I Have Noticed Many People Returning, Having Regained Their Weight ...

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  • netitheyeti
    netitheyeti Posts: 539 Member
    I was on a different website (for calorie counting) years ago - I regained some of the weight partially, I think, due to poor health and not being able to exercise anymore combined with some anxiety/depression, which typically makes me overeat... it wasn't a sudden huge gain after I stopped logging everything, it was more of a "gained 2-3kg due to stress eating, then didn't manage to lose 100% of that before the next 2-3 weeks of not doing well", over the course of 5 years or so
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    Mine was due to stress and general laziness. I maintained so well for about 2 years but then I got engaged and things became more hectic planning a wedding, still did pretty well but it was harder. So pretty much right after the wedding we went into "treat yo self" mode and started eating treats and not working out as diligently as we used to. I gained 8 pounds back, caught myself, and stopped the gain but didn't lose the extra. So now I'm back for accountability. Tracking forces me to consider everything I eat and stops me from the mindless snacking (because how the hell do you log 3-4 handfuls of peanut butter pretzels accurately?)
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Thank you all for sharing your stories. I'm approaching maintenance soon, and this is really helpful perspective and insight.

    Same. Still a bit of a ways to maintenance for me, but this has been a good thread to read.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited January 2018
    From spring 2016- Summer 2017, I had let my logging become really relaxed. I was eating at places that I couldn't accurately account for and just making poor choices. I gained about 10 lbs or so.
    Then in the fall of 2017 I tried Trinessa birth control pills for 3 months. I felt like I was in early pregnancy the whole time and had always felt hungry. During those 3 months I gained another 12 lbs, because I was eating 3k + calories a day. I tried to buckle down and bring my intake down while on it, but the hungry feeling always seemed to get the best of me (I would cave and eat).

    Even with that, I am back on track now and I did manage to keep the majority of the weight I had lost off.
  • Zodikosis
    Zodikosis Posts: 149 Member
    Maybe about 10 lbs of the regain was due to just laziness and not watching myself. The other 35 lbs was due to Paxil and its accompanying side effects. So, I suppose, in the future, I won't be taking Paxil again.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    edited January 2018
    This is my 5th round of losing regained weight! I've pretty much used the same method to lose weight--log calories and increase exercise. At some point I discovered intermittent fasting, and that helped as well. The last go-around, I discovered mfp and lost 18 lbs. I enjoyed using the app, increased my exercise sensibly, so it could be sustainable, and breezed through the first several months, Over the holidays 2016, it got a lot harder to lose weight, and I maintained at 135 to 138 for several more months, but was still trying to lose another 10 or so pounds. Then I don't know – – life got more stressful, and at some point I stopped logging and exercising regularly. I began eating earlier in the day, as soon as hunger hit. I watched my weight go back up, and I just figured I would get back to it at some point when life got easier again. Well, I don't know that life has gotten much easier, but here I am again, and trying to look ahead at what maintenance will look like, even through stressful times.

    I will say that I do seem to learn something from each time around, as a previous poster mentioned. This time I've learned that when hunger hits early in the day, before I want an actual meal, I can eat just a little bit and no longer feel hungry.

    The interval in between gaining and getting the motivation to lose it again seems to be shortening, so I guess that's good!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    I’ve had a pregnancy since then. When I was pregnant I gave zero *kitten* and ate all the food. I also did mfp the first time when I was in college and had a lot of free time for going to the gym. I got my first real full time job and found going to the gym a lot more difficult to fit into my schedule.
  • slimbyjune18
    slimbyjune18 Posts: 101 Member
    I simply got out of the habit of logging food, weighing food & standing on the scale. I was pretty glad to have only put on 21lb over three years. I’m 8lb down again now and will not make that mistake twice.
  • gentlygently
    gentlygently Posts: 752 Member
    This is really interesting - thanks everyone for sharing their stories.

    My perspective is that I found the first time on Mfp pretty easy - I lost my target 15lbs or so and got fitter too - back in 2011 over about 9 months. I have always eaten reasonably healthy, but I do like cake... And pudding. And wine. And chocolate. Oh and cheese. Comfort eater..

    Then I got dispirited and bored (I realised I needed to lose beyond original target, and I was fed up of logging). Then I got sick - hormone issues and lots of comfort eating and water retention. Then I got really (lose your job type) sick. With less routine excercise (walking to the tube station etc etc) and another 2 plus hours a day in bed - pounds continued to creep back on, slowly. When I got a dog - thinking that would increase the routine excercise - I did not realise the trade would be I no longer had time/energy to swim. And I went on HRT. I am one of the few people in this world who has gotten a high energy dog and put on weight. And I have no discipline at all on holiday. So those 15lbs (or more?) here we come again. ..

    This time round I am doing rough mental calorie counts. (I have generally only been overeating by 100 a day when gaining). As before I am not following any diet other than less of some stuff (portion size, cake etc) and more of other (fruit/veg etc)

    This time I am weighing daily - as I now know weekly/monthly/ no weigh in was no longer working for me. Given my hormone / water retention issues it is interesting (very variable day by day) and more motivating when I can see the long term trends.

    And I have swapped my old weekday toast, butter and jam or egg - to porridge with nuts/seeds. One easy change that is Healthier for heart, and lower calories.

    So far so good....

    Overall my main lesson was that I had to find something different in my approach - to keep me interested, and for me it has been the daily weigh in and a new breakfast.

    When I get to maintenance I will have to try a new approach here. Not sure what yet....