Does ayone gains the weight back whenever they stop counting?

Tanie98
Tanie98 Posts: 675 Member
in Motivation and Support
After using myfitnesspal and losing 30lbs ..i find i got used to eat smaller portions and my appetite decreased where sometimes i would struggle to eat enough to reach my calorie goal. Then i stop counting and a year later I put back 15 lbs back on..how does it happen so easily?

Now i'm back to counting again and i think i will keep tracking maintenance

Replies

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Tanie98 wrote: »
    After using myfitnesspal and losing 30lbs ..i find i got used to eat smaller portions and my appetite decreased where sometimes i would struggle to eat enough to reach my calorie goal. Then i stop counting and a year later I put back 15 lbs back on..how does it happen so easily?

    Now i'm back to counting again and i think i will keep tracking maintenance

    The habits that led to the weight gain still exist and they may be much deeper grooves than the new ones used to lose it. I am not sure how long I will have to count calories in maintenance but I suspect it will be several years if not forever or else my calories will likely creep back up.

    Not everyone has to be vigilant. Some, maybe even most, of us do. Remember that only about 5 percent of anyone who gets the weight off actually keeps it off for any length of time.
  • starfruit132
    starfruit132 Posts: 291 Member
    I hear you and ditto here. A 35 lb loss, then slowly gained 15 back in 3 years. Loss and maintenance are definitely tied to daily tracking and weighing for me personally. Plus, I kept moving the "maintenance range" goalpost as I gained - and that does not work. I need to make daily tracking a part of my life. Currently, I'm deliberately losing very slowly to practice maintenance if that makes sense. Stay strong.
  • manny1991
    manny1991 Posts: 204 Member
    ZhivagosGirl wrote: »
    I would say if I'm not actively losing I'm gaining. Last go round was 2017. I lost 70 lbs - gained back 100. And here I am again (second - tenth verse same as the first).

    I am in the same boat :-( 5 years ago I managed to lose 60lbs, stopped tracking my calories for various reasons and have since gained 90+ back. Trying again, hopefully I can make it last this time.
  • suzyjmcd2
    suzyjmcd2 Posts: 266 Member
    I don't think I'll ever stop counting. I have to eat less than 1400 or I start gaining again, so it's important that I keep track. It's just part of my new lifestyle to maintain.... logging every day.
  • spyro88
    spyro88 Posts: 472 Member
    Yes... I have to eat a smaller amount than I was eating before, and I don't think I have learned to do that yet without counting. It keeps me on track and accountable. If I'm not counting, I will let myself slip.
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
    Yup - I'm definitely in the same boat here. I lost 80lb with MFP six years ago. I fell off the wagon 20lb from original goal, and although I didn't start gaining immediately, the weight eventually started to creep up. I did keep sticking my head in, but it didn't stick until the beginning of this year, once I'd put back on half of what I'd lost. I've got back to my new goal weight (160lb) and am tracking for the rest of the year. I'm going to be tracking for a long time yet (maybe forever), but I want to reassess in the new year as to whether I lose any more or I stay in maintenance.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    Focus and consistency. There's no such thing as the Finish Line. If this weight loss battle has been with you for quite some time it's not going away but we can learn to manage ourselves with food. We can moderate ourselves with food. Measure and track your data points. Doesn't take much time but the long term benefits are so worth it.

  • gracegettingittogether
    gracegettingittogether Posts: 176 Member
    edited October 2020
    Yes. I lost 35 lbs here while using MFP, stopped counting and promptly gained it all back plus more. I’ll be tracking for life. I also last time was constantly in too large a deficit, so I was always so hungry. When life got stressful, I couldn’t deal with the constant hunger on top of everything else, so I stopped counting. This time around, I’m in a lower deficit and trying to focus on each day, rather than the supposed end goal of my weight goal. But when I get there, I’ll need to focus on maintenance. So I’m trying to just focus on each day. Someone on here said something like the process is the goal. That’s been so helpful! I haven’t even weighed myself for the last two weeks, because I can get hung up on the numbers, but I can feel my clothes getting looser and can see contours I haven’t seen for awhile.
  • SoulThriver88
    SoulThriver88 Posts: 27 Member
    when your scale breaks...get a new one...
    I stopped weighing myself because my scale broke and I thought I would be fine without one. Big mistake... I am struggling to get rid of the excess weight gain.
  • Mrs_Smith_8002
    Mrs_Smith_8002 Posts: 13 Member
    I will have to log and track for the rest of my life. I have gained and lost and gained and lost so many times I know I can't do it just on intuition.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,538 Member
    I’ve been maintaining a long time. Initially I made goal and kept tracking for 5 years. I eventually got to the point where I could maintain without it. But if I gain more than 2 or 3 lbs I start again. Just how it is.

    Easy? It is. Consider the 3500 calories per lb rule of thumb. Just 100 extra calories per day will mean a 10 lb gain in a year. How easy is that? 1 glass of wine. A cookie or 2. A second helping of something. Not hard at all.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,024 Member
    I've been logging for 1 1/2 years now. I lost a little over 100 lbs and allow myself a 10 lb window now in maintenance. Once I am nearing the 10lbs, I start being much more strict with calorie counting. It's far from easy for me, but it is working as long as I stay mentally tough. My problem in the past has always been making excuses. I believe I will be counting calories for rest of my life. Whatever works :)
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,538 Member
    And I want to add this but the edit function isn’t working.

    Try not to be distressed.

    A lot of people find tracking a burden. I found it to be a lot of trouble at first, but over time it didn’t take much effort. I kept my food diary with pen and paper. Basically just crude lists of what I ate with the numbers. Logging on the computer reminds me of work. It’s good to have the database, but I needed to see my logbook on the kitchen counter as a constant reminder.

