Why did your previous weight loss program fail?

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Replies

  • Angie789
    Angie789 Posts: 61 Member
    To be honest, I've never had a weight loss program that failed to help me lose the weight I wanted. I've tried different things in my life and they've always been successful at getting me to the weight I wanted to be at.

    The problem was - as soon as I reached that magic number on the scale, I didn't know how to maintain. That's why I like MFP so much - you can use it as a tool for both weight loss and maintenance. I've learned through MFP that to stay where I want to be, I have to stay accountable - weighing in weekly, paying attention to calories & exercise. I firmly believe that the majority of weight loss programs want you to fail long term - that way you'll come back & pay them more money to lose the weight all over again. MFP frees you up from that destructive cycle.
  • missyyclaire
    missyyclaire Posts: 572 Member
    Definitely not letting it be a priority.

    I'm not an eater for too many emotional reasons. I am one of many of us who got into trouble because our overabundance of 'food' isn't really food, but garbage in pretty packages. As I've weeded those things out of my eating I'm discovering that cravings are slipping, mind is getting clearer, body is moving easier ( I had a friend tell me he noticed that about me). For whatever myriad of reasons, being here, logging food and exercise, taking a challenge just now and the support has made this journey feel like the beginnings of a life change. And I love that.
  • rockstarginaa
    rockstarginaa Posts: 1,529 Member
    I wasn't ready and I wasn't eating right. I was doing Weight Watchers, but I wasn't eating "healthy points." I would lose 10-15lbs and that's it.
  • Alacey88
    Alacey88 Posts: 486 Member
    I would get bored, cheat or just stop going to those meeting. I know I'm the reason they all failed.

    ^^this^^ and Weight Watchers changed thier plans and it made me gain my weight and some.....
  • surfinbernard
    surfinbernard Posts: 53
    I will offer my thoughts on why Slimming World did not work for me as this was the diet I tried to lose the baby weight the first time. Basically without portion control, and having a very big appetite after pregnancy and breastfeeding it doesn't return to normal straight away so you do get hungry... I believe that with SW I was eating too much. I was sticking to the plan and initially lost weight but it plateaued at much too high a weight for my goals. I left SW and moved onto Weight Watchers (the old points system) which was basically the same as calorie counting, and lost the weight and even got lower than I had been previously.

    This time I tried again with SW but again, no good, tried Weight Watchers and it's changed- no good. I have eventually come back to basic calorie counting and find this works fine.
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    I'm curious as to why you all feel that your previous weight loss programs failed?
    in a word... DEPRIVATION

    I am ... sorry WAS... a yo-yo dieter. I'd try all the fads going... SlimFast... Hays... Atkins... Weight Watchers... all were successful to a point in the short-term, but I never reached my ultimate goal with any of them and certainly what none of them were able to provide was long-term sustainability. Moreover and more importantly, I always, always felt like I was having to make sacrifices and depriving myself of things I loved to eat.

    So I'd cheat and have a biscuit... and then it was two... then half a packet ... and before you know it, I was troughing my way through biscuits and sweets, having toasties as a bedtime snack and practically eating all day long. All the good work was ruined and after each diet I'd put on more weight than before.

    Like others in this thread, I don't think I was really ready to make the life-long commitment that you need to truly succeed to not just lose weight but keep it off forever.

    Thankfully and with the assistance of MFP… I am now:bigsmile:
  • mamashatzie
    mamashatzie Posts: 238 Member
    I was not mentally ready. I am overweight because of emotional eating issues. When I tried to lose weight in the past, I had not moved past my issues. I was not ready to give up emotional eating and learn healthier habits. Now I have worked past my issues and I have finally given up the emotional eating.
  • Pangui
    Pangui Posts: 373 Member
    One word...............complacency.

    13 years ago I lost 92 pounds in 5 months. I was eating only 500-800 calories per day on average. It worked great and I was motivated, excited and could resist all temptations. But, a funny thing happened when I got within 17 pounds of my goal weight. I grew complacent. I felt happy. I was getting lots of compliments and my clothes looked good. Gradually, I started eating a little more and then a little more. It was so slow that I didn't really notice what I was doing. I lost my focus. Even after a year, I had probably only gained a few pounds back. But by then, it was too late. I was back into old habits and I was still feeling good about myself. The following three years, I gained about 30 pounds/year. Once I fell into this rut, I couldn't dig myself out. I knew I needed to get my head in the right place, but I just couldn't succeed.

