Who Else Has Lost & Gained - Lost & Gained - Lost & Gained

spcooley1
spcooley1 Posts: 8
edited October 5 in Introduce Yourself
I know there has to be other yo-yo dieters out there.... I have had great weight loss stories in my past only to ALWAYS gain it back and then some.... I even fooled my lap band after I lost 75 pounds. I have to think it is mostly because I do it all on my own... I am pretty good at getting motivated initially and can keep it going a while... but then either I don't hit my goal or if I do, I immediately begin to self-sabotage myself. Anyone else in that boat? I just got married 4 months ago and have gained 25 pounds in 4 months. Who the heck does that? (Hand held HIGH IN THE AIR over here). Anyway..... what I'd like to do things differently this time is have some friends to reach out to instead of keeping this journey as a one-woman trip. Anyone willing to help?
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Replies

  • Although not to your extreme, I have lost and re-gained (and then some) b/t 10-20 pounds over the last 10 years.

    I'm hoping that by being reasonable and cautious, and being conscious but not depriving myself this time, I will be able to make a lasting change.

    That's why you'll see occasional fast food, dessert, cheat days, and other splurges in my diary. I'm not looking to drop the 80ish pounds I need to drop quickly, but hoping to drop up to 1lb per week until eventually I reach what I consider to be a healthy weight. By then I am hoping that I will have made some lifestyle changes that will allow me to splurge on Thanksgiving, but still recognize I can't have dessert every time I go out to dinner.

    GL on your journey!
  • rm830
    rm830 Posts: 531 Member
    That's me, all the time....it's been a battle. I've been fighting the same 50 lbs for the last almost 7 years. If I can break through it this time, I'm hoping it will be long lasting.
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  • Scarlett_S
    Scarlett_S Posts: 467 Member
    I have lost and regained 25, 20, and 45 pounds several times over the last four years.

    The key for me now is moderation. I really quit thinking "diet" and started thinking calories in, calories out + exercise. And I never eat my exercise calories "back," they are just a deficit. Now, if I have something deemed bad, I don't sweat it, I just put it on the log and it counts towards the daily calories. 80% of the time I make healthier choices because I Feel better when I do. But if I have a bad weekend or a bad meal, I just get it all on the log so I can see those calories, fat, and sugar screaming at me in black and white. Then they go into the weekly average, and the weekly average still has to be under 1500 a day for the week. So if it means I am doing more exercise towards the end of the week and/or eating less, whatever it takes.
  • bshedwick
    bshedwick Posts: 659 Member
    Yeah. I've yoyo'd for sure. I was up several years ago, and dropped down to the high 180s. Then, I added it back on again. I dropped about 15 pounds last year, and then put it all back on and more.

    This time i'm really committed to being down for good. No longer want to be back up where I was before.
  • embersfallen
    embersfallen Posts: 534 Member
    I've been back and forth SO many times over the years.... highest ever..was 337... lowest was the same as I am now... upper 240's...... the difference though this time... is it's been consistant.... it's been 2.5 years...a few evil plateaus.....but it's still been going down...and STAYING down....

    you can do it! It's so much more about mindset then anything.... we all run unto differnent physical and emotional struggles that got us to this place... but it took me being able to realize I am worth it to get this place, and I know it's going get me into new territory, below this weight...and to my goals!

    I think food is like any addiction...we're soothing ourselves, comforting from something...even sometimes punishing ourselves when we feel umworthy of love etc...the hard thing with a food addiction, is you can't go cold turkey...lol.. you still have to eat! Most of the time... i see my food as fuel... though there still are times of course I mindlessly eat etc... but it's SO much LESS of a time now then before!

    Rooting for you my dear!
  • Lindalaird
    Lindalaird Posts: 11 Member
    I have lost as much as 65 pounds only to gain it back over time. Last time I kept it off for over 3 years. I have probably lost 200 pounds or more in my life. lose 25 put it back on. lose 50 put it back on. lose 60 with weight watchers. Even got my award for keeping it off ( I am a lifetime member). With the life time membership you have to pay again until you get to within 2 pounds of your goal weight. Well I might as well not be a life time member if I have to pay until I get it off again.

