Question For Those Who Have Lost and Maintained Weight

Renewed2021
Renewed2021 Posts: 32 Member
in Motivation and Support
Please be as honest as you can...

How hard is it to lose weight and maintain that weight loss? I've got 111 pounds to lose and I want to know what I'm facing.

Thank you.

Replies

  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,994 Member
    I am not at maintenance yet.
    But the question I think that is more important is “how hard will life be if I don’t lose the weight?”

    I can’t answer that for you. That’s your choice to make.

    I can say that a hundred pounds is a long haul. And that takes perseverance. But is absolutely doable. The one key factor is DON’T QUIT

    And it might help to break down your progress to mini goals. Perhaps every ten pounds.

    I’m let others answer the maintenance question.

    But there are some very supportive groups here for large amounts of weight loss. Biggest Loser is fun and supportive. But it’s not the only one.

    I’m six months into this process this time around. 55 pounds down, with 50 or more to go. I gave up the last time over a decade ago and never actually made it to maintenance. In retrospect I wish I had. But that’s water under the bridge.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    I didn't lose as much as you: It was only 50-something, close to 60, pounds. But I'd been overweight/obese for around 3 decades, and it was almost a third of my bodyweight. I've stayed at a healthy weight for 5+ years since.

    It wasn't easy every single second, but honestly, it was much easier than I expected. I could kick myself for not doing it sooner. It took patience and persistence, and it helped me to structure it in a gradual, achievable way, finding/using strategies I could keep up permanently, rather than trying to make it a quick project after which things would "go back to normal". (You may differ, on that strategy point; but it was true for me.)

    It's really just a new set of habits to experiment, find, practice, and groove in, IMO. There will be slip-ups or failed experiments along the way, and that's OK . . . as long as one keeps going, keeps chipping away at it.

    (I wish @88olds were here. He's good at questions like this, IMO. I hope he doesn't mind that I tagged him.)

  • Renewed2021
    Renewed2021 Posts: 32 Member
    Thank you for these tips! I'm gonna check out these other communities for help!
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    Renewed2021 wrote: »
    Please be as honest as you can...

    How hard is it to lose weight and maintain that weight loss? I've got 111 pounds to lose and I want to know what I'm facing.

    Thank you.

    You're facing a future full of additional possibilities, fewer restrictions and a higher quality of life.

    Grab it @Renewed2021 so that you can better enjoy your inevitable renewal moving forward.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Renewed2021 wrote: »
    Please be as honest as you can...

    How hard is it to lose weight and maintain that weight loss? I've got 111 pounds to lose and I want to know what I'm facing.

    Thank you.

    I guess it depends on what you mean by "hard". I lost 40 Lbs and have more or less maintained that for over 8 years, though I still have about 10 Lbs of the 20 I put on during COVID.

    I didn't find weight loss to be terribly difficult, but it did require discipline and consistency over a long period of time. Maintenance hasn't been difficult, but I also live a very different life now than I did years ago when I was putting on weight. Namely I eat a lot healthier and live a far more active lifestyle than I used to. During the weight loss process, I became somewhat of a health nut and really got into nutrition and feeding my body the things it needs to thrive. That's not to say that I don't have indulgences...I do...but things like pizza or pub grub or going out to eat aren't everyday things for me. I'm pretty active though I wouldn't say I'm a big "workerouter"...I walk a lot, ride my bike a lot, mountain bike most weekends if I can, hike in the mountains, etc. I do spend some time in the gym weight room, but typically only a couple of days per week for about 45-60 minutes.

    The biggest thing for me in maintenance is being active with something everyday, eating well for the most part, and monitoring what is going on with the scale. 10 Lbs up is typically my intervention point...this usually happens over the winter months when I'm less active and usually take it off in the spring going into summer.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    MaltedTea wrote: »
    Renewed2021 wrote: »
    Please be as honest as you can...

    How hard is it to lose weight and maintain that weight loss? I've got 111 pounds to lose and I want to know what I'm facing.

    Thank you.

    You're facing a future full of additional possibilities, fewer restrictions and a higher quality of life.

    Grab it @Renewed2021 so that you can better enjoy your inevitable renewal moving forward.

    Good point.

    I should've said in my PP that the *benefits* of being at a healthy weight have been diverse, and have included positive things that never would've occurred to me up front (and I say that as someone who was already active/athletic while still at an obese body weight, which had also had many benefits; being at a healthy weight added many new beneficial effects).

    Some of the benefits of weight loss start to show up surprisingly early in the process of losing, and can add to one's enthusiasm for the process (or help compliance 😉). You can get some hints at what those might be, in this rather motivating (but huge) thread:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1275030/whats-your-most-recent-nsv#latest

    "NSV" = "non-scale victory".
  • Renewed2021
    Renewed2021 Posts: 32 Member
    RunningOnWontons wrote: »
    I think your question is an excellent one. It is great that you are looking ahead to “life after weight loss”…I think it is so important to do that, and I wish you all the best in your journey.

    For me, the weight loss was difficult, but the maintenance part has not been so hard. You see, I had to change my lifestyle completely…it took a couple of years…there were so many ups and downs…it was HARD…but in the process I became a very active person. Most weeks I burn so many calories through exercise that I can eat close to twice as much on a daily basis as I ever did when I was trying to lose weight (which was, admittedly, too little. Don’t be like me and try to starve yourself…major weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint, and you aren’t helping yourself by making yourself miserable). There were other changes that took place as well (improved my mental health, recovered from several health issues caused by my obesity) that also make it easier for me to maintain my current weight.

    I’m a maintainer of a 100-lb weight loss for two years now (four years since my weight loss effort began). I am now an avid runner and am currently in training for my 3rd ultramarathon this year. I used to weigh 230 lbs (at 5’1” of height) and the pain and fatigue I experienced every day made me question whether I’d ever be able to lose weight and become more active. Or if, honestly, life was worth living at all. I’m so happy I started taking control of my life…it has changed everything for me.

    You inspire me!

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