I Have Noticed Many People Returning, Having Regained Their Weight ...
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Taking the financial organization example to its logical equivalent:kshama2001 wrote: »... people who keep the weight off for any realistic amount of time are those who carefully calculate their TDEE, keep track of their calorie intake, keep a food diary, weigh and measure their portions and weigh themselves regularly...
Agreeing that it is the mentality around the action that makes it disordered or not.MsHarryWinston wrote: »...It takes more that just tracking calories and keeping a food diary for someone to flag your habits as disordered. There is also a MENTALITY about food that goes along with the actions. It’s more than the sum of its parts.
If someone makes sure to balance their bank accounts and make sure their bills are paid and credit cards are paid off, it doesn’t mean they are obsessed with money in an unhealthy way. If means they have chosen to take an active, hands on approach to their financial health.
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And you beat me to the financial organization example
There would be nothing wrong with someone who carefully calculated their Total Daily Monetary Expenditures,
kept careful track of all their expenses and of all income from anywhere (including pennies found on the street), logged every bit of cash they spent in a ledger before each transaction, balanced their primary checking account nightly, and reviewed all their bills and accounts weekly in order to track their net worth.
There would be absolutely nothing wrong with anyone who did all that. But some of us might think that perhaps that person was taking their financial health a little too seriously, and others might wonder whether that person was likely to be any fun at parties.
(Also, if the only people who stayed out of debt for any realistic amount of time were those who did all of the above, a whole lot of people would be in a whole lot of financial trouble.)
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Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
Taking the financial organization example to its logical equivalent:kshama2001 wrote: »... people who keep the weight off for any realistic amount of time are those who carefully calculate their TDEE, keep track of their calorie intake, keep a food diary, weigh and measure their portions and weigh themselves regularly...
Agreeing that it is the mentality around the action that makes it disordered or not.MsHarryWinston wrote: »...It takes more that just tracking calories and keeping a food diary for someone to flag your habits as disordered. There is also a MENTALITY about food that goes along with the actions. It’s more than the sum of its parts.
If someone makes sure to balance their bank accounts and make sure their bills are paid and credit cards are paid off, it doesn’t mean they are obsessed with money in an unhealthy way. If means they have chosen to take an active, hands on approach to their financial health.
....
And you beat me to the financial organization example
There would be nothing wrong with someone who carefully calculated their Total Daily Monetary Expenditures,
kept careful track of all their expenses and of all income from anywhere (including pennies found on the street), logged every bit of cash they spent in a ledger before each transaction, balanced their primary checking account nightly, and reviewed all their bills and accounts weekly in order to track their net worth.
There would be absolutely nothing wrong with anyone who did all that. But some of us might think that perhaps that person was taking their financial health a little too seriously, and others might wonder whether that person was likely to be any fun at parties.
(Also, if the only people who stayed out of debt for any realistic amount of time were those who did all of the above, a whole lot of people would be in a whole lot of financial trouble.)
And yet, if the person knew that they had to do this in order to keep from bankrupting themselves and losing their house, then really, who the heck cares what other people think?10 -
Well, if there were such a thing as a "financial disorders specialist;" one might notice this behavior and red-flag it, but on further investigation find that indeed there was nothing wrong with the person. This could lead to a hot debate on the "MyFinancePal" website as to whether such a specialist could possibly be competent.annaskiski wrote: »Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
Taking the financial organization example to its logical equivalent:kshama2001 wrote: »... people who keep the weight off for any realistic amount of time are those who carefully calculate their TDEE, keep track of their calorie intake, keep a food diary, weigh and measure their portions and weigh themselves regularly...
Agreeing that it is the mentality around the action that makes it disordered or not.MsHarryWinston wrote: »...It takes more that just tracking calories and keeping a food diary for someone to flag your habits as disordered. There is also a MENTALITY about food that goes along with the actions. It’s more than the sum of its parts.
If someone makes sure to balance their bank accounts and make sure their bills are paid and credit cards are paid off, it doesn’t mean they are obsessed with money in an unhealthy way. If means they have chosen to take an active, hands on approach to their financial health.
....
And you beat me to the financial organization example
There would be nothing wrong with someone who carefully calculated their Total Daily Monetary Expenditures,
kept careful track of all their expenses and of all income from anywhere (including pennies found on the street), logged every bit of cash they spent in a ledger before each transaction, balanced their primary checking account nightly, and reviewed all their bills and accounts weekly in order to track their net worth.
There would be absolutely nothing wrong with anyone who did all that. But some of us might think that perhaps that person was taking their financial health a little too seriously, and others might wonder whether that person was likely to be any fun at parties.