    I know what behaviors need changed to succeed. But, it is still very hard for me. It is coming off slow but steady once again.

    I understand the frustration with myself for letting myself gain it back.

    Count me in for support. I need your support to.
  • dixonsmom
    dixonsmom Posts: 1 Member
    I keep telling people that I am still losing the weight I gained with my last baby, and he would be 20 now if he were still with us!!!!! I can't believe how many times I can lose the same pound!!! So frustrating, but I can't give up this time. I have my 30 year class reunion next summer, and I refuse to look like this!!! Keep on keeping on everyone, and hopefully we can all succeed this time around. Slow and steady really does win the race!!!
  • SAC0O3
    SAC0O3 Posts: 95
    I am willing to help! I have yet to yoyo too much but I fear I will. I lost 40lbs in 2006, gained 23lbs back by 2009, and I have lost 14lbs and almost to my lowest weight but just the other day I binged eat and gained 2lbs back (in 4 days... I know, 9100 calories over can not only bloat you but kill you. I went from 108 to 117 xD) I know weight gain doesn't seem like a lot, but on my body type, it shows up really quick (I am very short). I am hoping once I get to my goal weight now I wont end up doing what I did last time. So I would love to help you, if you can help me!
  • I am new to this site, however, I can be touched by what you are going through.

    I lost 70 pounds between September 2007 - May 2008. I went from a size 22/24 to a size 10/12, however, in March 2008, I found out I would be losing my job after my term expired in August 2008. I was not concerned at first because I have always worked since I was about 14 years old, however, after August 2008 came and went and no job offers, I got a little concerned.

    Then the wating game. It took two years and nine months before I got another job. The first year was the hardest because I was depressed, stressed out and stop working out and eating properly. It took my daughter who was nine at the time to say "mommy, why are you always so sad." This hit hard because I always try to be positive and as a Christian, I am suppose to know who to pray, believe and trust God. However, I lost faith until my husband decided enough is enough and made an appointment for me to meet with a therapist.


    It was the best thing that could have happened because it allowed me to see exactly where I was, but to understand it was only a time and a season. It was up to me to make changes. Therefore, It took me a minute, but I started back to walking, trying to eat better, getting more involved in my daughter's school (volunteering) and thinking and talking more positive.

    Now, I am learning to put myself first, so that I can be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and worker.

    I know if I could lose the weight once, I can and will do it again and this time, I plan to live a lifestyle where I will keep the weight off for good.

    Set small obtainable goals and as you reach one, you can look back and see how far you have come and it will make it easier to take the next steps forward.
  • oodlesnoodles
    oodlesnoodles Posts: 53 Member
    Oh. My. God. I seriously could write a BOOK about how many times I have lost and gained!!! At my lowest weight back in 2004 I was 169 lbs. I have since gained it back (currently 208) and this time here is the LAST time - I will never do this again...I refuse!
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
    Thats me too. Gained in my late 20s, lost in my late 30s, gain in middle to late 40s and losing again in middle 50. Hopefully for good. Just last year lost 25lbs for sons wedding. Then started gaining again. I didn't wait this time I started working on it again. That is when I found this site. Joined Labor day of this year. So I do understand.
  • I can certainly identify with your story - I have lost and gained the same 60+ pounds for the past 30 years!! I too have fooled my lapband so i can really relate. I think I have the fear of being thin so I sabotage myself - I think regardless of how thin I could get it would never be good enough.....I could go on and on but I will stop!!'

    I hope you are successful on your journey and I will do what I can to help you - I know what to do, it's doing it and keeping my head straight that is the hard part for me.

    Good luck!!
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Ever since I was fifteen and found diet pills. I have never in my life lost weight without pills and starving myself, and I have been up and down that scale many, many times. My lowest weight was just over 100 pounds, now I'm at 232. I was at 250 last year, but I had some diet pills and took them for awhile and got back down to 215. But they made me really anxious and eventually stopped working, just like always, so I gained most of it back.

