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Yes, it can be done. But it won't be easy or comfortable.
How?
How did you lose the weight in the first place? Did you crash diet?
This is for life. You have to think that way going in. Does that mean that you can never eat pizza or ice cream again? No. I just don't eat both at once, or even both in the same week. Why do you overeat? Fix that first.
It takes daily diligence. DAILY. There is no other way around it.
This is why people fall off the wagon. People do not want to be dilgence daily when it comes to food. I want to feel free when I am eating not and some stupid life time regimen.
Oh wait, I ate pizza this week. Ok this means no ice cream! Give me a break. Who wants to live like this
Somedays I want to eat less or more than others.
I have made lifestyle changes just because I am picky with food. I hate fast food because it so nasty. It is not even really food.
Some days I want a big salad with steak, grilled veggies you know the healthy stuff. Other days I want a slice a pizza or two or just even a half a slice because sometimes you just want to taste.
Moderation does not work for emotional people or eaters. It only last for so long.
I mean I have made permanement eating changes and certain food choices but that does not stop someone from gaining weight.
Btw, the excerise thing helps but is like 5%. I am very active but manage to gain weight, aka not muscle. There are other factors.
Even when I was thin, I would have to run 30+ miles a week just to maintain.
Something is wrong with that.
I think people also misunderstand "exercise". It doesn't have to be in a gym. Walk (at a challenging pace) with your iPod. Run on the beach at your own pace. Hike in the mountains, at a park, etc.
If you are a homebody, find a program that you enjoy and workout in your living room. Our library carries tons of dvds.
Make it fun. Get creative. MOVE. Part of the fun of exercise for me is finding new ways to keep it interesting.
Exactly, I do not go the gym, but I am extremely active outdoors. But the sad part is this really has nothing to do with less loss just toning.
When I go to Michigan where I drive all the time, when I live there I am 20-25 pounds thinner no excerise.
When I live in Chicago I always gain a ton a weight I walk like 2-3 miles a day. I dont have car.
Sometimes I go running
When I have to run this means I need to lose weight. If I am not this means, I am at a steady weight.
Yes....it can be done. But you're going to have to focus on why you're overweight: the junk you're putting down your throat. The only thing that is going to make you lose weight, and keep it off, is a major shift in your dietary behavior. Not exercise, not surgery, not medicine....just your diet.
Anyhow, you need to change your bad dietary habits. The goal should be a diet that is relatively low in fat and as close to natural foods as possible. Your body understands natural foods, it has trouble with processed junk, artificial chemicals, etc. Most people underestimate how much junk they eat, so the first thing you should do is start counting your calories and determine what are your worst behaviors, that is what eating behaviors result in the most empty calories. You're probably going to have numerous bad habits, start with the worse ones and every few weeks try to eliminate a new one. It usually takes 3~4 weeks for something to become habitual.
So, as an example, suppose that you currently drink a soda with your lunch. Replace the soda with water or unsweetened tea. After a few weeks this will become habitual....you won't even think about it anymore.
It is the slow modification of your dietary habits that will result in long-term weight-loss, at the end of the tunnel your new good habits will be unconscious...but it will take a good year of diligence to achieve it.
I kept my weight off for 4+ plus years. I was in college, and I was very happy person at the time. This is when I realize my eating habits were mostly emotional.
Literally the day I graduated I started to gain weight, I graduated at 155 went to 180lb a year later, lost some back in the170s and from there have never been able to maintain. I have see saw from 177-200.
Btw, I am 5'11, normal weight was 160-165 in college. I am athletic was wearing a size 8 When I started college I was 215 size 16, hated high school and dropped 50lb after my first year in school. I got under 160 right before graduation because I was excited about life and such a great place.
So to the OP look at the course of your life and take some things into account
Uh Okay. You wanted to know why you gain the weight back, so obviously you cannot maintain calorie restriction. A viable solution is exercise because you can actually eat more and maintain your weight.
I find it simply amazing the excuses people come up with NOT to exercise.
I see lots of people at the gym and the ones that are successful are the ones that are trying. The ones that don't lose any weight are rarely the ones working up a sweat. Also they are consuming more calories than they are burning. Exercise is vital to maintaining a healthy weight and for overall health.
Thats true to some degree if you not have serious emotional eating issues.
I had to excerise crazy amounts to keep my weight down. I knew I had a problem when I was running 4-5 times a week sweating like crazy and still gained 10lbs.
