Probability of gaining it all back... and more

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debbiequack
debbiequack Posts: 275 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, most data suggests that 80-90 percent of us will gain most/all/more weight back, once we have lost. I just read an article by an expert in the field who stated that “our bodies have a weight they want to be”. He cited a study where lean and fit people were asked to eat 5000 cal daily and still, they only gained minimal amounts. On the other hand, most of us who have struggled with our weight, know in a very personal way, the disappointment that ensues when we start gaining back.

Some suggestions are, of course, to lose weight in a reasonable manner. Women who eat 1200 cal/day seem more likely to gain back than those who eat a more moderate figure. In fact, women who eat 1200 cal/day often gain back MORE than they started with. To make matters worse, yo-yoing seems to be associated with health risks.

So what will you do to be in the 10 percent of people who keep the weight off? Exercising three hours a day seems hardly sustainable.


Here's one study that has been cited: http://magazine.ucla.edu/exclusives/dieting_no-go/

I know I will sound like a negative Nancy or “Debbie Downer” but I really pose the question in terms of hopefulness. I personally eat reasonably and exercise 30-40 minutes a day, because I know I can sustain this with kids/without/while on vacation, and when I'm older. I also think that social support helps and MFP is great for that.

Thoughts?
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Replies

  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    I think that it's mostly a matter of sticking to a healthier lifestyle, if you lose weight from having one, and you keep it up, you're not going to gain for no good reason.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
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    I don't think weight gain is really feasable, unless one does NOT make this a change for the rest of their life. If they go back to eating the way they did before losing weight, they're going to gain it all back. However, if they stay on the straight and narrow, keep eating smart, being active for the rest of their lives, they're going to be fit and healthy.
  • webdiva1
    webdiva1 Posts: 326 Member
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    So this will be one time when I'm really, really happy to be in the minority, then. :)

    Interesting post ... gonna go read the article. But my knee-jerk reaction is: nuthin' any goofy scientist says is gonna determine what *I* do.

    :)
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Well. I hit my original goal weight in Sept 2010 and I maintained that without any trouble from then until May 2011 (so I went through the holiday season, a hip injury AND a back injury - both of which kept me out of the gym... yet I still maintained it!). I upped my calories in May as an experiment and I lost another 5-7lbs. I have been maintaining 143-145lbs since May 2011. So, in reality I've maintained my original goal for almost a year now. I've adjusted things to make sure that I can sustain this long term.

    I workout 2-3 days a week for 60 mins each day. I know this is something I can do long term - and isn't affecting my everyday life.

    I eat 2200-2500 net calories a day and I maintain. I know that this is a range that is comfortable for my body.

    I've found a weight that is comfortable for me and easy to maintain. It is on the "high end" of the charts for my height but I am comfortable with where I am. I don't struggle or feel like I am fighting my body to remain at this weight.

    I won't let myself be the in 80-90% that gain it back because I've changed my lifestyle and don't view this as a 'diet'. I eat what I want, when I want - but I do it in moderation.
  • stukawife
    stukawife Posts: 45 Member
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    If any person eats and unrealistic diet and loses weight, and then goes back to how they were eating before...yes of course they will gain it back. But frankly moderation and tracking what you eat is the key. As soon as I stop tracking what I eat I stop loosing. I only want to loose a little, but my real goal is not to gain anything, and I am amazed at how easy it has been to stick to 1200 calories when I am tracking every single thing I eat.
  • PoisonBloodBerries
    PoisonBloodBerries Posts: 20 Member
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    It is hard to reply to this because I think that the thought of all the work and effort to loose weight surmounting to nothing is hard to swallow. To think of all the things I have sacrificed eating and the hours spent in the gym ending up with me being back where I started or weighing even more, makes me want to give up. But here I am replying because I think there is some truth to what you have discovered. I feel like the choice to eat 1200 calories a day is not one that will provide long term results unless you are willing to commit to this being a lifelong change. I see myself binging often because of the restrictive calories but I also have hope that in time I will adjust to this amount and it will be something I can do for the rest of my life. I think it differs for everyone, the specifc amount you need to eat. You need to decide for yourself what is reasonable amount that you can commit to not for a few weeks or months, but for life. I am trying to adjust to just one day off where I can eat what I want but I also am thinking 1400 calories may be more realistic.
  • elizamc
    elizamc Posts: 285 Member
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    Yes interesting article, I agree that a permanent change of diet will help someone who has lost weight keep it off, and that with regular exercise it becomes easier.

    I lost a lot of weight and kept it off some years back with Weight watchers - but gained it back when I had the children and stopped focusing on myself.

