anyone who lost weight and gained it back, but ended up losing it again?

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2

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  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,272 Member
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    Yeah. Been there. I get to my goal weight or close and get lazy.
    @cwolfman13 - me, too. How/when do you know what you gained is true fat - not water weight?
  • daniip_la
    daniip_la Posts: 678 Member
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    I had lost 96 lbs two years ago, almost exactly halfway to goal. And then I gained almost all of it back because of reasons.

    Now I'm working on losing it again, and getting to goal this time. 70-ish pounds down at the moment.
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
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    I lost 60 pounds in 2014, which is amazing because we moved around the world that year. When I reached my goal weight of 130 ( right in the middle of the healthy BMI range for my height) all I heard anytime anyone saw me for the first time in years was "You're too skinny!!!" "Are you sure you don't have an eating disorder?", and a lot of other back handed compliments. It drained my confidence, I started eating way to much, and went through some intense depression. Over 2015 and 20116, I have regained 30 pounds. Starting January 2nd I have been trying to get myself back in the right mindset. I have a healthy goal weight, a reasonable timeline to accomplish it, and a new quote to live by "Don't beat yourself up, just get back on track".
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Well 2300 doesn't seem excessive to me because it's my maintenance, but I have to be very active to keep that up (I'm 38, 5'5", and have to walk about 12k steps a day to get there).

    But I hear you. I lost 80 pounds eating 1600-1700 and it was easy, and maintenance has been really tough. It's actually much harder to eat 2300 now than it was to eat 1600 at the time! But I've maintained my loss (ok, more or less 5 pounds) by keeping a deficit whenever possible - my goal is still 1800. Most days I stick to it, some days I go over (some days way over), but overall, I'm maintaining. And yeah, I have to stay active... there's easily a 800-1000 calorie difference in my TDEE if I take a rest day!

    I guess the key is to try to limit 'empty' calories, especially on days when you're hungrier... eat more filling/nutritious foods. If you're less hungry one day and have extra calories, indulge a little bit if you feel like it... if not, save those calories for another day. And just keep a small deficit - 400/500 calories.

    For what it's worth though, I still can't lose my last 5 lbs (plus the 5 I've gained back in 2.5 years), so it's definitely not as easy as it sounds. Sigh.

    I get about 14,000 steps a day. I'm 5'9" and maintaining 165 on 1800 cal/day at 38 years old.

    OP: I hit 225 in 2000. I got down to 165 in 9 months, then left the weight slowly creep back up. And up. And up. In 2014 I found myself at 260 lbs, and realized that I couldn't let my weight be a problem in my life. I lost much more slowly this time, and am maintaining 165 now. I know I need to track calories for the rest of my life because my appetite is misleading. I'm OK with that... I know I have the tools necessary.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    I lost 50 lbs after having my daughter, then started work, college, and dating again. And according to the losers I kept choosing at the time I was still too fat, so I caved into their broscience, and I couldn't keep up with it and ended up gaining 60ish back. Then I got married, had my son, and needed to lose that weight. Lost 70 lbs, but gained back 10 because I started stress eating again. Thankfully my clothes still fit. I'm working on losing that 10, plus maybe another 15 to 20.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    tomteboda wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Well 2300 doesn't seem excessive to me because it's my maintenance, but I have to be very active to keep that up (I'm 38, 5'5", and have to walk about 12k steps a day to get there).

    But I hear you. I lost 80 pounds eating 1600-1700 and it was easy, and maintenance has been really tough. It's actually much harder to eat 2300 now than it was to eat 1600 at the time! But I've maintained my loss (ok, more or less 5 pounds) by keeping a deficit whenever possible - my goal is still 1800. Most days I stick to it, some days I go over (some days way over), but overall, I'm maintaining. And yeah, I have to stay active... there's easily a 800-1000 calorie difference in my TDEE if I take a rest day!

    I guess the key is to try to limit 'empty' calories, especially on days when you're hungrier... eat more filling/nutritious foods. If you're less hungry one day and have extra calories, indulge a little bit if you feel like it... if not, save those calories for another day. And just keep a small deficit - 400/500 calories.

    For what it's worth though, I still can't lose my last 5 lbs (plus the 5 I've gained back in 2.5 years), so it's definitely not as easy as it sounds. Sigh.

    I get about 14,000 steps a day. I'm 5'9" and maintaining 165 on 1800 cal/day at 38 years old.

