Your weight at the time of your first diet vs your highest weight after

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.

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?

hereforthelolz wrote: »

Except with women we are mostly in a healthy weight range at the time of our first diet.

*Citation needed

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.

*Citation needed

Those are both some very bold claims that I cannot say I've seen good evidence for.

dr_soda wrote: »

hereforthelolz wrote: »

Except with women we are mostly in a healthy weight range at the time of our first diet.

*Citation needed

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.

*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.

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.

CrazyMermaid1 wrote: »

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.

This is so sad, I'm sorry that was your experience . One of my biggest worries is my girls becoming hyper aware of issues surrounding weight because I have to be vigilant about mine. I try to never talk about it around them, I can't imagine trying to force them to diet because of my own problems

5th or 6th grade, obese but no idea of pounds, probably didn't lose anything, but I remember counting calories for the first time.

8th grade, slimfast and calories, lost maybe 20-30 pounds, started perhaps in the lower 200's? at 5'10" and as a girl. gained it back.

little bits here and there throughout highschool, probably during the summer, nothing that amounted to much. higher 200's by graduation.

18, went from 275ish to 200ish using calorie counting and unhealthy habits. Gained it back plus over 100 more pounds by 22 or 23.

Lost 20-30 pounds midway through the massive regain by not eating for like a month. Gained it back.

23, Lost 125 pounds with WeightWatchers. Healthy methods, but all-or-nothing thinking. Gained it back, but not more.

Lost 50 pounds or so at 26? Weightwatchers. Gained it back, but not more.

Fast forward to 29, started losing again, obv. with calorie counting, now 30 and 186 pounds as of this morning, and as far as I am aware, the lowest weight of my teenage or adult life. Let's hope the trend of the past doesn't continue.

CrazyMermaid1 wrote: »

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.

Ive had a smilar experience with my mom
Also my dad cant say anything weight related to my mom, so he transfers mean comments to me.
Since I was in elementary school hes been calling me fat and making fun of me to lose weight.

And last year when i relapsed into anorexia and weighed 98 pounds, he said i was too skinny amd i needed to eat.

Little does he know his biggot ways are the reason for my eds.

Russellb97 wrote: »

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 was skinny growing up.

I went onto CI<CO for a little while when I was 17. I was 135 lbs, following a surgery, and wanted to lighten up for running. I dropped to 118 lbs.

I did CI<CO again when I was 23. I hit 170 lbs after a surgery and a move, which had eaten into my exercise time over a period of 6-8 months. Within a couple months I was down to about 140 lbs. And a few years later, I upped my exercise and was back down to 118 lbs.

I hovered between 118 and about 125 for years.

I did CI<CO again when I was 44. I had reached about 170 again after a couple moves (including one from Canada to Australia) and developing DVT which took me out of the exercise game for about a year. Within a few weeks I was down to about 155 lbs which I figured was OK for then because my focus changed ... another move and preparation to travel the world!

I did CI<CO again when I was 48. I had reached about 180 lbs after travelling the world for a year (lots of great food out there!), plus several moves, plus some health issues. Again, less exercise than I would have liked. Not to mention all the good food around the world! 8 months later (16 weeks, 1 month diet break, and another 16 weeks) I had dropped 25 kg/55 lbs. I wouldn't mind dropping to 118 lbs again, but I'm training for long distance events and that does not work well with weight loss.

I've been maintaining for almost a year.

I did CI<CO all those times because it makes sense, and it works.

This makes me a little sad - why did no one in my life intervene?

I was 20 when I went on my first diet. At 5'8" I weighed 132 lbs, and I wanted to get back down to my 18 year old weight of 119 lbs. I went on Susan Powter's Stop The Insanity (yes, I'm aware of the irony!) low fat diet. I basically lived on white bread, lettuce, and fat free packaged food, and did lots of step aerobics. I lost the weight in about 8 weeks.

I do wonder what damage that first, unnecessary diet did me.