    I also think that the way that we choose to eat (and exercise) has to be sustainable - or it becomes too hard to manage when our circumstances change.
  • littlewords
    littlewords Posts: 43
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    I feel like most people lose the weight they want, and then stop doing what they did to lose it.
    Most people STOP counting calories, STOP exercising and STOP weighing themselves.
    That's what has happened to me in the past, but it will not happen this time.
    No way am I letting successfully losing 15+ pounds thru my fingers, much 20-30.

    I will still weigh myself every day and eat more carefully and/or exercise more if my weight creeps up even a couple of pounds.
    Period. I don't care if it is obsessive. No way am I wasting all this time and effort.
  • livinglifeandlovingit
    livinglifeandlovingit Posts: 106
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    I agree that support makes all the difference in the world. I believe that most people that are on a 1200 calorie diet will gain most of their weight back or more. I have seen it happen before so many times. It is one of the things that I worry about. I figure that if you don't go to extremes when eating you should be okay. Don't "diet" for short periods of time, instead make lifestyle changes. Just because you lose the weight you want and reach your goal doesn't mean to start gorging because you are so happy to have reached your goal. The idea should be to remember how hard it was to lose the weight, and make sure you have learned something about yourself along the way so that the bad habits that got you to the place of being overweight, you won't fall back into! I think that most people just want a quick fix, and then they go back to their old ways without thinking that their old ways were the problem.:happy:
  • kelseywray
    kelseywray Posts: 18
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    I just took a college health class and my text book said the same and I have lost my weight before and gained it all back plus some. I think before, when I originally lost 50 lbs, I wasn't doing it in a healthy way. I worked out for an hour and a half a day but also I barely ate anything. Maybe 1000 calories a day. This time I'm eating as much as I possibly can without gaining weight (healthy food, low fat, low sugar, more veggies) and then I work out a moderate amount. As the weight comes off I will increase my work outs and hopefully decrease the amount of calories my body thinks it needs. That way I'm raising my metabolism and getting my body used to a lower calorie intake without starving myself. It's tough to think that I might gain it all back because it has happened to me once but I'm hoping I can find ways to maintain it. I also read in my text book that when you have been over weight and lost it, you have to work out about 1.5 hours per day to maintain because you are at risk of gaining it back but that doesn't seem so hard. Split it up into 3 half hour work outs and then it doesn't seem like so much.
  • manorexicmarshmallow
    manorexicmarshmallow Posts: 80 Member
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    studies show that yo-yo dieters are more healthy than obese people, so even if we gain it back, its still healthier than not trying to lose it at all.
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
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    Statistics are notoriously flaky. After all, do you know that 75% of people believe every statistic they read?
  • emmaleigh47
    emmaleigh47 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    I hope the people who eat 1200 calories can read this ... I agree you need to make small changes that you can sustain. I still eat quite a few calories (about 2200 to 2400 most days) and I run ... I have been training for half marathons since November of last year. I dont know if I will do that forever, but I know I will run for as long as I can because I finally found an exercise that I love!
  • Mirabilis
    Mirabilis Posts: 312 Member
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    I have gained it all back and more on previous "diets" and diets they were. There were no interwebs at that time and no support systems like these (without having to go to a club and get pig ears put on you when you gained on weekly weighin) nor did I have a good "weigh" of calculating calories or as clear an understanding of how and why I gain or lose weight. We have a lot to thank for the current "information age".

    I previously took the position that a diet was strictly temporary and that I wouldn't have to adhere to any sort of regime afterwards, or at least not for the rest of my life, like I know I do now.

    I also made the mistake of overexercising my rosy behind off before to lose it, not recognizing that this is unsustainable also.

    So here's my plan this time around:
    1. This isn't a diet. It's the rest of my life. I will be recording calories and exercise until I lose my faculties because inattention and sloth are our worst enemies.
    2. I will not be exercising my rosy behind off. I will be exercising regularly and moderately. If for any reason I can't exercise, I will revise my daily calories down to account for the lack.
    3. My goal weight is a polite suggestion only. If I can't make it happen and I stabilize 10 pounds over, then sobeit.
    4. When I reach a stable sustainable weight, I will raise my daily calories by 100, wait a while and raise it again, until I stop losing and properly stabilize. I expect that to take quite a while and it might get me to my goal weight a little slower but easier on the body.
    5. I'm going to forgive myself for little lapses and account for them with more exercise (likely over a period of days) and a little less food.
    6. I'm not going to eat stupid calories (like alcohol) except in moderation and rarely.
    7. And especially, I'm not going to succumb to peer pressure and guilt, because food isn't what it's all about. It's who you are and how you feel.

