaptive thermogenesis that may or may not resolve without a period of sustained weight regain, or ever, or not exist at all
Regardless, if you are overweight there exists no magical way to lose weight other than by creating a deficit. About the best thing you can do, this time around, is create your deficit smartly and in a way that will minimise the possibility of hitting all these snags, or making them worse than they currently are.
So: choose a reasonable deficit (probably 20% of TDEE or less for people who are overweight or normal weight; maybe up to 25% for people who are obese). This usually translates to no more than a 500 Cal a day of deficit for the vast majority of people as opposed to the 1000 Cal a day deficit most people choose to try for.
Eat more protein to preserve lean mass when eating at a deficit. Approximately 1g per lb of lean mass is not a bad first value. Sometimes simplified as 0.8g per lb of body-weight.
Engage in strength training (yes, it will slow down your apparent weight loss. So what? It will make you feel better and you will be stronger).
These would be good starting points anyways 2 -
Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
Well, now that I've checked your profile... what does the co-author of The Spike Diet think causes obesity? And why doesn't he just use the existing term, "adaptive thermogenesis", to describe it?0 -
Not really, no. Overeating leads to obesity, not dieting. @PAV8888 makes some good points about loss of lean muscle mass over time, however, especially if you're talking about someone with a lifetime of chronic crash dieting episodes who never learned to eat to maintain a healthy weight. I don't think that's the reason people get fat, though.Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
I've "dieted" any number of times in my life and I've never been obese. Heavier than I was comfortable with, yes, but never technically outside of a "healthy" weight for my height. Several times in my life I've reached the point where my clothes were getting too tight and I thought "Oh, no, I'm not buying new jeans in a bigger size. It's time to lose some weight."
With that in mind, I think the question might be, "why do some people hit that point and reverse the weight gain trend, at least temporarily, and other people are content to simply buy the bigger size?" I don't know that I've ever seen a good scientific explanation why this might be and I'd be really interested to know why.
ETA: I certainly hope that doesn't come off sounding pretentious or anything because it certainly wasn't meant to be. I'm genuinely curious.6 -
Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
There is a lot of research to back this theory up. You're not wrong.
I was 12 years old and 110lbs when I went on my first diet. Ten years later I weighed almost 100 lbs more.0 -
Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
I think there is some evidence to back that up. But it's not the whole picture. I think it comes from the mindset of dieting. That there is an end game. So when you reach your goal, you're done. And you go back to eating how you ate before.
That and potential lost LBM lowering your TDEE and yes, I think in a roundabout way, crash dieting can cause obesity.
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I was 11 with my first diet and maybe 155-160 at 5'11". Lost about 15lbs. In 2014 I was 170 and this last round I was 160 again. Highest weight was 173.0
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Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
Well, now that I've checked your profile... what does the co-author of The Spike Diet think causes obesity? And why doesn't he just use the existing term, "adaptive thermogenesis", to describe it?
I definitely believe that is part of it of course but I'm also blaming the emotional and mental impact of dieting.
We begin a bit overweight but want to be thinner. So we diet and lose weight, then we stop and we regain weight, plus maybe some more. So we blame ourselves for the failure and start another diet hoping it "works" again. Then we just repeat the same cycle again and again and again. Pretty soon we are no longer overweight but obese.
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bethannien wrote: »Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
I think there is some evidence to back that up. But it's not the whole picture. I think it comes from the mindset of dieting. That there is an end game. So when you reach your goal, you're done. And you go back to eating how you ate before.
^this
Plus it's rare to hear about people tackling the emotional component to overeating/unhealthy eating.
I'm a decade alcohol and drug free.....successfully quitting had WAY more to do with simply stopping what wasn't good for me.
I'm almost 3yrs cigarette/nicotine free. Once again (through previous failed attempts) I learned that just not buying cigarettes wasn't the entire answer.
And now....with food....a bit tricky because I can't abstain, but I'm learning that I have to tackle the emotional components.
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Russellb97 wrote: »Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
Well, now that I've checked your profile... what does the co-author of The Spike Diet think causes obesity? And why doesn't he just use the existing term, "adaptive thermogenesis", to describe it?
I definitely believe that is part of it of course but I'm also blaming the emotional and mental impact of dieting.
