It seems to me that for every person on this site who has a successful diet, there's another person who has fallen off their diet and put almost all of the weight back on. I'm not diminishing all the great losses people have had or the hard work that they have put in. I'm just really worried that once I hit my target weight I'm going to put it all back on in 2 months.

Is there any specific reason that people put their weight back on? Do they go back to their old habits? Or is it just easier to put on weight after you've lost a bunch?

I realize that a lifestyle change is necessary to keep the weight off, and I intend to do that, but will I ever be able to eat pizza again without dieting for a week afterward? or will I always have problems keeping the weight off? I'm sure it varies from person to person as to how easy it is, I think I'm just freaking out right now.

I think my basic question can be asked with an example. There's two people A & B, they both have the same exact metabolism. Person A has just lost 100 pounds and Person B has been the same weight for years. They both weigh 200 pounds. Will it be easier for person B to keep weight off cause he was the same weight for years?

Do they go back to their old habits? Or is it just easier to put on weight after you've lost a bunch?
Yes to both of these questions. Despite what people say, habits can take YEARS or DECADES to break for good. And metabolically it is VERY easy to regain weight after losing weight, so when dieting stops the real fight begins.

will I ever be able to eat pizza again without dieting for a week afterward?It depends on what you mean by "eat pizza." One or two slices, once a week, yes. Four slices twice a week, no way.

Will it be easier for person B to keep weight off cause he was the same weight for years?
Without a doubt.

But all is not lost. As long as you understand that it's a lifestyle change, and live it, the weight can be kept off. A statistic that is commonly quoted (don't know how true it is though) is that about 5% of people who diet are able to keep the weight off for 2 years or more. Which sucks for the other 95%. We just all have to keep trying.

I keep telling myself "STAY HUMBLE." Just losing the weight is meaningless. We have to KEEP working for the long term or this is just going to be a short-term solution with major disappointment and even more distress in the future.

If you reach your target weight and stop working out and eat more calories than you burn, you will regain the weight much faster than you would have if you had never started losing weight, sorry to say....

by the way, I love how inquisitive you are! :) Good for you for wanting to learn as much as possible about this stuff.

In my opinoin the diet chosing to lose weight depends on how fast weight comes back. People on the cabbage soup diet gain quickly because the plan is not substainable for the long hall and they really don't learn how to eat differently. They key to weight loss is sustainablity.

Also, people usually drop exercise first when life gets busy and exercise is the key to keep the metabolism in check.


I had lost 40 lbs and kept it off for 2 years. Then I got married and moved. I then ditch two years of good habits and gained it all again

These are the habits I ditched
- not eating after 8 pm
- working out
- walking during work breaks
- measuring portions
- having popcorn as my snack of choice
- only eating out once a week
- keeping a food journal

But I started good habits again
- I keep a food journal
- going to the gym

And I have already lost about 10 lbs and kept it of for about 3 months.

As we get older, the metabolism slows down.

Old habits are hard to break.

The excitement of losing weight is no longer a part of our lives.

The daily remembering of what we should eat and what we should not eat is somewhat boring.

Constant vigilence is the order of the day when maintaining a weight loss.

Maintenance is difficult, but it can be done.

by the way, I love how inquisitive you are! :) Good for you for wanting to learn as much as possible about this stuff.

Hehe, thanks. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it's helping my diet tremendously (lol. I'm so corny). My diet has been a work in progress from the start. I have started and quit too many diets over the years to even remember. I attribute much of my failures to my absolute ignorance about how to diet effectively for me. I had heard the mantra "diet and exercise" a million times, but when it comes down to it, I simply don't have the willpower to diet without some outside factor other than sheer motivation. My daily supplements (hydroxycut hardcore, fish oils, centrum multi-vitamins) have been a daily reminder of the fact that I'm on a diet and recently fitday has become a huge part of my life. If I go over 1200-1300 calories for the day, I feel really guilty, which is actually just what I need.

These and other pieces of information that I've accumulated are in large part thanks to this website. Everyone's generosity with their time and information and just seeing the level of commitment that some people put into their diets has really inspired me to do this thing right. Thank you everyone! :D

So, expect me to continue asking questions as I constantly tweak my diet to try and get it right.