    It's funny, I keep wanting to put 1s in front of those numbers, and not 2s. I've never gotten used to the idea of being over 200 pounds, and my typing fingers still refuse to accept it! Hopefully in a few months it won't be an issue.
  • I am in the same boat with you, I didn't have the lap band but did have bariatric surgery. Don't let anyone fool you, you can and will gain weight back if your not careful. I have lost and gained so much weight in my life that I could make 3 people. I will loose the 80lbs I gained this time. This site has made it easier to watch calories and I exercise because I see everyone else doing it. Good luck on your journey.
  • Understand completely. I think I just simply get tired of having to think about what I'm eating and the calories involved. Gotta get over that hump somehow to be completely successful. Good luck!
  • CanToGirl
    CanToGirl Posts: 474 Member
    Ohh my, that is me (waves hand high in the air). My highest weight was 320, got down to 217 and swore I would never be that high again. Life happens, so then I found myself at 348 and now down to 212. But this time around I truly believe with the help and support of this web site I will stay at my goal weight. Which is only 50 lbs away.
    Good luck with your journey.
  • lisablueeyes
    lisablueeyes Posts: 213 Member
    I have to say.... I'm always going up and down up an down.... I'm trying to gat back on track!!
  • angeleyes1015
    angeleyes1015 Posts: 7 Member
    been there done that and did it again! I try to blame it on the fact I had surgery and couldn't exercise, o rmy fiance always wanting to go out to eat but ultimately realize it's my choices. So I'm trying to get on track. I hope to find someone to exercise with. If you are meeting someone it is harder to blow off going to the gym or the mall to walk. I wish you luck and if you are in my area we can exercise together if not and you want to connect online to motivate each other let me know. I want to lose at least 60 pounds but would be happier w/80. Good luck
    Linda
  • I have lost and gained more times than I can count and each time I gain more!! However, I am no longer dieting since I started MFP 2 months ago and I have lost 21.2 pounds! I have off days, but it seems I can just jump back the next day...so much easier this way and I hope I really lose those 50 pounds for good!
  • nursee67
    nursee67 Posts: 503
    I think there are more of out there that have lost and gained just to do it all over again. All I can do is keep trying and not beat myself up when I don't follow through. I think sometimes you have to really want it in order to succeed. I try to put the quit smoking mentality I had into weight loss but I am not quite there yet. I was successful with the smoking thing...now on to lick this weught problem. Good luck to you on your journey!
  • maggiemay365
    maggiemay365 Posts: 181 Member
    Me too! I lost the baby weight..only to gain it back + 7 pounds! I swear it is the same 30 pounds going round and round.
    This time I have become beyond aware that I am an emotional eater..so now I keep lots of V8 soup available when ever I feel the need to fill up..so far 11 ounds in 3 weeks..you are not alone!
  • JeanneTops
    JeanneTops Posts: 2,635 Member
    Hi,

    I've been on MFP for almost two years now. I've lost 94 pounds. If you read my profile or my blog, you'll see that I've been thinking about how not to regain the weight back for every single one of those days and pounds. It's been my only goal.

    It was easy two years ago to think that determination and self-understanding was going to get me through. Now I realize that I'm really only at the beginning - someplace I've been plenty of times before. Like one of the other posters here, I've kept weight off for long periods of time and then gained it all back.

    I know you can get really, really tired of logging food all the time. I know that life can get in the way - job loss, illness, loss of loved ones, new job, move, whatever - lots of things can blow a carefully built routine into bits and leave you with nothing but the old comforting eating habits left to fall back on. I know that an injury can put you down on the couch or flat on your back and the exercising stops. I've had it happen to me, I've seen it happen to other people on this site.

    Yes, it takes a lot of positive energy and positive feed back and optimism to lose weight - especially a lot of weight over a long period of time. But I also believe you have to be realistic.

    I still have only one goal - to not gain the weight back. That is my goal now more than it has ever been. And I have only two strategies:

    1. Only do what you can do for the rest of your life. Don't give up anything you love, just space it out. Don't do anything you hate - do what you can when you can but keep doing it.

