Anyone Lost Over 30 and kept it off for more than 5 years, who doesn't work in the fitness industry

spiriteagle99 · September 2022

I lost 50+ about 10 years ago. Because I had a lot of experience at yoyo dieting, I decided to keep tracking my food and exercise after I was satisfied with my weight. I know how easy it is to start eating more without realizing it. I also became a runner and we adopted a dog, so I get a lot of exercise. I am retired and have the time and schedule flexibility to get an hour or two of exercise most days. I don't think I've been more than 5 lbs. from my goal weight in the last 10 years.

milkywaymfp · September 2022

ive been maintaining a 24lb weight loss since 2015 ! I walk everywhere and eat differently than i used to

obriencfc · September 2022

Back in 2011, I was in my second year of college and weighed around 260 lbs. After committing to OMAD for half a school year, I dropped down to 220 pounds. By the end of 2013, I was 215 pounds. From 2014-2022, I lost an additional 20 pounds and weighed between 195-205 regularly. My goal is to sit comfortably at 185! After trying EVERY quick fix in the dieting world, I have finally understood the importance of simply tracking food every day, even if I know I will be overeating!

BartBVanBockstaele · October 2022

Letsdothis749 wrote: »

Is there anyone here who has lost over 30 pounds and kept it off for more than 5 years, who doesn't work in the fitness industry, or a heavily appearance-biased field?

It seems like most of the people who keep it off work in fitness. I hope I'm wrong.

Other people can reply too, I'm just particularly interested in that group.

I work as a freelance translator, specialised in medicine, i.o.w. not even remotely appearance-biased.

I was on my heaviest in 2012 when I weighed approximately 127 kg. I started a weight loss diet, which was pure torture. Some time in 2018 I could not hold it anymore and was actively contemplating euthanasia, that's how terrible it was. I essentially gave up and started ballooning up. Then, around the end of 2018, I got a tip that was not intended for weight loss, but it turned out that it removed most, but not all, of the extreme discomfort I had experienced and I discovered to my delight that except for relatively tolerable but still incessant hunger, I was able to start my weight loss diet again.

I have kept going and after stalling for about two years at around 72 kg, I made a decision and have now finally started losing again, albeit very slowly at around 20 g a day, i.e. about 600 g a month. That is fine. At 69 kg today, I am officially of normal weight according to the BMI standards used in North America (but overweight according to the Asian standards) and I am of subnormal weight according to the old Broca Index, but have a few kg to reach ideal weight according to Broca while I am also within 200 g of Hamwi ideal weight, as far as I know the highest of all ideal weight indexes that have been proposed. So, one could say, and I essentially do, that I am in maintenance while still inching closer to an even more ideal weight for me, which I have not reached yet. Unless I really am an outlier where ideal weight is concerned, I expect to reach it some time in 2023.

There are 0 reasons to not keep the weight off until I snuff it. Hunger, while persistent, is tolerable and more bearable than the discomfort caused by higher weight. In other words, keeping it off is no longer a genuine choice, it is automatic and I don't even really think about changing anything anymore. There are good reasons to think I will never have to change and even if I do, it would easily be fixed by adding a tiny amount of vegetables to every meal, or a few grams of beans or a small portion of nuts every week or so, in other words, something that is really negligible in the grand scheme of things.

As Robert Baron has said, the diet you have when you lost the weight is pretty much the diet you have for the rest of your life which is why he calls it the "forever diet". At least for me, he is spot on.

Hence, the first part of my weightloss journey is an experience I don't even wish on my worst enemies, in case I should have those. The second part, also about 30 kg, is something I hope everyone who needs to lose weight could experience. All it took was resistance to temptation, something that I now don't even think about anymore, it is automatic.

I am hardly an exception. As Chef_Barbell said, "It's not that rare".