We begin a bit overweight but want to be thinner. So we diet and lose weight, then we stop and we regain weight, plus maybe some more. So we blame ourselves for the failure and start another diet hoping it "works" again. Then we just repeat the same cycle again and again and again. Pretty soon we are no longer overweight but obese.
Except with women we are mostly in a healthy weight range at the time of our first diet. If I could go back I never would have started.
It's not just "going back to your old habits" either. Dieting changes your chemistry. It changes you on a metabolic level, and the changes persist long past the point where you've regained the weight.3 -
Highest weight was 200. Dieted down to 154 pounds then didn't do a good job at maintenance and was back to 180 after 2 years. Now I'm starting again, back down to 172 after 2 months.0
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hereforthelolz wrote: »Russellb97 wrote: »Russellb97 wrote: »Anyone think that dieting is one of the factors that can lead to obesity?
Well, now that I've checked your profile... what does the co-author of The Spike Diet think causes obesity? And why doesn't he just use the existing term, "adaptive thermogenesis", to describe it?
I definitely believe that is part of it of course but I'm also blaming the emotional and mental impact of dieting.
We begin a bit overweight but want to be thinner. So we diet and lose weight, then we stop and we regain weight, plus maybe some more. So we blame ourselves for the failure and start another diet hoping it "works" again. Then we just repeat the same cycle again and again and again. Pretty soon we are no longer overweight but obese.
Except with women we are mostly in a healthy weight range at the time of our first diet. If I could go back I never would have started.
It's not just "going back to your old habits" either. Dieting changes your chemistry. It changes you on a metabolic level, and the changes persist long past the point where you've regained the weight.
That's so true. I was healthy when I first started dieting. I could have stood to be more active but I didn't need to lose weight.
I think that the off and on dieting through my formative years changed my relationship with food. I actually kind of panic when I feel hunger pangs. The other day, after 6 weeks of adhering to a reasonable deficit and logging honestly, I found myself standing in front of the freezer, eating a layer of cake that I had frozen for my son's birthday party. I didn't do things like that before my first diet. Or before my second diet.
I've been living a cycle of deprivation and binging since I was 14. I don't know about how it's effected my metabolism, necessarily, but it has definitely impacted how I see food.
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Also I want to say that I'm asking this question because I feel like the mainstream has created a crap storm for obesity with the pressure to be thin and to not be satisfied with the way we look and then offering "quick and easy" diet plans to lose weight fast! And then when it fails, we've been brainwashed to blame ourselves for not being good enough.
It breaks my heart knowing how desperate one can be to lose weight and how impossible it can feel when you're busting your butt daily and eating little and not losing weight. I felt I was the failure each time.
Experts blame; carbs, dietary fats, laziness, genetics, processed food etc. but i think dieting itself could be the true criminal.
We could all agree we need lifestyle changes but diets are exciting and promise amazing fast results so we fall for them before reasoning can take over.1 -
I remember thinking I was so fat as a teenager. I was usually about 155 and at 5'5" and a size ten. I some how got the number 125 in my head that was the perfect weight and always tried to diet my way there. From mini thins, one ridiculously small meal a day, walking with trash bags. The fat free diet was all the rage when I was in my late teens and early twenties.
I finally got to my magic number and got pregnant. For the first time in my life I didn't feel the need to 'diet' and gained 70 pounds. So yo yoing for many years and three more pregnancies, Depression and anxiety mixed with so many different SSRI's I got to 300 pounds at my heaviest.
When I started this time I was afraid I would start another diet and fail again. Since starting I am down 96 pounds and know I will always have to watch my calorie intake. It's not a diet this time there is no stop date or magic number.5 -
Russellb97 wrote: »Also I want to say that I'm asking this question because I feel like the mainstream has created a crap storm for obesity with the pressure to be thin and to not be satisfied with the way we look and then offering "quick and easy" diet plans to lose weight fast! And then when it fails, we've been brainwashed to blame ourselves for not being good enough.
It breaks my heart knowing how desperate one can be to lose weight and how impossible it can feel when you're busting your butt daily and eating little and not losing weight. I felt I was the failure each time.
Experts blame; carbs, dietary fats, laziness, genetics, processed food etc. but i think dieting itself could be the true criminal.
