For those who gained it back

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  • malioumba
    malioumba Posts: 132 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I have friends that think I'm living some kind of miserable life, but I'm really passionate about nutrition and my fitness...I think this stuff is fun and good livin' is grand.

    What!? But reduced TV time and playing with the earth doesn't seem miserable at all! =D

  • malioumba
    malioumba Posts: 132 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    About nine years ago I lost weight using meal-replacement shakes - not one of the well known brands, but still a product from a reputable MLM company that my friend and sponsor had used (and was still using... that should have been a clue!) with great success.

    So, I learned nothing about calories or portion control, went back to eating the way I had been before I started, and soon the weight started creeping back on. I'd complain about my weight but do nothing, because I thought I'd have to be on the shakes for the rest of my life like my friend (who probably still has one a day

    My friend has used shakes for a very long time as well, and she's doing great with her success. I would have never considered buying a shake, or going into a specific diet - even at the time prior to any research about fitness, but the shakes work for her - she might get off them, or maybe she'll continue to use them - but I think it just depends on each person. She has become totally enveloped in fitness training - don't think she's going to let herself go anytime soon - with shakes or without. :smile:

    *Sorry, I glitched with the "Quoting" tool. :)
  • MaxineMarieM
    MaxineMarieM Posts: 50 Member
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    I lost over 200 lbs on Weight Watchers. When I reached goal I felt like a fish out of water. I knew how to lose but not how to maintain. I kept the weight gain at bey but after some life changing events I started dealing with my emotion like I did before with food. 70 lb gain later I got ahold of myself and I have now lost 46 of it with WW again and now with MyFitnessPal.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Thank you all for sharing. It seems the common thread is not to get lax in keeping up with counting and weighing.
  • zbobbsemple
    zbobbsemple Posts: 38 Member
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    The Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday came around I am struggling to get back on track but Im still in the game. Aiming back to my size 4. They are my new goal pants because that is where I was when the weight melted off. Took me a whole a year then, but I will do it again and so will all of you.
  • bamfgoals
    bamfgoals Posts: 28 Member
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    I lost 70 lbs over 2-3 years by eating the same old normal foods in moderation (aka calorie counting, but without really changing my diet) and exercising more. It worked and I enjoyed it. About two years ago I became depressed, and turned to comfort foods to keep functioning in work & uni; up 90 lbs (20 above starting), and still struggling to get it all under control :s
  • shellyld2016
    shellyld2016 Posts: 288 Member
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    Several years ago I lost 55 pounds on weight watchers flex plan. I loved it and actually learned so much about how to have what I wanted within reason. I never had to deprive myself of treats.
    We went on vacation and I ate what everyone else did for the most part just due to accessibility to better choices. It was a slippery slope. I didn't track and had a hard time getting back on track. After a few years I had just gone back all the way to old habits and gained it back slowly.
    Their plan has changed so much now and is more restrictive making it hard for me to stick to when we are out so much.
    I love this app and counting calories is easy with it. I am using the guidelines I did before and doing well again. I am already feeling better after week one and down 2 pounds and my official weigh in day is actually Sunday.
    I am tracking water and making sure I get in all my fruits, veggies, dairy, and eating plenty of fiber and protein.
    This is feeling like my old plan again!
  • rosnz
    rosnz Posts: 91 Member
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    I had a slither up and am now working on going down again! Mine was nothing major ..just a combination of a few more glasses of wine in a week, slightly bigger portions, bits of cake and nibbles at work … just all those wee deviations quickly add up.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    The only plans where I lost and regained were exchange plans that give you the paper that say "eat this many servings of that in these combinations". Too rigid. Lost and regained anywhere from 40 to 60 lbs on those.

    Did Weight Watchers off and on but never regained during breaks from it. During breaks I logged here. That's because the healthy eating habits and portion control I learned from WW stuck and MFP taught me caloric awareness. Both are more flexible. So far I've lost almost 70 lbs on Weight Watchers and MFP.
  • jahillegas_51
    jahillegas_51 Posts: 143 Member
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    johunt615 wrote: »
    Can you share what happened? Include what method of weight loss you used. The reason I ask is that I've yoyo'd and never stuck with the same method to maintain as I used during weightloss. I'm interested in those that DID try to stick with the same method to maintain regardless if it's counting cal, carbs etc and where you think it went wrong.



    I also yo, yo'd for many many years, had about (3) distinct round with it over 3 years. What I found worked was following IIFYM honestly and seeking help from a coach.

    All diets work, but most people lack the education about the after part. To be fair, very little information is published about what to do after. You bust you butt for months, achieve the goal look, weight, whatever, and now what??

    I suggest researching "reverse dieting" by Layne Norton. Hope this helps:)
  • angelahammon
    angelahammon Posts: 114 Member
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    around two years ago i lost over a stone in weight, i used MFP to log, i used my scales i went to the gym and the weight fell of of me i was so proud of myself, i loved being in size 10 jeans, i got to my target, i started to slip on the weighing my food, i gradually stopped going to the gym and began eating like there was no tomorrow and bang i put almost all of the weight back on again, I'm not as heavy as i have gone back up a dress size , i feel sluggish and bloated, so the scales are back out, logging everything i eat and back to the gym i go, i will get back to loosing the weight but this time i won't let things slide!!
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
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    Lost about 55 lbs right here 2012-2013 (about 10 lbs from goal). Maintained for a few months without logging, then abruptly was up 10 by the end of 2013. Then gained another 20 back. The only reason it wasn't more was because periodically I would log back in and keep track for a month or so and lose 5 or 8 or whatever.



