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

itsgood · June 2018

I'd lost over 80 lbs, was working out and in really good shape. I was the healthiest I'd been in years. One day I got a phone call--there would be major changes at work. It was the beginning of a 3-year stretch of incredible stress which I completely let take over my life. I had to do a lot of work to pull myself out of that situation. I learned plenty along the way, mostly how to find balance between my work and personal life. It took 3 more years, but I have a whole new perspective now. I won't take health for granted, and I'm very much on the path to wellness -- I'm taking weight back off and learning about how to plan to maintain the lifestyle I'm developing along the way. Looking back, I'd have worked harder on setting clearer boundaries between home and work. I'd have spent more time on emotional self awareness, and having some fun in life. I'd have continued working out instead of let work consume all of my hours. I'd have kept within an acceptable range of weight fluctuations. I'd have continued tracking food and weight.

Going forward, the mistake I WON'T make is beating myself up over things I did and didn't do. I've learned and continue to learn. I'm getting healthy, mind body and soul. Damn, it's good.

slossia · June 2018

I went from 205 lbs to with in 2 lbs if my goal weight of 175 lbs ! This happened only when I started to track my calories on MFP! I’m NEVER going to EVER stop tracking!! It’s not that hard and actually kind of fun. I get to eat whatever I want and not care of its so called “fattening” also my son lost 20 lbs once he started to track and hit his goal

Candyspun · June 2018

I cancelled my account after the privacy breach and started a new account. I had a nasty weight gain due to sickness.

walking2running · June 2018

I went down to 140 (my goal weight) in 2016. I did it by tracking on MFP and waking up at 4 am every day to run on a treadmill for an hour. I would get nasty migraines once a week, and each migraine lasted three days. So, half of the time, I had throbbing pain in my head, and everything felt woozy and distorted. My period disappeared for 6 months. Then, I started to get dizzy spells. All while losing weight, I day-dreamed and obsessed about getting to "maintenance", because then I could eat to my maintenance calories (about 1800 calories), and it felt like it would be so freeing and wonderful. I was impatient. I didn't realise maintenance would require discipline and hard work.

While losing weight, I also had "cheat meals", which were actually binge eating episodes where I would eat until I was stuffed, and then some. I pre-planned and pre-logged these meals, and I made them fit into my calories, so they didn't feel "wrong". I thought I was doing the right thing by rewarding myself. I would have a huge bowl of popcorn with m&m's and a bowl of ice cream, and then I would have my dinner right after, so within one hour, I would consume all 1200 calories of my daily allowance. I didn't realize then that I was still fueling my eating addiction, and it didn't matter whether they were pre-planned or not. The reality was that I was binge-eating all by myself in secret, and it was compulsive and wrong.

But I looked great. 140 pounds was the lower I had ever weighed in my entire adult life. I was getting compliments. I was finally able to wear whatever I wanted to wear. It wasn't sustainable and I had no idea how to eat less consistently

I finally had to stop waking up at 4 am to exercise, and it messed with my head. I gained 5 pounds, and then we went on a vacation with the kids. I felt like I was losing control of my eating, and I stopped logging. Another 5 pounds later, I stopped weighing myself. Then, I went into frenzy eating mode where I ate everything and didn't care. In my mind, it was over. I was a fat-*kitten* who was destined to be fat. I ate to punish myself, or to fulfill this self-fulfilling prophecy. Within a matter of months, I regained all the weight, plus 10 pounds.

Here I am. Back again. Starting weight 180 pounds, and current weight roughly 175.

lauraesh0384 · June 2018

I reached close to my goal weight 2 years ago and I was so burnt out with tracking, weighing everything I ate and making sure to get my steps in, that I just couldn't do it anymore. It practically consumed my life. The pounds crept back on over a period of about 7 months. Then I got pregnant and it was all downhill from there. I gained 65 lbs with my pregnancy with losing my mom and my boyfriend in a 6 month time span. I'm about 10 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm trying to find that happy medium this time around. It's definitely been a challenge with figuring out how many calories to eat and walking as few steps as possible to still lose weight.