    OP: I hit 225 in 2000. I got down to 165 in 9 months, then left the weight slowly creep back up. And up. And up. In 2014 I found myself at 260 lbs, and realized that I couldn't let my weight be a problem in my life. I lost much more slowly this time, and am maintaining 165 now. I know I need to track calories for the rest of my life because my appetite is misleading. I'm OK with that... I know I have the tools necessary.

    I get 18-20K a day partly because I'm active to keep my arthritic joints happy. I'm trying to lose vanity weight, but my maintenance right now would be around 1,800-2,000 at that activity level. I'm 5'1" and 54 years old. Most of my activity is at a fairly brisk pace, usually with a morning run eating up a decent chunk of those steps.

    OP, I've lost and regained weight a lot over the past 40 years. I had reached my highest weight of 210 before coming to MFP. Like tomteboda, I know that I'll need to track calories because I too have an unreliable appetite. There are other strategies I employ to regulate my eating as well like eating on a fairly consistent schedule. I'm okay with all of the habits I've developed -- thrilled with them in fact. I feel in control of food for the first time ever. It's liberating.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,680 Member
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    I've yoyo'ed 30-45 pounds several times in my life. The past five years I've been able to stay within 5-10 pounds of my goal weight by staying very active. I eat a lot, but I exercise a lot too. I'll gain some weight when we travel, if I'm less active and eating out more, but that is very short term. I can lose it just by getting back to normal activity and eating my usual diet.
  • SymbolismNZ
    SymbolismNZ Posts: 190 Member
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    I've probably had four major weight loss/regain periods over the last 15 years; I had a period of around five to six years where I was able to keep all of the weight off but that was through running marathons and spending three to five days a week in a boxing gym, sparring with professional fighters which is no longer feasible. At my heaviest, I was 310lbs; my normalised body weight is probably in the 195-200lb range as I've always carried a lot of muscle mass.

    Like many other people in this thread, I'm of the sentiment my appetite can't be trusted and will also be tracking for the rest of my life.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    tomteboda wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Well 2300 doesn't seem excessive to me because it's my maintenance, but I have to be very active to keep that up (I'm 38, 5'5", and have to walk about 12k steps a day to get there).

    But I hear you. I lost 80 pounds eating 1600-1700 and it was easy, and maintenance has been really tough. It's actually much harder to eat 2300 now than it was to eat 1600 at the time! But I've maintained my loss (ok, more or less 5 pounds) by keeping a deficit whenever possible - my goal is still 1800. Most days I stick to it, some days I go over (some days way over), but overall, I'm maintaining. And yeah, I have to stay active... there's easily a 800-1000 calorie difference in my TDEE if I take a rest day!

    I guess the key is to try to limit 'empty' calories, especially on days when you're hungrier... eat more filling/nutritious foods. If you're less hungry one day and have extra calories, indulge a little bit if you feel like it... if not, save those calories for another day. And just keep a small deficit - 400/500 calories.

    For what it's worth though, I still can't lose my last 5 lbs (plus the 5 I've gained back in 2.5 years), so it's definitely not as easy as it sounds. Sigh.

    I get about 14,000 steps a day. I'm 5'9" and maintaining 165 on 1800 cal/day at 38 years old.

    OP: I hit 225 in 2000. I got down to 165 in 9 months, then left the weight slowly creep back up. And up. And up. In 2014 I found myself at 260 lbs, and realized that I couldn't let my weight be a problem in my life. I lost much more slowly this time, and am maintaining 165 now. I know I need to track calories for the rest of my life because my appetite is misleading. I'm OK with that... I know I have the tools necessary.

    Do you weigh your food? I have a hard time believing that someone with your stats would maintain on so few calories.
  • rcadogs
    rcadogs Posts: 23 Member
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    My weight's been going up and down for several weeks. My highest weight since loosing over 20 pounds from being 148 is 126, the lightest I've been is 121.

    It's just so frustrating! I exercise, I watch my calories and it still happens! Sometimes I think that something is wrong with me!
  • xcazax
    xcazax Posts: 43 Member
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    I am a serial yo yo dieter. Can keep the weight off for ages and then its just like a switch flicks. Hopefully for the last time this time though
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Yep. My weight loss cycle has gone from 241 lbs to 180, then back up to 195, then down to 170, back up to 180, down to 158, then finally settling on 165 lbs. I've never gone back to my starting weight, though, and that makes me feel successful so far.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    I'm very lazy during the winter and this winter I even took a break from lifting. I originally went from 240-160 and was quite happy with how I looked but I've gained 10 and like a previous poster, spring is when I cut the winter weight. I have less than 10 to lose but since I have a decent amount of lean mass I manage to do it in about 3 months just in time for swimsuit season. I remember thinking omg 1450 cals is SO LOW but you truly get used to it. It's just a matter of what you've grown accustomed to. I was eating a lot of calorie dense foods so naturally when I had to replace those foods with either less of them or fewer calorie similar volume foods... I was cringing. It's about a month before I can say I was satiated with my new diet and I'm steadily losing with only a few to go.
  • katkle
    katkle Posts: 5 Member
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    SadDolt wrote: »
    oh yeah i def had to cut out diet soda. i had a thing where if i drank soda i wanted to eat something with it so i could enjoy the soda more ...?? :D:# i only drink water or apple juice now