(Also, if the only people who stayed out of debt for any realistic amount of time were those who did all of the above, a whole lot of people would be in a whole lot of financial trouble.)
And yet, if the person knew that they had to do this in order to keep from bankrupting themselves and losing their house, then really, who the heck cares what other people think?
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I'm generally back because my previous weight loss journey was too abrupt and not sustainable. I'm slowly learning from my mistakes and understanding how to approach weight loss as an inevitable slow side effect to the permanent changes I make to my lifestyle.7
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I was average weight. got bad mental health, went on medicine that causes extreme hunger and weight gain. Was on a high dose two months. Now finally dose is down so I can lose again (but I have to eat strictly 1200 calories and low gi with this medicine to lose anything as I'm still feeling hungry).1
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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 lost about 20kgs the first time I started using MFP seriously, I logged everything and I mean everything I changed from being a complete couch potato to being more active even completing the 30 days shred type challenges. I worked out at the gym regularly it was great. After awhile i thought "I've got this" and figured I was doing so well I didn't need to log in everyday and record every little thing because in the grand scheme of things I was doing well. That was my first mistake, it didn't take long for things to become very lax, without logging the food I wasn't seeing the negative impact and the wasted calories, the foods I'd allow myself "every now and then" slowly but surely became my everyday foods again and not surprisingly the weight gain came back.
After awhile I became determined to change things again and I started logging this time I became OBSESSED with it logging everything and restricting as low as possible and working out all the time I was only focused on the number on the scales and what meal i could skip or what food group I could cut out to lose more weight faster, not surprisingly this didn't last I wasn't changing my lifestyle for long term health I was so focused on the here and now I got burn out the weight loss stopped I was a mess, I was exhausted mentally and physically and I just gave up and undid everything by caving in and went on a like 3 month long binge on all the food I'd denied myself.
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From these mistakes I now know that the changes need to be less dramatic and more realistic sure I can technically survive on only 800 calories a day but that's not going to help me in the long run, and I know I need the accountability of logging my food, without it I can very easily kid myself into thinking I'm eating healthy only mentally focusing on the delicious salad I had for lunch and conveniently forgetting about the chocolate croissant and hot chocolate I had for breakfast or the chocolate bar I had for a morning snack.
I need to remember the changes need to be something one can do for a life time there's no point in jumping on every fad diet or relying on some amazing shake or pill to help lose the weight. The results won't come overnight they might not even come in a week but if I'm doing things right the results WILL come and if they don't then I need to take responsibility and look as to why they're not happening.
Obviously I'm here again and these are the lessons I learnt and will be applying this time round9 -
Lost my weight and maintained for a while and felt great. Ran 5 half marathons and a marathon (at 60). Then in the space of 6 months this past year I lost 5 family members to death, 3 of them immediate family. In the processor my grieving I've stopped running or going to the gym and I've eaten anything I wanted. I've gained most of it back. This past weekend I ended up sleeping with a bottle of Maalox by my bed and said ENOUGH. I've decided I have to get back at it immediately or all is lost.26
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I ended up with plantar warts that were extremely painful and took me a year and a half to clear up. It made being active hard for me so i stopped exercising. Then i was under a lot of stress due to work issues and my go to stress reliever is drinking Pepsi. So no exercise + large amounts of pop with a sprinkle of depression led me to gain back 50 of the 60 lbs I lost.
But I'm finally back at it. Hoping that I can work on maintaining once i get down again. I almost think that's harder for me than losing.5 -
12Sarah2015 wrote: »I was average weight. got bad mental health, went on medicine that causes extreme hunger and weight gain. Was on a high dose two months. Now finally dose is down so I can lose again (but I have to eat strictly 1200 calories and low gi with this medicine to lose anything as I'm still feeling hungry).
Let me guess. Mirtazipine?0 -
fitoverfortymom wrote: »Thank you all for sharing your stories. I'm approaching maintenance soon, and this is really helpful perspective and insight.
I am a lifer. Been maintaining my loss within 5 lbs for about 4-5 years. But only because I don’t let up. I weigh my food and have a food scale at work. I can’t, I know Eye-balling portions won’t work for me. I don’t care what people think or say at this point (I get it all: I have an eating disorder, I’m unhealthy, I can splurge, etc.)
One of my NSV was my annual trip to visit my obese sister. The year before she asked me how I lost the weight (over 100 pounds) and I told her about the food scale. She said she didn’t have time for that. This year I watched her pull out a food scale and weigh her food. She’s still overweight, but doing great! I said nothing, but inside I was doing handstands.