VUA21 · June 2018

I lost about 170lbs in two years then took a year off of losing to let my skin catch up and do body recomp.

I gained about 6lbs back, that's it.

Why: I never dieted, I didn't keto, Adkins, Paleo, low-carb, IF.... None of them. I changed my overall eating and exercise habits over two years. I had become accustomed to eating a lot less than when I was obese, I developed a habit of working out to the point that if I didn't do a morning workout, my day just didn't feel right. It took two years, but I changed my lifestyle and way of thinking.

I never gave up snacking, I just learned what moderation really was. I never gave up certain foods, I just learned to eat less of the high calorie/low nutrition stuff.

I am not a fan nor a supporter of doing any diet to lose weight, not unless it's something you can do for the rest of your life. I see people following certain diets all the time, the problem comes when someone reaches thier goals with that diet. Unless that person can continue with thier weight loss eating plan (whichever it may be), once they go back to thier "normal" eating habits, 99/100 - the weight comes right back on. In order to have permanent results, you have to change your lifestyle, permanently. That means that when you reach your goals, whatever you are doing is your lifestyle. You have to make your maintenance, your normal.

Slinky_BraveHeartBunsOfSteel · June 2018

I was about 8lb away from my goal weight. Then my Mum became ill. I had moved too far away to be able to see her as much as I needed to, She passed away 6 months later

2 months after that I moved away from the area I had lived in all my life. Into the middle of nowhere which was really isolating. I had totally given up on myself at this point. I used to go to the gym 5x a week but at this stage I hardly left the house if I could help it. My husband was in a bad car crash but luckily wasn't hurt too badly. I got pneumonia and was hospitalised. Suffered headaches for a year and ended up with a squint eye and am awaiting an operation, My mum in law took a severe stroke and is in a care home. She will never walk or talk again. My husband took a heart attack a week before his 46th birthday. It's been a pretty eventful 2 and a half years. I gained back 33lbs of my heard earned 47lb weight loss.
We moved away from the middle of nowhere just over 2weeks ago. It has given me a new lease of life. I joined a gym again. Its time to stop feeling sorry for myself and get this *kitten* done!

#whatdoesntkillyoumakesyoustronger

robw1974 · June 2018

Graelwyn75 wrote: »

So, I want to hear your personal stories as to why you regained the weight, and what you would do differently with hindsight.

Would you have stayed on mfp longer, tracking, until you had been in maintenance for a year?
Would you have lost weight less aggressively so that it was easier to adjust to maintenance?
Was your entire focus on the weight loss rather than on changing your entire lifestyle?
Did something health related come up that caused you to 'fall off the proverbial wagon' ?

I keep having mental health difficulties which interfere with my ability to lose weight (allegedly medicine affects metabolism, plus they are tranqilizers so they make you lazier), my last serious weight loss effort HERE had me down to 175lbs, then I had a crisis, and they have come up from time to time, such as a hospitalization this March and med increases since then. Things are stabilizing now so i need to put in some effort.

Also, I now live with TWO retired parents and now that they're both retired they like to go out for lunch, and take me along, and usually I'm all too willing, and the result is yesterday for example having a big breakfast for lunch at a diner (french toast on challah, syrup, butter, bacon) rather than eating something light at home. Today i kicked into gear after my weight reaching almost 250lbs this morning (recall it was 170 a few year ago) and said no to fried chicken sandwich fast food and instead opted for half a turkey sandwich (2 thin slices) on wheat with one slice of cheese.

-Rob

ALG775 · June 2018

We live in an obesegenic society. We are constantly surrounded by cheap food designed to be as palatable as possible. We also live in bodies that have evolved to resist weight loss for survival. And life is stressful- crisis happens.

I'm not saying we should give up- but it is really hard to maintain for most people- and we need to have compassion for ourselves.

lucerorojo · June 2018

walking2running wrote: »

I went down to 140 (my goal weight) in 2016. I did it by tracking on MFP and waking up at 4 am every day to run on a treadmill for an hour. I would get nasty migraines once a week, and each migraine lasted three days. So, half of the time, I had throbbing pain in my head, and everything felt woozy and distorted. My period disappeared for 6 months. Then, I started to get dizzy spells. All while losing weight, I day-dreamed and obsessed about getting to "maintenance", because then I could eat to my maintenance calories (about 1800 calories), and it felt like it would be so freeing and wonderful. I was impatient. I didn't realise maintenance would require discipline and hard work.