CaroWalks · October 2022

Yes, I started on in 2016, aged almost 73. At that time I weighed 87kg (201lbs). I walked up to 2 hours per day over hilly terrain and limited my food intake to 1200 calories per day. I reached my goal weight (133lbs) in 12 months and have maintained it since 2017. I will be 78 next month, and am still walking for 120 minutes, or more, daily. My best wight loss tips are 1) sleep well - I aim for 8 hours per night; 2) hydrate - that means drink LOTS of water; and 3) weigh EVERY morning. I don't think I would have been as successful without MFP and Fitbit - the original Alta is still going strong. As an author, I have quite a sedentary work routine, but with perseverance and self-discipline the pounds WILL come off and stay off. Good luck from Australia. cb

mjc614900 · October 2022

Update: I still weigh 130. I am only 5'1. It's been two years. But every day I am mindful of what I eat and how much walking or physicial activity I get. I am 65 now. And I don't want to end up on the miserable end of aging. Everyday my top priority is my health - what I eat - and why. And I evaluate - and evaluate again.

willboywonder · October 2022

I did. I began losing back around 2003. I lost about 60 pounds and it's still gone, thankfully. I have cheated from time to time, but I'm glad I haven't gone back to that weight. It's hard, no doubt. But it gets a littler easier as time goes by.

kpolleck · October 2022

I lost 30+ pounds and overshot my goal--where friends and family members who hadn't seen me for awhile assumed I had some disease. It wasn't an unhealthy weight...although it was probably getting close, yet it certainly was a significant change.

That was almost 10 years ago, and I've deliberately added a few pounds, still 30 less than my maximum weight.

I don't eat healthfully, but I run...and I use MyFitnessPal to remind me to stop eating for the day, even if it's only 11:00am.

34blast · March 2023

An interesting note, I really like this thread
Experts think as many as 80 to 95% of dieters gain back the weight they've worked so hard to lose within 5 years

https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5764193/

I am reading this for some inspiration. Lot's of dedicated people on here.
I spent most of my 20s and 30s very active outside of work.
I spent time running, playing soccer, playing basketball, hiking and weight training
I was not a model, but a mostly normal guy a little bit stronger than average at
6' 1" 192lbs

In my 40s somehow I quit exercising so much and kept eating the same. I continued to weight train, but quit playing so many sports (time with kids). I gained a lot of weight by my standards. I ballooned up to 240 pounds and decided to do something about it. I joined MyFitnessPal, continued to lift and started adding in more cardio (Elliptical, running, hiking). I tracked everything religiously. I got back down to about 198lbs in about 9 months or so. I maintained that weight and my strength levels for 3 years or so.

I don't know why, I fell off the wagon. I quit exercising so much. I still tracked all my food and strength trained. However, I just simply ignored that I had a positive caloric intake daily. I avoided weighting for almost 2 years. Mentally, I kept thinking, I'm a little bit heavier than ideal, but not that far off. I had to get a physical for life insurance and guess what? I ended up back where I started

The good news is I know how to lose the weight and keep it off. I just have to be determined to do it.

Several good tips here, I think if I kept my scales in the way and forced myself to weight at least once a week, I would have been okay. Not weighing yourself makes it much easier to be in denial. Or for me also excepting okay, a little bit heavier is okay, I'll go on a cut soon, but obviously I let things escalate out of control

sunshineyourway · March 2023

Yes, I lost 41 lbs. 10-19-2014 and have kept it within a 3% range. Two years ago I lost another 5-10 lbs. fluctuating. I am not in the fitness field.

PJFinSJ · March 2023

I've maintained a 50 lb loss for 14 years.

I still have more to lose, but as you know, it's a challenge to maintain a significant weight loss! My weight has gone up and down sometimes as much as 30 pounds (in 2020 due to Covid stress, isolation and takeout!). I lost the weight I gained in 2020, all on my own without special diets/programs. I'm learning what works for me and I get better at maintaining/controlling my weight. I'm also becoming aware of how food affects my body and makes me feel after I eat it. I've changed up my diet and feeling better. Just before Covid hit, I relocated to a different state and left my personal trainer of 3 years behind.