ETA: I’m also a daily weighed and I use a weight-trending app.25 -
I guess everyone is different. I lost about 18kg in 2014 and kept it off until last year. When my mom died of cancer quite cruelly and my husband decided to leave me, me not finding work and being stuck in a position I did't want to be in. As there was no counselling available on the NHS (I wasn't suicidal enough) and I didn't have the money to go private I found help in crisps. The 7 or so kg I'd put back on are almost gone again now and I feel better.
I’m really happy you’re in a better place now.
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fitoverfortymom wrote: »Thank you all for sharing your stories. I'm approaching maintenance soon, and this is really helpful perspective and insight.
One of my NSV was my annual trip to visit my obese sister. The year before she asked me how I lost the weight (over 100 pounds) and I told her about the food scale. She said she didn’t have time for that. This year I watched her pull out a food scale and weigh her food. She’s still overweight, but doing great! I said nothing, but inside I was doing handstands.
That's awesome, must feel amazing We get to "see" the lightbulbs go on here every once and awhile, but to see it happen IRL with someone you care about is next level! 9 -
fitoverfortymom wrote: »Thank you all for sharing your stories. I'm approaching maintenance soon, and this is really helpful perspective and insight.
I am a lifer. Been maintaining my loss within 5 lbs for about 4-5 years. But only because I don’t let up. I weigh my food and have a food scale at work. I can’t, I know Eye-balling portions won’t work for me. I don’t care what people think or say at this point (I get it all: I have an eating disorder, I’m unhealthy, I can splurge, etc.)
One of my NSV was my annual trip to visit my obese sister. The year before she asked me how I lost the weight (over 100 pounds) and I told her about the food scale. She said she didn’t have time for that. This year I watched her pull out a food scale and weigh her food. She’s still overweight, but doing great! I said nothing, but inside I was doing handstands.
ETA: I’m also a daily weighed and I use a weight-trending app.
That's awesome! I love the name btw.0 -
This thread is wonderful!
I was super fit 4 years ago. I had just got out of a relationship and basically crashed myself into it and I really crushed it. I won a fitness challenge at work and I was down to 19% body fat.
But of course by fall of that year, the weight came back and I was back the weight I have been for most of my adult life (130-135) on a 5'5 frame.
And then somehow this past year, the weight crept up and kept going. I had never been in that space before. I was drinking wine every night and eating bad stuff for lunch and dinner. And always fruit juice and soda. I had my trainer get me on the scale and I wondered how I got there. And then I realized it was because for the first time in my life, I was using food to medicate my sadness, mostly over a poor year end work review and not able to find someone yet to spend my life with. It really hit me that I was sad and food was the go to.
The number spurned me to action, and in some weird way, I'm grateful for the experience. For the first time the sadness and disappointment became physical and it reminded me that it's more ok to feel that way and I understood what so many people go through.
I had never had to think about my weight and suddenly there it was. All 30+ pounds to lose.
I think that we all have our challenges and I'm so in awe of everyone who has overcome such obstacles to start again.
I was so scared to leave my romantic relationship because I didn't want to "start over". And now that I have been on a weight loss journey for the first time, "stating over" isn't a bad thing. It's part of your life story.
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Hello my friend ltns xx. I left MFP for awhile to try weight watchers and intuitive eating. I am now up 17 pounds. Still at a healthy weight but not happy at all with the way I look. I lost 70 pounds last year on MFP so I’m going back to what I know works for me. I’m also learning to distinguish the difference between what I “want” and what I “need”. I have started strength training for the first time in 14 years so I’m hoping to build muscle and lose fat. I’d just like some definition and tone.6
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I have been unhappy with my weight since about the age of 14, and initially started MFP when I was 16, without much success (mainly through inaccurate logging). I managed to lose about 23lb of my 40lb goal before moving overseas in September last year. This meant no gym, no living with anyone else, and a whole lot of yummy food at my disposal! I ignored it until about December last year when I purchased a scale and realised I was essentially back where I started. Since returning in January, I have been going to the gym more or less consistently but have also been bingeing and significantly overeating to the point where there hasn't been any effect on my weight. I'm trying to get back into logging my foods, which I found was the most helpful thing I did to lose weight.
I'm also trying to focus on body composition and gaining strength; when I look back at pictures I took when I was at my lightest weight, there is no muscle definition - just a smaller version of what I once was! By starting strength training, I'm hoping that I can reduce my obsession with numbers and focus more on how I look and feel.3 -
I’ve returned after leaving for a bit. Gained about 10 pounds after a job change and moving into my new house.