While losing weight, I also had "cheat meals", which were actually binge eating episodes where I would eat until I was stuffed, and then some. I pre-planned and pre-logged these meals, and I made them fit into my calories, so they didn't feel "wrong". I thought I was doing the right thing by rewarding myself. I would have a huge bowl of popcorn with m&m's and a bowl of ice cream, and then I would have my dinner right after, so within one hour, I would consume all 1200 calories of my daily allowance. I didn't realize then that I was still fueling my eating addiction, and it didn't matter whether they were pre-planned or not. The reality was that I was binge-eating all by myself in secret, and it was compulsive and wrong.

But I looked great. 140 pounds was the lower I had ever weighed in my entire adult life. I was getting compliments. I was finally able to wear whatever I wanted to wear. It wasn't sustainable and I had no idea how to eat less consistently

I finally had to stop waking up at 4 am to exercise, and it messed with my head. I gained 5 pounds, and then we went on a vacation with the kids. I felt like I was losing control of my eating, and I stopped logging. Another 5 pounds later, I stopped weighing myself. Then, I went into frenzy eating mode where I ate everything and didn't care. In my mind, it was over. I was a fat-*kitten* who was destined to be fat. I ate to punish myself, or to fulfill this self-fulfilling prophecy. Within a matter of months, I regained all the weight, plus 10 pounds.

Here I am. Back again. Starting weight 180 pounds, and current weight roughly 175.

That's not so bad. You have only 35 lbs. to lose. You just need to take it slower this time and learn some new habits that are sustainable. (not binging and overexercising). If your period was gone then you were probably eating too little. How long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs.? I've lost 50 since July 2017 and have 50 more to go.

walking2running · June 2018

lucerorojo wrote: »

That's not so bad. You have only 35 lbs. to lose. You just need to take it slower this time and learn some new habits that are sustainable. (not binging and overexercising). If your period was gone then you were probably eating too little. How long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs.? I've lost 50 since July 2017 and have 50 more to go.

It took me 4 months to lose 40 pounds.

psychod787 · June 2018

KrazyKrissyy wrote: »

I gained muscle (I get DEXA scans by the way).
In 2013, I started at 187 pounds and 43% body fat. After crash dieting (no exercise), I was 121 pounds and 27% body fat by 2015. I also have epilepsy by the way. I began heavy lifting and switched to a diet higher in protein/fat and lower in carbs while cycling my calories (I'll literally eat anywhere from 1,100 to 2,500+ calories depending on my activity level and appetite for the day). I'm now 151 pounds and 23% body fat. My waist is even smaller (23 inches) and have abs and a thigh gap. Legs are more solid too. So technically, I "re-gained" weight (30 pounds in 3 years) but it's in the form of muscle.

I lost 220. Not all through crash dieting, but some. I am trying to bulk now without getting fat again. You are an inspiration!

lucerorojo · June 2018

walking2running wrote: »

lucerorojo wrote: »

That's not so bad. You have only 35 lbs. to lose. You just need to take it slower this time and learn some new habits that are sustainable. (not binging and overexercising). If your period was gone then you were probably eating too little. How long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs.? I've lost 50 since July 2017 and have 50 more to go.

It took me 4 months to lose 40 pounds.

Since you have so little to lose you will probably have an easier time with maintenance if you only set it to lose .5-1 pounds per week. It is very agressive at that weight (180) to lose 10 lbs. per month. That is more than 2 lbs. per week. That is for people who are obese, over 200 lbs. Even when I was losing at 2 lbs. per week, I could only do it for a couple of months. My starting weight was 237 and when I got to 212 it was just too agressive. I had wanted to continue at that rate at least until I reached 199, but I couldn't. If you push to lose beyond 1% of your body weight per week (unless under a doctor's care) then it usually will not be sustainable.

Danp · June 2018

I lost a significant amount of weight about 10 years ago and put it all back on and more.