I've really had a difficult time getting going with training again. I knew I had to make it fun. I turn on some good dance music and sometimes I just dance, but sometimes it leads to another warmup and a workout. I congratulate myself on tiny steps - even moving my furniture around to open up a space in my apartment to make it easier and more inviting to work out! I was super excited when I figured out how to extend my battle rope across my apartment (firmly anchored to the base of my stationary bike).

It takes a while to overcome unhealthy habits and develop new healthier habits. It's a long journey, and I am happy with any progress in the right direction!

breakingcustomtech · March 2023

Yes it's possible. I lost most of my weight before I even started exercising. I did it gradually with losing about a lb a week. I didn't want to go crazy and then go back to my old ways. I started back in February 2020. 2 years later I was down from 260 to 185. While I'm at 192 right now that will go down because I'm finally over being sick and some injuries. I picked up on running and fell in love. I'm now incorporating strength and mobility training as well so I can add some more distance.

I find if thigs are slipping I go back to counting calories. I wasn't counting calories for almost a year, but when I started to put weight back on I made a choice to count again.

scline01 · March 2023

I lost 150 lbs and kept it off until menopause. Now I am 50 lbs over but I am losing. SO SLOWLY. Maybe 3-4 a month. So far I have lost 32 lbs in the last year and 3 months.

SecondHalfHotness · March 2023

I reached my high weight (over 300 lbs) in 2009 and decided no more. I lost 45 lbs in about 6 months - this is before MFP so I am just guessing, I lost the charts I had then, and I never regained that again. The rest has been harder, but I am currently down 80 pounds from my highest weight. I had been lower but that was before COVID (oops!). I have a desk job and now that I go back into the office I find it helpful because when I am at home I tend to boredom eat.

LillieAnne15 · March 2023

I went from a size 18 to a size 8 and I'm going on my 5th year and still wearing a size 8. I do keto.

zebasschick · March 2023

in 2006, i was at my highest weight at 242. in 2012, i was 172, and although i'm still overweight, i've never weighed over 170 again. and not in the fitness industry.

dochumphreysnow · March 2023

Letsdothis749 wrote: »

Is there anyone here who has lost over 30 pounds and kept it off for more than 5 years, who doesn't work in the fitness industry, or a heavily appearance-biased field?

It seems like most of the people who keep it off work in fitness. I hope I'm wrong.

Other people can reply too, I'm just particularly interested in that group.

Used to weigh 347 10 years ago. I now weigh 191. Diet and exercise.

Jarol777 · March 2023

YES. I'm a retired octogenarian. I've taken off 102 lbs in the past 25 years and kept 94 of it off as of today. There were many yo-yo periods but I always returned to the downward trend. When I don't journal calories i.e. SparkPeople now FitnessPal; when I don't weigh daily, I gain. But those two disciplines keep me on track. I know my body, what it takes for me to lose or maintain. I don't count on trips or when I am a guest in someone's home but when I return home, it's back on my success program. Every year, I lose the battle between November 1 to December 31. But on New Year's Day, I'm back on. My new goal for this year is that my high weight on January 1 is never exceeded during the whole year. My fun exercise is competitive table tennis and I host people younger and better than me every week.

Jarol777 · March 2023

PS. I still have 25 years of daily journaling of daily calories consumed and weight, up or down, on my computer. I've adopted these wise sayings for myself.
“If I don’t measure and calculate food, losing will not happen. Estimating portions does NOT work for me!”
“If I don’t weigh often and keep records, I gain weight.”

Minihaha77 · March 2023

I went on Atkins 14 years ago. Starting weight 224 lbs. I lost down to 144 lbs. (80lbs.) and had kept it off until last year when I remarried after 31 years a widow. Needless to say eating out and socializing has caused me to gain back to 153 (9lbs.). I'm back on track again with a low carb eating plan and plan on reaching my goal by summer..

Anyone Lost Over 30 and kept it off for more than 5 years, who doesn't work in the fitness industry

Replies

Categories