    So there! I'm not done this journey yet and I will let you know how this works once I'm onto the maintenance phase :smile:
  • Riley4ever
    Riley4ever Posts: 225 Member
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    If I look at my history over the years then I could support the article wholeheartedly but then I've always been on a diet or not on a diet i.e. I haven't ever properly made a permanent lifestyle change. I think if you are prone to over-eating, comfort eating and / weight gain then the only way forward is to try and address the root cause of this and also continue using MFP to track - maybe not every day but to weigh yourself once per month and if you go above whatever 'tolerance' you're happy with then go back to MFP until such a point you prove to yourself that you've changed your habits permanently and can maintain your optimum weight for a long-term duration. As always the 'theory' is a walk in the park!
  • ShannonPuentes
    ShannonPuentes Posts: 18 Member
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    I agree with the post to a certain degree....if you diet-then yes you will most likely gain the weight back (plus some). I have seen it happen to too many people to not believe that is true.

    HOWEVER, if you are making a lifestyle change (big difference) then you are not relying on some fad to keep you healthy and skinny. You are in fact making lifelong adjustments that will be just as effective now as they are fifty years from now.

    I learned this from my PT and it makes sense. Limit the carbs, increase the protein, choose the right types of fat and avoid empty caleries...i.e sugar. Throw in some exercise and you will see the changes take place.
  • reepobob
    reepobob Posts: 1,172 Member
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    I am on the three step program...LOL...

    1. Get to my goal weight (1 pound to go...)
    2. Get to my target body fat percentage (at 17%, want to get to 10% or lower)
    3. Figure out how to maintain #1 and #2...

    The almost OCD nature of what I have been doing since last November is ingrained in my DNA now and I am more instinctually aware of what I am doing and I have the knowledge and tools to not stray out of a certain min/max range. I have worked my *kitten* off to get to this point. I would consider everything I have done up to this point to be a supreme waste of time, if I let myself go...

    I plan on laminating a picture of myself at my fattest and using it as a placemat on my table. I will be posting this picture on my refridgerator, my desktop image on my computer, and in my wallet as a constant reminder that I do not want to be where I was until it is second nature to live the way I live now.

    The only thing that will derail me to any extent is a major injury or illness (knock on wood)...
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
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    That is exactky why those '' I eat 1200 caloreis a day ...or less...and lose weight no problem, I am followed by my doctor, I know what is best for me, I am short so I can eat less'' make me want to cry. Because it is not sustainable. They are messing with their metabolism so in order to maintain their weight loss, they will have to eat 1400-1600 calories a day. Those who eat more, will gain the weight back. Those who feed their metabolism and make it a fat burning machine will maintain at 2000 to 2500 calories a day. Alot less likely to gain the weight back.
  • shelbygeorge29
    shelbygeorge29 Posts: 263 Member
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    9 years ago I lost 80+ lbs the healthy way, and I gained it all back and then some. I ate in the 1600-1900 calorie range for most of my weight loss. It was slow and steady, I thought by doing it the right way I'd never regain. I worked out a ton, running, weight lifting, swimming, roller blading, I became very active.

    I maintained my loss for 3 years, but as soon as I stopped being incredibly vigilant the weight started creeping back on. I did have some major health issues and medication that caused me to gain some weight, but the bulk of the gain was due to not tracking my eating and not working out consistantly.

    It has to be a permanent lifestyle change, end of story.

    My failing were:

    -Failure to weigh myself often enough, allowing myself to stay in denial about a pound here and a pound there.

    -Thinking you can eat like your husband/boyfriend/skinny friends

    -Not keeping up with 5-6 intense workouts per week

    -Booze and partying; when I got skinny and hot going out was so much fun! Being the center of attention, having men drool over you and tell you how beautiful you are after a lifetime of being the fat chick feels amazing. I started going out all the time. Hangovers in the morning meant no early morning run, then the need for the hangover helper of greasey foods. Not a good combination if you're trying to maintain the loss.

    From my experience, and the experience of a friend who is a personal trainer who specializes in weight loss (the dude is way credentialed) it doesn't matter how you lose the weight. It's what you do next that matters. There are people that lose their weight quickly on 1000-1200 calories a day, find out their daily maintenance calories and stick to them and keep the weight off. Then there are people like me, who did everything right, except to see their healthy habits ever so slowly revert to their old comfortable ways, and see the weight eventually creep back on.

    The truth is, as unfair as it may seem, but for those with our affliction, nothing but total vigilance will keep the extra pounds at bay.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
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    If a person views their weight loss as a "fix" or as they are on a "diet"...yes, they will gain weight back. If you change the problem that leads to weight gain, you don't gain it back.

    That being said, I gained weight in college, lost it in college, and have kept it off since. I would just like to lose a little more now....maybe.

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