I made 2 mistakes.

Firstly was thinking I was I was done.
I mean I had done the hard work and lost the weight so that means I'm finished right? No more watching what I eat, no more checking in with the scales like I used to do when I was fat. Now that I was pretty close to a normal weight I forget about all that 'fat person stuff'

Secondly was listening to a toxic person.
When I lost all the weight pretty much everyone was stoked for me. Congratulations all round except for one person. A family member who's been overweight her entire life. My mother. The minute I got down to a 'normal' weight the sabotage started. "You'll just put it back on". "There's no way you can keep it up". This went on and on and, unfortunately, my mum is the one person in my life who has always been able to get in my head.

So I stopped watching what I ate rather than 'maintaining' which saw me go back to bad habits and start gaining which gave my mum ammunition to drag me down ("See, I knew you couldn't keep it up. I told you you'd eventually put it back on").

Lessons learned. I now know that maintenance takes vigilance and the sabotage has been cut out of my life.

HollaDeckGirl · June 2018

I too, went through a really difficult time and fitness fell to the bottom of the list as I struggled to lift myself out of that rut. I’m in a much better place now, and know I have the tools I need to once again reach my goal.

walking2running · June 2018

lucerorojo wrote: »

walking2running wrote: »

lucerorojo wrote: »

That's not so bad. You have only 35 lbs. to lose. You just need to take it slower this time and learn some new habits that are sustainable. (not binging and overexercising). If your period was gone then you were probably eating too little. How long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs.? I've lost 50 since July 2017 and have 50 more to go.

It took me 4 months to lose 40 pounds.

Since you have so little to lose you will probably have an easier time with maintenance if you only set it to lose .5-1 pounds per week. It is very agressive at that weight (180) to lose 10 lbs. per month. That is more than 2 lbs. per week. That is for people who are obese, over 200 lbs. Even when I was losing at 2 lbs. per week, I could only do it for a couple of months. My starting weight was 237 and when I got to 212 it was just too agressive. I had wanted to continue at that rate at least until I reached 199, but I couldn't. If you push to lose beyond 1% of your body weight per week (unless under a doctor's care) then it usually will not be sustainable.

I definitely do not intend to lose 40 pounds in 4 months. I am currently losing at a rate of 1 pound per week and I find it sustainable. I do want to mention though that at my current weight (175) I AM obese. At the bottom of the obese range, yes, but still obese. So, while I don't want to lose as fast as I did in 2016, I do sense some urgency on my part to get to a healthier weight. 140 pounds would take me to the high point of the normal range. I know I only have 35 pounds to lose, but the 35 pounds will take me from obese to normal weight. Also, once I get to 140 pounds, (in 35 weeks), I may re-evaluate, and try to get to the mid-range of the normal BMI weight range. But, I know it will take me well over a year to do that at a slow pace (1 pound per week for now, and may switch to 0.5 pounds per week as I get closer to 140).

inertiastrength · June 2018

I re-gained 10lbs in 5 years. Why? I ate too much and didn't track for months. I'm okay with having to lose 10lbs instead of 80 and let's be honest, a few are just increased glycogen stores because that first week back you drop 3 haha. Not terrible even still

dhiammarath · June 2018

Back in 2012, I lost close to 85lbs. I kept it off for three or so years. Then I went from high-intensity exercise to sedentary misery for almost a year while continuing to eat my weight lifting calories (I was working to build muscle at the time). During that time, I'd reached the lowest point and wasn't too far from my goal, but the health issues had had me stalled. I also let the people saying "If you lose any more you'll be anorexic!" get into my head. So being in physical misery/pain lead to a 20lbish weight gain that wasn't too bad until I figured out the issues (after seven months of doctors, tests, and more tests). Then I had to re-learn what I could and couldn't eat. What triggered the symptoms and what didn't. I ate more than I should have and also ate less than I should have. I ate things that were safe, and too much of them at times.

It's hard not being able to rely on the staples you love / that worked. So while I was learning what to eat, I fluctuated between 20-25 lbs gained/lost. However, I kept off at least 50lbs and I'm proud of that. I don't beat myself up for stumbling on learning what did and didn't work (ie, how and to what extent things triggered the poor health).