I was on a great plan, that I couldnt stick to. I will stay recent. I losted 20 lbs and then gained it back after I was off. Stress was the biggest reason. I then realized that I was now more then I weighed 9 months pregnant, and said enough is enough. I joined ww, and I lost 20 lbs for the first year and have kept it off. I still would like to lose more and have been struggling but I havent gained the 20 lbs back. But again stress gets me and then there goes my plan. Then I struggle for a bit to get back on. But I keep it within reason at this point.

For me it was old habits taking over again. At the beginning of last year I lost 35 pounds and kept it off until the beginning of this year, now I've gained about 10 pounds back and it's simply because I've slipped into the old habits of not thinking about my portions size or the amount of calories I'm consuming. I'm just eating whatever I want without taking into considerationg the consequences.

When I was doing well last year I still ate pizza, and I still stopped at the fast food joint, I was just able to control it within 1 or 2 slices of pizza instead of 3,4 or even 5 slices and I learned to have a small frenchfry and a junior burger without cheese or bacon instead of a large size meal with a whopper and all the fixin's. I probably had fast food OR pizza OR something else "bad" once a week and I still lost weight and I still kept my sanity. So don't lose hope, it's not that you'll never be able to eat pizza again without dieting hardcore for a week after, you just have to make rules for when you're eating the pizza, don't pig out and you won't totally "ruin" your diet in one day.

bigjohn, from what I've read and learned, dieting and weight loss is a simple formula. The way to lose fat is to consume fewer calories per day than your body needs.

You have 2 primary choices:
1) decrease your calorie intake
2) increasing your calorie burn rate, usually through exercise

The reason why most diets tend not to work for very long is because they are not sustainable. People tend to give up and revert to their old bad habits.
.

The reason why most diets tend not to work for very long is because they are not sustainable.

I agree. We make these short term changes (drastic calorie cutting, and gungho exercise routines) that just aren't realistic for the rest of our lives. Its about behavior change, so we have to learn how to eat a healthy amount of calories and get a realistic healthy amount of exercise for the rest of our lives.

For me, eating less than 1600 calories & running 3 miles a day is not realistic, and not something I could (or want) to do the rest of my life. This is what I had done in the past, and it worked, but as soon as I went back to normal behavior, the weight came back.

So now I'm focusing on learning how to be healthy the rest of my life. This includes eating about the amount of calories I could do forever (anywhere from 1700-1900 per day on my weight loss, & after I reach goal, I hope to maintain about 2000-2200 calories per day), and doing the kinds of activities I would enjoy doing forever (hiking, biking, dancing, etc).

I've been losing weight real slowly, which may not be an option for others, but this is the first time I've maintained a change for more than a month (7 months now!) and I'm actually stronger and happier.

I heard this thought about this regain thing some time ago - as far as I know it is not backed up by the medical world - but to me it does make sense.

After years and years ( usually ) of eating unhealthy and gaining weight - when we go back to those bad eating habits, even for a short period of time. Our body goes "Oh yeah ! I remember this food - this is the food I am suppose to turn into fat/weight". Now not literally, but its the general idea ;)

Hey John,

I agree with a lot of what's been said. The key really is replacing your past habits that resulted in the weight gain in the first place with new positive habits such as eating frequently, not missing meals, avoiding highly processed carbs and refined sugars, staying away from unhealthy fats, etc.

I feel the biggest mistake people make (and I'm sure many would disagree with me here!) is they decide to go on a diet. However, diets are temporary, and therefore so are the results. Some diets have a maintenance phase, which is great... IF you can actually continue it for life.

The best way to drop the pounds and keep them off is to make lifestyle changes, replacing old negative habit patterns with new positive habits, especially in terms of being physically active, in addition to eating healthy and regular meals. If you do this, the chances of you ever turning the clock back and regaining the lost weight is very small.

Also, don't forget that there's many things you can do to increase your metabolism that your body burns more calories while you're resting. Building muscle through lifting weights, for example, is one of the best ways to do this. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism, and the more you can eat without gaining fat.

Hope that helps.

Warmest,
Joseph

Personally I believe its because people treat "diets" as a temporary thing. If people approach weight loss as a lifestyle change they become more permenent.

The term "diet" suggests you will go back to your previous eating routines after you have lost the weight. Since your our eating habits is why you lost the weight it is unsuprising people gain the weight back on.

By saying that I am guilty of it as well!