    I have tried about 3 times since to get my head in the right place. I would lose 20 or 30 pounds, but then lose track. I tried forcing it, but that just doesn't work. This year, I finally had my "A ha!" moment and it stuck. This time I have made some rather drastic, but permanent lifestyle changes and I am confident that they will carry me through to my goal and beyond. And the best part is that these "drastic" changes weren't so hard after all. I now enjoy my food more than ever before. My family came along for the ride. Now I am down 43 pounds (10 pounds lost before joining MFP) and I still have 100+ to go, but I feel like I am already in the home stretch.
  • MinnesotaManimal
    MinnesotaManimal Posts: 642 Member
    Mainly because despite exercise and healthy food, I didn't have a clear idea of how much I should - and shouldn't - eat.

    THIS /\
  • jenniferlspies
    jenniferlspies Posts: 75
    I went back to my old ways (eating junk and not exercising) and didn't give a damn.

    I've been on weight loss programs since I was 16/17 (I'm 23 now) and this has been the longest I've been able to make a lifestyle change and the lowest I've gone (both weight wise and clothing sizes). The last time I lost weight was a little over 2 years ago, when I went from 210 (my highest weight) to about 175-180. In a year and a half, I regained almost all that weight (I started MFP at 197).
  • 76claire
    76claire Posts: 13 Member
    Atkins - I didn't do it properly and just stayed in the induction phase, hardly eating any carbs. I did lose weight but I had no energy and felt unhealthy because I was eating no fruit and very little veg. As soon as I stopped Atkins and just tried to eat healthy I regained all the weight I had lost.

    Slimming World - this did work initially but it didn't teach me portion control so my weight plateau'd. Also, I got tired of not being able to mix carbs and protein.

    Weight Watchers - I was hungry all the time.

    The best thing about MFP is being able to see how many calories I'm consuming. Suddenly I understand why I wasn't losing weight before.
  • Kikilicious84
    Kikilicious84 Posts: 312
    Actually mine didn't fail...I just got pregnant and can't seem to lose the weight from this one (18 month old).

    I was doing calorie counting and working on losing and decresing body fat when I found out I was pregnant. I ran and lifted durning pregnancy along with counting cals and still gained 50lbs.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    I actually succeded in my last effort of diet and execise and then I had an injury to my foot. For 5 years I battled plantar fasciitis. Now that that is gone ai am back on track, but I had a long way to go, over 8olbs!
  • Carol_
    Carol_ Posts: 469 Member
    They worked as long as I stayed on the diet. I still love Weight Watchers. That was the easiest diet I have ever been on. Yet..I gained back all my weight plus more..when I stopped going to the meetings.
  • beccadaniixox
    beccadaniixox Posts: 542 Member
    I just got really bored. Trying to calculate my points for WW just really started to piss me off (both times I tried it) . :)
  • jwhit31
    jwhit31 Posts: 450 Member
    In 2009 I lost a total of 90 pounds the old fashion way.............working out and watching my calories and what I eat. No fades for me!!! The reason why I failed and gained back more than half the weight was because I worked out too much and I burned myself out. I found myself slipping a little here and a little there until I just gave up on my healthy lifestyle. This time will be different because I've found MFP and I have a wonderful support system of folks that are going through my same challenges. I find so much motivation from my MPF friends and seeing what they are doing. I refuse to go back to what I use to be and I have friends that will kick my *kitten* if I get lazy. :happy: :laugh:
  • Dtrmnd86
    Dtrmnd86 Posts: 406 Member
    I would cheat, or thought I was eating something good but without measuring it, I was eating more calories than I should. And I tried to restrict too many things all at one. I made a list of things I couldn't eat or do. I didn't realize everything in moderation is better than cutting somethings out completely. And I was in it for the wrong reasons, other people, etc. This time around I'm doing it for me, my health, my kids, and my self esteem. It's so much easier to stick to for the right reasons and with the right tools/support.
  • HanneK
    HanneK Posts: 54 Member
    Because I didn't stick to it. I eat healty food, and worked out, but in secret I ate junk, sweets and chocolate. I didn't have the willpower or the determination to follow though my diet and work out plan so I gave in to cravings. At last I just gave up.
  • NinjaMonkey201
    NinjaMonkey201 Posts: 123
    I got lazy. Instead of "looking" at what to eat, I just grabbed the quick, easy answer. And once that happened, I lost all motivation to keep going forward and stick to it.
  • jeffwaller3
    jeffwaller3 Posts: 22
    I'm the type of person who's good at doing things at first so I always do good whenever I start on a weight loss program but I can't help myself from eating lots of sweets. I also get lazy doing exercises so everyday I cut a few minutes with my allotted time for exercising until I completely have no time for it at all. Recently I started on low calorie desserts so that I could start lowering down my calorie intake without getting rid of sweets still.

    http://www.weightlosingportal.com/low-calorie-desserts/
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