Lots of stress and life in general gets in the way.0 -
I am also one of those who lost weight and now I'm back. I lost almost 30 pounds at a steady pace, and believe that logging and having a great support system through MFP friends helped with my success. I then got pregnant, and tried to stay on the wagon but ended up eating off plan, but also stopped pretty much all workouts, at the end of my pregnancy due to some pelvis issues could hardly even walk to my car after work, ended up in a state of emotional eating gone crazy, gaining much more than I should have.
After being previously extremely consistent, after this baby I've been back to MFP time after time again. I believe you can't make excuses if you really want to get to your goal weight, but I'm into the single mom - tired, busy, no time, no money excuses again, and it seems much harder this time around to mentally commit to it, but I will get there!
I love reading everyone's reasons here, we are all human and have ups and downs, and reminds me why I just love the MFP community.2 -
For me, I got pregnant again and used it as an excuse to eat ALL the foods. I gained about 65 lbs. It was ridiculous.1
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I regained some of my 150+ pounds back from getting into maintenance & not really having any clear idea on what to do. I think from being 300+ pounds I was terrified of gaining all the weight back & fell into a binge/restrict pattern that unfortunately lasted for at least six months or longer until I was close enough to heading into a scary place of thinking eating 900 calories was a good idea to make up for a binge. I luckily got out of that & gained some of my weight back & hovered around 210-220 for at least a year or more.
I'm now in a better mindset to lose weight & I'm now around 199 (want to at least get to 155-160 again) & this time I make sure to take diet breaks/eat at maintenance to prepare myself for when I actually hit maintenance.7 -
Bumping a few threads that seem like they might be beneficial for New Year's resolutioners7
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I lost 35 pounds in 2016 by weighing and logging my food carefully, and walking about 10,000 steps daily. I did not start drifting up until late 2017--my birthday is in December, so I took that month "off" meaning I ate whatever I wanted. And I love Christmas cookies and candy. And we went out to eat a LOT. It's hard to get back into the swing of disciplined eating! I have slowly regained 17 pounds total, so it could be worse...but it needs to get better. I have set a mini-goal for this month, which is a 7 pound loss. It happens one day at a time, one meal at a time. I can do it.1
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I got lazy (stopped walking, working out), went back to old habits (eating and otherwise), stopped logging food to name the top few.2
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I just keep getting pregnant all over again once I get a hot body. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯5
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I lost 60+ pounds before moving to Florida for the Disney College Program by logging on MFP. While down there, I discovered I was already pregnant and had to move back home. Deep down I always knew (though it took way too long to admit) that the relationship with my son's father wasn't going to last, so I ate whatever whenever both during and after my pregnancy. He never helped with the baby and we had no money, so I ate total junk all the time. We eventually split up, my son and I moved in with my parents for now ... where my mom's been making all the good homemade food ... so I eat it all!
There's still heaps of other/new stresses being thrown at me and I have gained over 70 pounds, but it's time to put on my big girl undies and get back to work!
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Started MFP a couple years ago to lose weight, ended up losing too much and became underweight. I was obsessed with exercising and counting calories. I went off to college and measured most of what I ate. I was told some horrifying news about my heart that was caused by overexercising and my extreme diet, which scared me into binge eating. I would buy a jar of tahini or almond butter and wake up in the night hungry and eat the whole jar. I transferred to a college near my home, continued to eat a jar of peanut butter a day, and finally peaked past my ideal recovery weight. I still have an ED mindset, but my goal now is to stop binge eating and lose weight in a healthy way. “Healthy”. Because I’m doing fruitarian right now... hence the “”.
So, that’s why I gained weight.3 -
I went on a cruise a year ago. I had lost 30 pounds prior to it so I ate and drank without hesitation. When I got home I kept doing that for 12 months. I just fell so hard off the wagon and couldn’t get myself back into the good habits that I know work for me. I gained nearly 40 pounds in 2018. I never left mfp but I stopped tracking calories and it was a disaster.
I’m ready to stay on track this time. And o have to recognize that it’s going to be a lifelong thing.
Good luck to everyone who is climbing back on and to those of you here for the first time. We can do it!4 -
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The first time I got skinny I developed Anorexia. Surprisingly effective, but trashed my health. Then had 3 babies in under 3 years and gained 25 lbs. So back to MFP, but worked out too hard and ate too little. Got skinny (and muscles!) Fast, but destroyed my adrenals. Had to take time off the gym and eat more to heal. Realized how good it feels to give myself permission to eat, gained 25 lbs. Back now with moderation in both diet and exercise - hoping these changes stick.6
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I tried too many different "diets" that promised I didn't need to track calories. They weren't sustainable and I fell off the wagon. A cheat day turned into a cheat weekend, then after a cheat week I was like eff it. I'm back on track now.0
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