We could all agree we need lifestyle changes but diets are exciting and promise amazing fast results so we fall for them before reasoning can take over.
Yup, my recruiter handed me printouts of the Banana Diet and the cabbage Soup Diet. Jeez Louise.2 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Russellb97 wrote: »Also I want to say that I'm asking this question because I feel like the mainstream has created a crap storm for obesity with the pressure to be thin and to not be satisfied with the way we look and then offering "quick and easy" diet plans to lose weight fast! And then when it fails, we've been brainwashed to blame ourselves for not being good enough.
It breaks my heart knowing how desperate one can be to lose weight and how impossible it can feel when you're busting your butt daily and eating little and not losing weight. I felt I was the failure each time.
Experts blame; carbs, dietary fats, laziness, genetics, processed food etc. but i think dieting itself could be the true criminal.
We could all agree we need lifestyle changes but diets are exciting and promise amazing fast results so we fall for them before reasoning can take over.
Yup, my recruiter handed me printouts of the Banana Diet and the cabbage Soup Diet. Jeez Louise.
I really think it was the recruiter that got me started on my obsession to reach a magic number. 148 I believe. But the military is so focused on the weight charts they don't take in consideration of bone structure or muscle mass.0 -
When I was 18 I thought I needed to lose weight being 140lbs (5'9"), made a really half-assed effort at calorie counting and then met my husband/got busy actually getting fat lol. My highest weight ever was post baby #2 when I got into the 250's. I am thankfully now 127lbs after getting my *kitten* together0
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JessicaMcB wrote: »When I was 18 I thought I needed to lose weight being 140lbs (5'9"), made a really half-assed effort at calorie counting and then met my husband/got busy actually getting fat lol. My highest weight ever was post baby #2 when I got into the 250's. I am thankfully now 127lbs after getting my *kitten* together
You look incredible. What is your workout routine?
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frankiesgirlie wrote: »JessicaMcB wrote: »When I was 18 I thought I needed to lose weight being 140lbs (5'9"), made a really half-assed effort at calorie counting and then met my husband/got busy actually getting fat lol. My highest weight ever was post baby #2 when I got into the 250's. I am thankfully now 127lbs after getting my *kitten* together
You look incredible. What is your workout routine?
Thank you . I run 60+km a week on average 2 -
hereforthelolz wrote: »
Except with women we are mostly in a healthy weight range at the time of our first diet.
*Citation neededIt's not just "going back to your old habits" either. Dieting changes your chemistry. It changes you on a metabolic level, and the changes persist long past the point where you've regained the weight.
*Citation needed
Those are both some very bold claims that I cannot say I've seen good evidence for.1 -
It was maybe 150-165 lbs in my mid to late 20's while my highest was 180 lbs in my late 30's.
My first use of a formal diet plan was probably 2003- 2004 with the South Beach Diet.
I was definitely overweight at the time I first tried to lose weight. I really didn't care to do anything until then even though I had weighed more than my ideal weight for a few years.0 -
hereforthelolz wrote: »
Except with women we are mostly in a healthy weight range at the time of our first diet.
*Citation neededIt's not just "going back to your old habits" either. Dieting changes your chemistry. It changes you on a metabolic level, and the changes persist long past the point where you've regained the weight.
*Citation needed
Those are both some very bold claims that I cannot say I've seen good evidence for.
Read "Rethinking Thin" by Gina Kolata. There is far more research out there than I can condense into a message board post. "Why Diets Make Us Fat" is another good one written by a neuroscientist.2 -
I was 251 lbs when I started losing weight about 6 years ago. When I started back in a year ago, I was 263 lbs.
However, some pretty strong caveats: 1) there were 2 pregnancies in between; 2) the first pregnancy gave me an underactive thyroid (which went undiagnosed for over a year).
I only gained 30 lbs with the 2nd pregnancy but I did balloon up afterwards due to the extremely deprived/boring diet I was on once diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Had to make up for lost time and missed doughnuts. I'm on a restrictive meal plan now (low carb) but not really craving stuff like that. Maybe because this time it is my choice?1 -
I was in 2nd grade. My mom put me on a diet. Looking at pictures I wasn't fat. She was obsessed with losing weight so she transferred her obsession to me.0
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