Long Term Weight Management (& Thank you myfitnesspal!)

Darwin1960 · October 2011

Fifty pounds of weight loss. I will now duct tape two 25 pound sacks of flour over my shoulders to better appreciate the progress.

I wasn't unhappy before the loss, I've got a great life, but am certainly feeling better and am healthier now. I am amazed this has worked. I've been heavy for a good part of my adult life. The exceptions were when I was younger and had bursts of activity (nothing like six months of traveling in Europe to get skinny). I naively imagined science would one day devise an easy, painless and healthy way to lose weight. That never happened.

Or maybe it did, a long time ago.

Ok, it's definitely not painless, however it is relatively easy and healthy. It's all about the laws of thermodynamics. I should have been applying my college physics ages ago: "If you expend more energy than you take in - magic! The difference manifests itself in weight loss". Calorie counting really, really works.

Myfitnesspal has been instrumental in my keeping on top of this simple rule. Having the application available at all times on my phone, as well as on a computer, has been a godsend. Thank you myfitnesspal. Thank you. (PS, could you change your name? It's really long and silly!)

What I anticipate will be tremendously more difficult than losing the weight, will be *permanently* managing and keeping it off.

The long term rate of success for weight loss is abysmal. Everyone knows the yo-yo stories. In my mind, if you can't maintain the weight loss, it is probably healthier not to lose it in the first place. It's worthwhile to search for people who have lost weight and maintained their weight for years or decades, and try to understand how they've done it. From what I've learned, those who succeed, usually do so with not just a major, permanent (and yes, painful) change in diet, but the use of a fairly heavy and regular exercise regime, something I am moving towards through regular cycling.

So - I'm curious. Have any of you lost and kept off weight for more than a few years? If so, what do you consider your trick for not yo-yo'ing?

Thanks!

NovemberJune · October 2011

I love how you said you weren't unhappy before. I wasn't either, but I feel like lots of people assume I much be much happier now

I can't wait to hear from those who have kept it off, if they're here

I hope to, just by continuing as I am right now.

NovemberJune · October 2011

Oh and congrats on your weight loss!!!

chickybuns · October 2011

I know it's not a ton of weight, but I lost about 15 pounds. I started the weight loss at the beginning of the year and have kept it off. I have just stayed with your theory, expend more than I eat. I've gotten in slow periods where I do not have much of a calorie deficit, which is what I'm working on now. I would like to lose 5-10 more pounds.

brushe · October 2011

I love your analytical/macro approach......not to say this is an easy task by any means, but putting it in simplistic terms does ease some of the stresses and minutia of the process.

"If you expend more energy than you take in - magic!"

Darwin1960 · October 2011

I find this fascinating: It is the National Weight Control Registry (http://www.nwcr.ws/).

It is a study, set up in 1994 to document long term weight loss success. Currently there are about 10,000 people in the study. To qualify to join the registry (so they can add your information to their study), you have to have lost at least 30 lbs and to have kept it off for a year or more. I hope to (more than) qualify to join the registry sometime in 2012. Nice to have another incentive, even if somewhat abstract.

The summary of their findings is pretty compelling: http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm

Here are some of them:

> Registry members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years.
> These averages, however, hide a lot of diversity:
- Weight losses have ranged from 30 to 300 lbs.
- Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years!
- Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly--over as many as 14 years.

> We have also started to learn about how the weight loss was accomplished: 45% of registry participants lost the
weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program.
> 98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight.
> 94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.

> There is variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off. Most report continuing to maintain a low calorie,
low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.
- 78% eat breakfast every day.
- 75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
- 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
- *** 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day. ***

Of all those facts, the very last one represents the greatest change (at least for me). One hour of exercise a day? Two hours every other day? The other items are easy. One hour a day? I should probably start getting used to the idea. We already watch less than an hour of TV per week (life is way to short to spend it that way!). Where do people find the time for that kind of exercise??? Have any of you found a way to keep up a regime like that indefinitely?

Darwin1960 · October 2011

Thank you stefaniee83. You too!

For me, I am afraid continuing as I am now won't be enough. I am thinking that the losing part is perhaps the easiest (and though I'm not complaining, it wasn't easy - though not nearly as as hard as I thought it would be). I am now bracing myself for some additional big changes to my daily routine - *lots* of exercise...

Darwin1960 · October 2011

Chickybuns,

15 pounds is great - and it seems like a long enough time to make it a really healthy change.

One of the things that has helped me tremendously, is finding a few "secret weapon" foods. Those are low calorie items, or relatively low calorie items that I find very satisfying. So much so that I absolutely look forward to them, even crave them. I never would have found them had I not had such a strong incentive to find them. For me, they are things like the really thick concentrated 0% fat Greek yogurts that taste like they are half cream. My list of "secret weapons" changes over time, and I am sure these sorts of tastes are very personal, but knowing that I can indulge in some things I actually love gives me an important psychological boost, and a list of things I can fall back on when I occasionally hit that "I can't take it anymore!" feeling.

I will share more of my personal "secret weapon" foods if there is interest...

Darwin1960 · October 2011

Bushe,

I agree. We are all different in how analytical we like to be in our approach to something like this. Coming up with a theoretical approach to what I am doing really seems to help me, even though it is clearly just another way to motivate myself.

I think just the act of tracking what you are taking in is generally valuable. I love that the MFP approach is so clearly focused on calories. That way all diet fads cancel each other out - they all work to some degree, but ultimately it's all about calories!

NovemberJune · October 2011

Interesting!

I find this fascinating: It is the National Weight Control Registry (http://www.nwcr.ws/).

It is a study, set up in 1994 to document long term weight loss success. Currently there are about 10,000 people in the study. To qualify to join the registry (so they can add your information to their study), you have to have lost at least 30 lbs and to have kept it off for a year or more. I hope to (more than) qualify to join the registry sometime in 2012. Nice to have another incentive, even if somewhat abstract.

The summary of their findings is pretty compelling: http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm

Here are some of them:

> Registry members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years.
> These averages, however, hide a lot of diversity:
- Weight losses have ranged from 30 to 300 lbs.
- Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years!
- Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly--over as many as 14 years.

> We have also started to learn about how the weight loss was accomplished: 45% of registry participants lost the
weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program.
> 98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight.
> 94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.

> There is variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off. Most report continuing to maintain a low calorie,
low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.
- 78% eat breakfast every day.
- 75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
- 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
- *** 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day. ***

Of all those facts, the very last one represents the greatest change (at least for me). One hour of exercise a day? Two hours every other day? The other items are easy. One hour a day? I should probably start getting used to the idea. We already watch less than an hour of TV per week (life is way to short to spend it that way!). Where do people find the time for that kind of exercise??? Have any of you found a way to keep up a regime like that indefinitely?

mstawnya · October 2011

I've yo-yoed because of having kids, but find I gain back when I don't log my food and when I don't make exercise a priority.

Long Term Weight Management (& Thank you myfitnesspal!)

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