I think I also had some reactions to certain foods at a time that led to me to retain water like bread. However, everyone has a different situation.
I lost 80lb in 8 months...that was 7yrs ago and have kept it off. I did have one slide and put 20lbs back on about 2yrs ago but that was right before I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and once I was on meds, that weight came off without any effort or changes to my lifestyle.
Diet and exercise. Moreso diet for me. I changed the way I eat and I haven't gone back to my old habits. It wasn't all too hard because I was determined. I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy (he's now 7) and didn't want to deal with that the rest of my life. That was my my wake-up call to be diligent and my second chance.
I cut out most processed foods, don't drink soda anymore (diet or regular) and because of food allergies I don't eat pork or beef and dairy and wheat are limited. I eat when I'm hungry, not based on a clock and I eat until I'm satisfied, not stuffed. When I want a treat, I induldge but I'm not gluttonous about it, a small serving is all it takes to satisfy the craving.
I think what it really boils down to is motivation...my motivation was my health which made it really easy to stick to it. I want to live a long and healthy life. I don't even think about diet anymore, it has become second nature.
The key is movitation, and it it great you do not eat on a clock. This can work for me at time because I stay full for long periods of time. However, it can backfire when I get bored. In my mind, I feel like, I have not ate in 5 hours, I am not hungry what I am going to do.
Movitation is number one, I do not have to movitation to lose weight like I use to because I only lost weight to look good not necessary to be healthy most vanity.
Now, that I do not date as much or shop what is the point. I would be losing weight for essentially nothing while feeling deprived all at the same time, and I would be constantly bored and frustrated
This is why people fall off the wagon. People do not want to be dilgence daily when it comes to food. I want to feel free when I am eating not and some stupid life time regimen.
Oh wait, I ate pizza this week. Ok this means no ice cream! Give me a break. Who wants to live like this
Somedays I want to eat less or more than others.
I have made lifestyle changes just because I am picky with food. I hate fast food because it so nasty. It is not even really food.
Some days I want a big salad with steak, grilled veggies you know the healthy stuff. Other days I want a slice a pizza or two or just even a half a slice because sometimes you just want to taste.
Moderation does not work for emotional people or eaters. It only last for so long.
I mean I have made permanement eating changes and certain food choices but that does not stop someone from gaining weight.
Btw, the excerise thing helps but is like 5%. I am very active but manage to gain weight, aka not muscle. There are other factors.
Even when I was thin, I would have to run 30+ miles a week just to maintain.
Something is wrong with that.
First of all, my "serving" of ice cream was an entire pint. My "serving" of pizza was a medium.
So it would behoove me to not eat as much of those as I wanted, as I would eat over a day's worth of calories in one sitting.
Please quote in my post where I said that exercise was the only component for weight loss.
"Living like this" has helped me maintain my weight loss for years. "Feeling free" is fine when you have a normal relationship with food. Many people do not. If you don't want to "live like that", fine. It works for me. The concept of self-discipline is lost in our society.
I do believe I also said that the OP needed to fix the issue behind his eating? Moderation has lasted for four years for me. When do you think it will run out?
You're right on. It's easier to lose weight than keep it off. And BTW, the older you get, the harder it is to lose. There's no time better than today to figure this out and take back your control.
It took me years to figure out the answer. Probably I have lost and gained more than a thousand pounds over my lifetime. And finally I'm not fat. I'm not skinny but I'm not fat either.
The truth of the matter is diets don't work because as soon as you hit your goal and go back to 'normal', you are doomed. You just went back to the lifestyle that made you fat in the first place. Logic says you will be back to fat in no time at all. Accept this as truth.
The secret is accepting the diet as your new lifestyle and realizing it is permanent. That is just how you have to live. It's not fair but neither is life in general. Yeah, I know. I've seen scads of people who can eat total crap and maintain too. But that's not you(or me). We were both hiding behind the door when they handed out the great metabolisms.
Here's how I maintain. I weigh every day and if I am over my number for 3 days in a row, it's back to low carb till it's gone. I say low carb because that's what worked for me. You go back to whatever worked for you. I do this because I can deal with a couple pounds easily. The problem doesn't seem overwhelming or hopeless.
For me, constant deprivation is not a good thing. The idea of NEVER AGAIN enjoying my favorite foods leads me astray. Bigtime. The key was learning to control my desire to eat things I knew would sabotage my efforts to lose weight. And give me excuses to give up! I plan a free weekend every month. For those three days(usually Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want. If I know I'm going out of town or have a party to attend, I'll always try to plan so my FREE days will coincide with those events. Somehow, it's easier to put off eating something than telling yourself you can never eat it again. This taught me I could control my weight. That was very powerful for me. Monday morning, I weigh and pay the piper.