    Also a lot of people kick themselves for tracking long term. “I should be able to do it on my own.” It’s not normal.” “I need to learn intuitive eating.”

    Should? According to who? The woman who complained to me about tracking being abnormal weighs about 300lbs. No kidding. I think intuitive eating is a myth. The 2 people I’ve met in my life, I’m 70, who I’d count as naturally thin just weren’t much interested in eating, thought getting hungry was a nuisance.

    Intuitively my eye sees food my brain says eat. I think it’s like that for most people. Our bodies are designed to store extra calories to see us through hard times. In the modern world those times haven’t arrived for most of us. So I have to find a way to operate with some reasonable limits. Calorie counting works. That’s all there is to know.
  • Anya_000
    Anya_000 Posts: 725 Member
    I think I'll have to continue to do it. I hate tracking, but when I don't do it, I slowly gain ALL the weight back. Ah well, I'm grateful to have this tool, back in the old days it was pen and paper plus a calorie book. Myfitness pal is so much easier than that.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    Its not that hard to fathom actually. When we don't track, it is easy for calorie creep to happen. Eat a little extra, drink a little extra here & there. A gain of 15 pounds in a year: is a surplus of 143 calories per day. Logging, or at least being aware to some extent of how much one consumes is going to be relevant for most of us - for a lifetime - to stay in maintenance.
  • jrh_this_better_work
    jrh_this_better_work Posts: 92 Member
    For me it isn't even calorie creep. It's the mindfulness of knowing that I *will* track it that keeps me on the straight and narrow. When I don't track, it's a lot easier to just eat ALL THE FOOD because I can lie to myself that it isn't that bad.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    I've been going back and forth on this very subject myself for the last couple of months since I switched to maintenance. I'm pretty sure that I will need to be a logger for the rest of my days if I want to keep the weight off, but I think the fact that I'm logging makes me keep calories down to a reasonable amount, so the act of logging is keeping the process top of mind for me, if that makes sense? It's the same with exercising: if I'm purposefully exercising daily (or almost daily) then I'm more likely to stay "on track" and not over do it.

    So the logging is making me be more accountable and keeping the process front and center I think? I don't know... I'm just winging it half the time anyway... ;)
  • sal10851
    sal10851 Posts: 171 Member
    The key is to create a dietry plan and principles to follow for life. As a society we simply consume too much calories dense foods that it's easy to underestimate the science being invested in some of our favorite foods. Finding healthier options for my favorite foods has been an absolute game changer for me. No matter what I eat off my meal plans I know it's going to be nutritious, delicious, and satiating. That keeps me from craving the classics such as pizza, ice cream, and burgers. Instead of pizza I eat homemade flatbread pizza, popcorn instead of chips, protein ice cream for regular ice cream. Instead of a chocolate bar I eat a pound of strawberries which has less calories, more fiber, and other micronutrients. I've managed to lose 68 pounds and I don't even feel like I'm dieting. The more I stick to this diet the more it's becoming what I crave. I don't feel the need to "cheat" when the food I eat taste great!
  • bighoopattitude
    bighoopattitude Posts: 37 Member
    This happens to me, too which is why I’m back here.


    I also find being too ‘nice’ to myself (an approach that’s constantly recommended) makes me complacent and lazy and fat so I’m back to my old mean and counting ways🤷🏼‍♀️
  • Fatexterminator1
    Fatexterminator1 Posts: 13 Member
    For myself when I loose weight I never count but I eat whole foods instead and I have lost 110lbs doing that. When I started eating anything I put on 50lbs, so now I have gone back to whole foods and exercise
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    88olds wrote: »
    I’ve been maintaining a long time. Initially I made goal and kept tracking for 5 years. I eventually got to the point where I could maintain without it. But if I gain more than 2 or 3 lbs I start again. Just how it is.

    Easy? It is. Consider the 3500 calories per lb rule of thumb. Just 100 extra calories per day will mean a 10 lb gain in a year. How easy is that? 1 glass of wine. A cookie or 2. A second helping of something. Not hard at all.

    Everything I have ever read from successful maintainers has the same universal answer (within personal parameters). Watch your weight and if it trends up past your comfortable border take immediate action.

    I do not see how it is a good idea to hang up the logging as soon as the goal weight is reached. Something else I have learned from others is that it can take months to dial in your maintenance calories.

    I like the idea of logging for at least 5 years of maintenance and then choosing what to do after that period expires. I may log forever, I may not. I also like the idea of maintaining my spreadsheet and daily weighing for at least 2 years. Daily weighing I might also consider doing forever just because daily habits are the easiest to maintain. Time will tell. The spreadsheet will be overkill at some point. It is a great management tool while losing but either it will be trimmed down or cut out.
  • AlexandraFindsHerself1971
    AlexandraFindsHerself1971 Posts: 3,106 Member
    Here's my take on it. I spent six months with a pen and paper tracking everything I ate, my "output", and noting weather, activities, TOM, and stress, trying to get my IBS under control and identify triggers. I don't have to do that now, because I know what my body doesn't like to eat and what to do when my gut slows down due to unavoidable stress. And it wasn't terrible or a horrible intrusion on my life. It just got to be a simple habit.

    If I have to spend the rest of my life tracking my calories and thinking about what I eat, well, in return I get to be the size I want and wear the clothes I want to wear and be happy and healthy. I also have to follow routines and take pills twice a day for my mental health to be functional. It's just what I have to do to be the self I want to be.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    I gain back 2-5 lb now in more of a water weight kind of thing. When I was newer to it I gained a bit more back.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    I think it is more not weighing weekly or daily ...not so much counting the calories. It is the weight creeping on and denial by not weighing in.

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