Struggling maintainers

[redlight]

I lost 40 lbs, and got a little below my goal. Recently I have regained about 10. Anyone else in a similar situation?

 

[Rose&Mike]

I haven't regained, but I will say that I feel the tug to fall off the wagon and just say I'm done, I can't do this, pretty regularly. I don't know if it's because I keep hearing that most people who lose weight gain it back, or if it's cause I expect to "fail" still in the back of my head. Or if it's cause maintaining is just something you have to keep up on--maybe this is what it feels like for people who are thin--you just have to stay on top of it. Does that make sense?

Anyhow, I am on the BL team--as a maintainer--please join us if you would like. I hope you are able to kick those 10 pounds to the curb.

 

[redlight]

Thanks Rose, I'm started back on plan today!

 

[bellem04]

I lost 40 lbs, and got a little below my goal. Recently I have regained about 10. Anyone else in a similar situation?

I have lost 50 pounds and gained about 13 pounds back. That stinks big time. I have let myself go for a couple of months. Feeling sorry for myself with all the medical problems I was going through. I think the doctors solved the problem this time. Getting back on track is going to be tough but, we both done it before we can do it again!

I just have to stop beating myself up about not being able to run more than a mile. It is way to hot outside and I am 10 days post-op. I have to remember just because the doctor says I can go back to my normal activities doesn't mean I can ran 3+ miles at a time. I listen to my body and stop when it has enough, not when I think I had enough.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I'm right here with you guys - I had lost about 20, and have regained 8-9 pounds back. I gained it back over winter, I wasn't running or exercising at all, and now that I have been exercising and running again, I still haven't lost any of it!

I know I'm just eating way too much all of the time. We are in the middle of a major relocation for my DH's job, and I'm here alone with the kids waiting to finish up the school year and for our house to sell - I turn to food a lot in times of stress/lonliness/boredom. And with DH gone I have much less time to run since I'm always with the kids. Its really no excuse though since I have an elliptical and a stationary bike so I could easily exercise. At least there is only 1 more month until we move.

Good luck to everyone! I really hope I can do better too, I'm so disappointed in myself for falling off the wagon. We can all do it!

 

[rubato]

It's a lifetime of work to stay healthy and thin. It just is! I always look at it that way. I give myself a weekend, or a week or whatever, but it's right back on. I met my goal a month ago and have gained back about 3 pounds because we've had lots of events and family parties. I'm back on track today and hope that those pounds are gone a month from now. I'll gain or lose a few here and there, but won't let myself get past a 5 pound mark. I weigh every day.

 

[thebwit]

One reason why I think so many people "fail" and gain back a lot of weight is they think they have to continue the workload that was used to lose the weight to maintain. And that is just not true.

It is FAR easier to maintain than it is to lose or gain weight. Think of it this way. Do a little bit of cardio like a 2-3 mile walk/run everyday. If your weight stays the same then it's easy to continue that. If it goes up, either change your diet a bit, or add more exercise. If you are still losing weight, then cut back on the exercise.

 

[Rose&Mike]

One reason why I think so many people "fail" and gain back a lot of weight is they think they have to continue the workload that was used to lose the weight to maintain. And that is just not true.

It is FAR easier to maintain than it is to lose or gain weight. Think of it this way. Do a little bit of cardio like a 2-3 mile walk/run everyday. If your weight stays the same then it's easy to continue that. If it goes up, either change your diet a bit, or add more exercise. If you are still losing weight, then cut back on the exercise.

I respectfully disagree with this. And FWIW, I have been "maintaining" since September--have actually dropped a few more pounds.

I think mentally maintaining is so much different than losing. It is so easy to get complacent and so easy for bad habits to sneak back in when you are not "on." But I have also been battling this for my entire adult life. And if you are a girl you get to add in hormones, etc to the mix. Maybe it's different if you didn't spend so much of your life in the heavy category.

I agree that it is probably easier to maintain than lose, however, for some people (myself included) it's definitely not as simple as 30 minutes of exercise a day and trying not to eat too much. I'm pretty sure that I read that women in their 40s and 50s need an hour of exercise a day just to maintain--don't quote me on that one.

Anyhow, I think it's just a little more complex than just do a little cardio and eat less.

 

[redlight]

I've been eating too much junk lately, from stress eating. Putting a stop to that now.

 

[Rose&Mike]

I've been eating too much junk lately, from stress eating. Putting a stop to that now.

My downfall has been g-f beer at the baseball stadium! G-f beer has more calories than regular lite beer. You wouldn't think it would be that big a deal, but it adds up! Good luck with cutting out the junk!

 

[thebwit]

I respectfully disagree with this. And FWIW, I have been "maintaining" since September--have actually dropped a few more pounds.

I think mentally maintaining is so much different than losing. It is so easy to get complacent and so easy for bad habits to sneak back in when you are not "on." But I have also been battling this for my entire adult life. And if you are a girl you get to add in hormones, etc to the mix. Maybe it's different if you didn't spend so much of your life in the heavy category.

I agree that it is probably easier to maintain than lose, however, for some people (myself included) it's definitely not as simple as 30 minutes of exercise a day and trying not to eat too much. I'm pretty sure that I read that women in their 40s and 50s need an hour of exercise a day just to maintain--don't quote me on that one.

Anyhow, I think it's just a little more complex than just do a little cardio and eat less.

I need to rephrase the little more cardio and eat less bit. When I said most people think they always have to be "on" then they think once they reach their goal weight they can be "off" and that's what happens. I know I am guilty of this myself.

Here's another way of thinking about it. When we are "on" we are expelling anywhere from 500-1000 calories extra with exercise. We are also dieting and cutting calories from our "normal" intake. It's a double dose of losing weight.

When maintaining we can eat more normal, but still need to put in some caloric burn. This is to ensure that we aren't gaining. Remember just an extra 100 calories a day, every day, means a gain of 10lbs in a year (or a lose of 10lbs in a year)

Now as we get older our bodies do slow down a lot. Especially more so than in women. I forget the exact quote, but it is something like for every 10 years above 30, we burn 5-10% less calories than the 10 years prior. This explains why 92 year old grampa still is a medium and eats one egg, a sandwich, and something else small for his meals.

Maintaining goal weight is about doing the least amount of work to KEEP your results. It's still work, but not near as much as trying to lose weight.