    Anyway, I've been logging consistently again since August 6 and I'm down about 9 lbs.



    I have to log my food, that's where I went wrong. I like to snack and graze and eat a little bit of lots of things at once and I suck at eyeballing it or adding it up in my head. I will have to do this forever I guess! But I am proud I didn't gain all of it back, at the very least.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    About fifteen years ago I used Weight Watchers, and I gained it all back.

    A pregnancy that was spent mostly on bed rest certainly didn't help, but I was regaining before. The primary reason, now that I've reflected, was doing regular cheat days. It taught me that my weight loss journey was temporary, and it would be a free for all once I was done. This time I'm losing based on what I'm going to do for the rest of my life, and incorporating treats and heavier intake days into my caloric goals. I'm going to be logging for quite a long time on maintenance.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I calorie counted and lost ~40 pounds seven years ago. Then I met my husband and started birth control which made me unbearably hungry. I gained back about 20 pounds over a year then stabilized. (I kept counting for at least some of that time and watched the "calories in" go up; as proven during my pregnancies, my body does not respond well to pregnancy hormones.) Within a few months of stopping the pill, I was pregnant. Gained a lot, gave birth, lost most of it, got pregnant again, gave birth again, lost a bunch and got stuck.

    So, now I'm calorie counting again because it works (if you don't have hormonal issues making you hungry all the time). I've lost almost all of my baby-#2-weight then I have 10 more pounds of baby-#1-weight then the original 20 pounds.
  • KrazyKrissyy
    KrazyKrissyy Posts: 322 Member
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    My method was intuitive honestly. It was before I joined MFP. I lost over 50 pounds just by eating intuitively with little exercise. I'm on MFP maintaining now. I did gain some weight back but am shrinking/leaning at the same time while doing lots of exercise especially lifting weights.
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    KrazyKrissyy wrote: »
    My method was intuitive honestly. It was before I joined MFP. I lost over 50 pounds just by eating intuitively with little exercise. I'm on MFP maintaining now. I did gain some weight back but am shrinking/leaning at the same time while doing lots of exercise especially lifting weights.

    That's great that intuitive eating works well for you, and many other people too. I think for others (myself included) it doesn't work as well because for whatever reason, our intuition wants us to weigh more than we want to weigh. That's why I know that I need to count calories, even when I have whole, nutritious foods, because my natural satiety point would have me land about 30 pounds plumper than I want to be. The trick is finding what works best for you.
  • faramelee
    faramelee Posts: 163 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I haven't gained it back, but in my experience and general observation, people tend to go back to "normal". They go back to the eating habits that made them fat in the first place and they cease to perform regular exercise and cease to pay attention to what they're doing...cease to weigh in regularly, etc.

    I'm going on 3.5 years of maintenance...I did calorie counting when losing weight, but I only used that as a tool...I don't do it in maintenance and haven't in 3.5 years.

    I eat well for the most part...mostly whole foods and meals prepared from scratch, whole ingredients and/or minimally processed food stuffs. I eat vegetarian 3-4 times per week usually so many staples of my diet include things like legumes and lentils and oats and potatoes/sweet potatoes, etc. I mostly eat fish on non veggie days and chicken once per week or two...I eat red meat maybe once or twice per month. Vegetables are front and center in my diet...I eat around 6 servings daily and a couple servings of fruit. Most of my fats come from things like avocado, nuts, and good cooking oils.

    I also exercise regularly...pretty much 5-6 days per week...a lot of people mistake regular exercise for a weight loss tool...it's not...it's a fitness tool and has the added benefit of making weight management easier...most people who maintain a healthy weight also exercise on the regular. I do both cardiovascular exercise as well as resistance work.

    Though I do not actively log or count calories, I'm generally aware of what I'm taking in just from months of practice while losing. I also take it easy on the "junk" food...I don't eat much. We don't eat out that often either...we do pizza night about once per month as a nice little family treat and fun and my wife and I go out a couple times per month for a nice dinner somewhere...but most of our meals are from home and I brown bag my breakfast and lunch 99.9% of the time.

    I weigh in regularly and monitor my weight...I don't really weigh in every day anymore, but usually at least once per week and usually more like 2-3 times per week.

    Outside of my desk job I like to be generally active...my wife and I don't watch much t.v....maybe 2-3 hours total in a weeks time...perhaps a bit more in winter but that would be mostly some football...we'd just rather be up and around doing stuff.

    I have friends that think I'm living some kind of miserable life, but I'm really passionate about nutrition and my fitness...I think this stuff is fun and good livin' is grand.

    This could pretty much have been me writing this whole paragraph but for the sake of the thread the first highlighted part is what I have observed (obviously there are hundreds of situations I haven't seen so it is generalised).

    The second highlighted paragraph is not necessarily linked to the thread but so true for me!





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