    2. Take one day at a time. You can only change your behavior in the present - let the past go and let the future take care of itself.
    I have no idea if this is going to work, but I do know that I can do it today.

    Good luck. Be good to yourself.
  • yspen42
    yspen42 Posts: 285 Member
    I did just last week...I lost 2 lbs in my first week only to gain it back this week. I know exactly what i did to gain...it was my college Homecoming and I didnt exercise like I should have. We also had our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday which didnt help. I am determined not to gain next week with eating all of the food that I will eat on Thursday.
    I hope that you get back on track! :smile:
  • TahliS
    TahliS Posts: 52
    My weight goes up and down like my husbands pants do... hahaha. Ive been successful in the past at dropping huge amounts of weight.. only to gain it back.. and some. Why?? Because I get there and then (stupidily) forget that I cant go back to eat the same junk and doing no form of exercise and not expect to be right back at the start. D'oh. Lesson learned... finally. You are welcome to add me if you want to and we can push each along :)
  • ITS GREAT TO READ ALL YOUR STORIES, ITS GOOD TO KNOW LOTS OF PEOPLE SHARE MY STRUGGLE. NOT ONLY THE STRUGGLE OF LOSING WEIGHT BUT THE STRUGGLE TO KEEP IT OFF, SELF SABOTAGE PERFECTLY DESCRIBES WHAT I DO. IVE LOST AND GAINED BACK 30 LBS 3 TIMES. I THINK THE PROBLEM WAS THAT I WAS GOING ON DIETS, I WASN'T MAKING PERMANENT LIFE CHANGES. I HOPE THIS IS THE LAST TIME I HAVE TO DO THIS.
  • Tennessee2019
    Tennessee2019 Posts: 676 Member
    Been there, done that.
    Did real good on my own, exercising but not watching what I was eating.
    Then I did NS for a year & dropped the weight. Quit NS because I got tired of the food & gained the weight back + some.
    Joined MFP a year ago & really planned on starting fresh & making 2011 MY YEAR. Did good for the first part of the year but I got sidelined due to an unplanned foot surgery & am still recovering.
    So now I plan on making all the plans I had for 2011 work for me in 2012.
  • Raiderxx
    Raiderxx Posts: 105 Member
    Take one day at a time. You can only change your behavior in the present - let the past go and let the future take care of itself.

    This is great. WORDS OF WISDOM! :D Thank you for this.
  • Raiderxx
    Raiderxx Posts: 105 Member
    This is me entirely. I started trying to lose weight when I was about 15 and on and off I have lost weight gained it back plus some getting up to 285 at my highest. Tried the HCG diet getting myself down to 240 only to gain most of it back over about a year. I started using this site seriously last week and have been trying to change my eating habits for about 2. I started at 276 and am down to 269 and hope to continue losing weight.

    I feel like the best way to attack this hefty task is to take everything day by day. It's all about the mindset you have about things. If you have the determination and motivation to lose the weight, you can do it with ease. Then just continue making smart decisions to keep it off.
  • chrissi_k
    chrissi_k Posts: 175 Member
    I have lost and regained 25, 20, and 45 pounds several times over the last four years.

    The key for me now is moderation. I really quit thinking "diet" and started thinking calories in, calories out + exercise. And I never eat my exercise calories "back," they are just a deficit. Now, if I have something deemed bad, I don't sweat it, I just put it on the log and it counts towards the daily calories. 80% of the time I make healthier choices because I Feel better when I do. But if I have a bad weekend or a bad meal, I just get it all on the log so I can see those calories, fat, and sugar screaming at me in black and white. Then they go into the weekly average, and the weekly average still has to be under 1500 a day for the week. So if it means I am doing more exercise towards the end of the week and/or eating less, whatever it takes.

    this one fits to me perfectly, gained, lost, gained lost...over the last 12 years...
    And congratulations on losing 88 lbs, that is amazing!!!

    To the OP:
    I think by thinking of it as a life change rather than a diet and that you can eat whatever you want, just in moderation and you keep track of what you are eating it will help you to stick to it and not gain all the weight back.
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