So it's Tuesday and I am absolutely DYING for a Snickers bar. Yes, I know it's bad for me and I shouldn't eat it. I can still have it if I am willing to do enough exercise to offset the calories FIRST. I have to run three miles for that Snickers. I had one in my freezer for months and someone else finally ate it. I wanted it, sure, but not bad enough to run three extra miles for it. A couple times I even did the extra exercise and by the time I was finished, I didn't want it any more. Hard to believe but true. I CAN eat anything I please when I please as long as I am willing to pay the price FIRST. Just like going to the store, you have to pay before it's yours to do with as you please.
Exercise, OMG I despise it. But I do it. And no, it never did become enjoyable and something I look forward to. But here's what I do like about it. I'm older and I love it that I have no physical issues and I still maintain the flexibility and muscle tone of a much younger person. If I'm willing to exercise, I can be more lax about what I eat. And the muscle tone just makes you look better! Swimming, running, and walking are my go to calorie burners. I love racquetball but you have to have a partner. I play when I can find someone who enjoys it. I don't belong to a gym. The hardest part of the whole exercise thing is the first step out the door. Promise.
As far as exercise goes, forget the marathon and the Iron Man. Don't be a weekend warrior who goes out, does too much, gets injured, and then has the excuse they need to give up. Yep, I know that trick. Start where you need to start. The key is consistency. Doing it every day. And over time, doing more of it. I started out just walking.
Last, learn to realistic. Losing the weight will never make you look like Angelina Jolie, or whomever you personally judge to be perfection on legs. And losing weight does not mean someone who is 50 will magically go back to having the same body they had when they were 16, even if the number on the scale is the same as it was back then. Time, fat, and yo-yo dieting all take their toll. The leftovers of massive weight loss are not pretty. I look great in clothes but I look like a train wreck naked. If you opt for plastic surgery, you trade a lot of money for scars and a little less loose skin. You'll never be perfect. You have to be satisfied with being better than you were before.
First of all, my "serving" of ice cream was an entire pint. My "serving" of pizza was a medium.
So it would behoove me to not eat as much of those as I wanted, as I would eat over a day's worth of calories in one sitting.
Please quote in my post where I said that exercise was the only component for weight loss.
"Living like this" has helped me maintain my weight loss for years. "Feeling free" is fine when you have a normal relationship with food. Many people do not. If you don't want to "live like that", fine. It works for me. The concept of self-discipline is lost in our society.
I do believe I also said that the OP needed to fix the issue behind his eating? Moderation has lasted for four years for me. When do you think it will run out?
It probably won't if you are a good place in your life and keep healthy a the number one motivater.
Also, ironcally this post made me realize something positive. I use to eat a pint of ice cream or a medium pizza when I was in high school, but I can not even imaging doing that anymore.
I love pizza but I can only eat in slices, and ice cream I can only take a kiddy scoop. I guess over the years I have made some slow and subtle changes, and I did not even realize it.
Moderation left for me when I graduated from college. I feel like I have no one to impress or look good hot for and I do not go out partying/dancing. I only workout and diet to look hot. When I realize it was not all that cracked up to be. I stop my regimen. However, I guess I have instilled a few lifestyle habit changes that I guess became ingrained.
It probably won't if you are a good place in your life and keep healthy a the number one motivater.
Also, ironcally this post made me realize something positive. I use to eat a pint of ice cream or a medium pizza when I was in high school, but I can not even imaging doing that anymore.
I love pizza but I can only eat in slices, and ice cream I can only take a kiddy scoop. I guess over the years I have made some slow and subtle changes, and I did not even realize it.
Moderation left for me when I graduated from college. I feel like I have no one to impress or look good hot for and I do not go out partying/dancing. I only workout and diet to look hot. When I realize it was not all that cracked up to be. I stop my regimen. However, I guess I have instilled a few lifestyle habit changes that I guess became ingrained.
Yes, it does become second nature. I still have my moments when I want to act like a spoiled child and eat my way through the cupboards. But those days are few and far between.
A regimen really does help me keep food in it's place. It's not a friend or an escape. It's fuel.
Thanks for your input and sorry for the snappy tone earlier. :smile:
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