    How much apple juice are you drinking? Are you logging it as well? One cup has ~110 calories. You can have a lot of veg and solid fruit for that same amount!
  • RCKT82
    RCKT82 Posts: 409 Member
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    I'm right there with ya'll.
    • 272lbs in 2006
    • 171lbs in 2008
    • 234lbs in 2011
    • 164lbs in 2012
    • 239lbs 6 weeks ago
    • 216lbs presently

    For me the process is always the same. Weight loss has been consistent as far as effort. I don't think mentally it's been any different. When I ran deficits back then I was always hungry and I always go full steam while working out and hate the pain, but always loved the time immediately after the gym of feeling worn out and relaxed. Weight gain came back at the same rate each time also. I just had a shift in priorities that stopped me from keeping a regular fitness routine and taking my diet along for the ride too.

    The shift was always due to my relationships :# lol While I'm in a relationship, there's a lot of eating out and little time at the gym. Post relationship, it's always easy to control my diet and I have all the time in the world for the gym. Plus there's the added bonus of rubbing it back into her face when I look better and she can't have me anymore. What I need is to find a girl that is also into fitness and a healthy lifestyle so that we don't have to sacrifice our health priorities and be able to spend time together and maintain an active lifestyle at the same time.
  • Alex_Evora
    Alex_Evora Posts: 1 Member
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    This is typically due to sustainability of one's diet. If you were eating enough back then to feel satisfied and full, then something other than that must've caused you to start eating all those extra calories.

    You'd be better off just eating at maintenance for a while and then hopping back on a deficit if you think you can handle that, but if you want to keep going with your current diet, you'll need to find a distraction from food. Why not try pushing most of your calories towards the end of the day? That way you have all morning to take care of other things and get to eat a big meal or two in the afternoon.

    And don't worry about skipping breakfast, weight loss is solely due to deficit and (not necessarily) a solid workout routine.

    Hope this is of use to you. I'm not certified of anything, but this is generally what I've learned from months to a year of research.

    Good luck!
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    Yes, but with a big big time gap in between - but that was due to just not being serious about things to get the weight back down again, and trying a billion trendy "diets" in between that I would rebound from and binge. This was repetitive, for years.

    In 2005, I lost from 180 (post-pregnancy weight) to 151, I think it was. My plan was to go down 30 more lbs. Then I got pregnant and started overeating all over again. I came out of the delivery at 200 lbs., lost down to 180, then over the years, ate my way back up to 212, shockingly enough.

    About 15 months ago I got SERIOUS...NO MORE, and now I have lost SIXTY pounds! I have about 25 to go.

    It can be done. And each time I've done it it's been because I reduced my calories. (And when I gained, it was from overeating.) For me, this has always been a very simple and obvious thing. Yes, I've been sick in between - thyroid disease - and yes, I've been pregnant. But even sick and unmedicated, if I overate, I gained; if I ate less, I lost. With pregnancy, if I overate, I gained way too much for that given month. It's just been a no-brainer for me. But it took me saying ENOUGH over a year ago to make a real and, I hope, permanent change. I'm at my lowest right now in almost 12 years. In a couple more months I hope to be at my lowest in, amazingly, 15 years. And after that...I hope to finally be a normal weight again.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    After high school, I steadily gained weight until I was afraid to step on a scale because I wss afraid I would see a number starting with a 3. I cleaned up my diet, hit the gym, and got down to 204. I got lazy and quit going to the gym but maintained around 220 for several years. Later though, I got married, worked longer hours and instead of grilled chicken for dinner, the family wanted pizza or nachos. Well, the weight started coming back and I was probably around 275 or so. Eventually, after a case of plantar fasciitis followed by working out of town, company provides meals, and buffets, I ballooned up to 328. Finally, I decided to lose the weight no matter what and learn how to truly keep it off long term. I am currently 186 and feel great.

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