Now, I have a method. I know what I can eat, what's safe to eat, and I haven't had the health issues in a while. I still have to be super careful, but I'm a lot more confident. I'm no longer miserable and now I can focus on getting to my goal again.

So I am "back", though I never "left", but I did stop logging my food for a long time while I was miserable.

This time, ain't nothin' stopping me from hitting what I want to hit!

lucerorojo · June 2018

walking2running wrote: »

lucerorojo wrote: »

walking2running wrote: »

lucerorojo wrote: »

That's not so bad. You have only 35 lbs. to lose. You just need to take it slower this time and learn some new habits that are sustainable. (not binging and overexercising). If your period was gone then you were probably eating too little. How long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs.? I've lost 50 since July 2017 and have 50 more to go.

It took me 4 months to lose 40 pounds.

Since you have so little to lose you will probably have an easier time with maintenance if you only set it to lose .5-1 pounds per week. It is very agressive at that weight (180) to lose 10 lbs. per month. That is more than 2 lbs. per week. That is for people who are obese, over 200 lbs. Even when I was losing at 2 lbs. per week, I could only do it for a couple of months. My starting weight was 237 and when I got to 212 it was just too agressive. I had wanted to continue at that rate at least until I reached 199, but I couldn't. If you push to lose beyond 1% of your body weight per week (unless under a doctor's care) then it usually will not be sustainable.

I definitely do not intend to lose 40 pounds in 4 months. I am currently losing at a rate of 1 pound per week and I find it sustainable. I do want to mention though that at my current weight (175) I AM obese. At the bottom of the obese range, yes, but still obese. So, while I don't want to lose as fast as I did in 2016, I do sense some urgency on my part to get to a healthier weight. 140 pounds would take me to the high point of the normal range. I know I only have 35 pounds to lose, but the 35 pounds will take me from obese to normal weight. Also, once I get to 140 pounds, (in 35 weeks), I may re-evaluate, and try to get to the mid-range of the normal BMI weight range. But, I know it will take me well over a year to do that at a slow pace (1 pound per week for now, and may switch to 0.5 pounds per week as I get closer to 140).

Thanks for clarifying. I was referring to your previous loss, when you lost 40 lbs. in 4 months.
Height makes a difference between obese/overweight. At my height, 175 is overweight, not obese.

Snowflake1968 · June 2018

CarvedTones wrote: »

I have yoyed for years. In the past. I set a goal and then gave myself some room with a range above and below it. I would almost immediately go to the top of the range and increase the range with the top being my "lose back to the bottom" trigger. Then I would put off starting the diet when I got to the top, I am going to start losing soon, so what's a couple of more pounds on top going to change? the next thing I know, I am far enough away from goal that getting back is going to be a big effort again and I put it off more and slide more. I was going from highs in the 215-230 range and lows n the 170-185 range. I am 5'6", so I was going between obese and overweight.

This time, I chose my goal to be staying below a BMI of 25; as in never hitting it. 164 is 24.9. I got there at the beginning of March and then lost down to 160 and managed to stay close to that for a couple of months, never going over 164. But spikes got uncomfortably close so I lost down into the high 150s. The lowest I have gotten to is 156. I have been below 160 for about 3 weeks. So now I am trying to stay in a range of 155-160 and 164 is my do not ever, ever go over weight. This time I am still tracking everything every day and I am more active. I am more diligent about weighing and reacting to what the scale says. I got rid of my bigger clothes so it isn't easy to just wear a bigger size until I start losing. I lost ~65 pounds to the lowest weight I have been in about 35 years. I have stayed at the low weight long enough to get used to how good it feels. I am hopeful this time I make it work.

I did that the last time round for me as well. It worked well, when I started gaining I paid attention. I let things get out of hand this past winter when I was unemployed because I wasn't wearing my dress clothes everyday which are more form fitting. When I got a job I struggled through some uncomfortable days but it worked to get me going in the right direction again. Some of my pants are too big now, so I'll be getting rid of another stack soon I think.

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

Replies

Categories