So the media is out squawking "only 5% of people who lose weight keep it off." OK so that's supposed to not terrify me?
I'm thinking that's got to be some kind of skewed number, like it takes into account people who are 125 lbs and lose 5 and gain it back, over and over again, is from weird self-reported surveys that aren't scientific.
Are my chances really that slim?
When I get down to my goal weight, if I don't eat more than 2100 calories a day, average, ever, then I won't gain the weight back. I'm eating that now, to lose at my current level, and I do understand that I have to change how I cook and eat out, and what I keep in the house, forever, to live comfortably at this level. I mean, the take out Chinese is just not an option ever again, but Chinese made at home is, that sort of thing.
I'd like to hear what you've "heard" and maybe links to real information?
Well the way I think about it is 100% of people who put the effort into maintaining their weight keep it off. I bet a lot of that 95% who put the weight back on think they can stop eating better and working out now that they're skinnier.
However I have found that last time I lost weight down to 140 lbs, I stopped putting the effort into consioucly eating better and gained just 5 pounds, my body remained at 145 for about 2 years mostly by itself. But that doesn't last forever, and recently I was on the way up again.
Without knowing the details of this particular study, but having heard similar stats in the past, I have to agree with the PP. I think a lot of it has to do with your mindset once you lose the weight, and also how you lose the weight in the first place. 2100 calories sounds to me like you are approaching weight loss from a very reasonable perspective. If you lose tons of weight really fast, it seems more likely you'll put it back on...and probably really fast. But if you take it slow, and in the meantime learn healthy habits for life, then you will have a greater chance of keeping it off.
Personally, I lost a bunch of weight in 2001 and kept most of it off until I got pregnant in 2005. I've been struggling with it ever since, but I've finally realized that I can't just do it on my own this time like I did before (back when I was single, planning meals just for me, and had a lot more flexibility and ability to exercise whenever I wanted). So I joined WW and I hope this will teach me more permanent habits.
And...this thread reminded me of the National Weight Loss Database. I am going to go check it out, but this seems to be the most reliable source of information about weight loss maintenance you can get. I am sure there are tons of great tips there: http://www.nwcr.ws/
I believe it. Our society talks ALOT about how to lose the weight but we don't ever talk about maintenance. "Diets" are temporary, something you look forward to getting off once you hit goal. That's probably one reason people can't maintain it. Or, there's a good chance some people aim too low and find their goal too difficult to maintain. Instead of relaxing 5-10 lbs, it's possible they throw in the towel entirely.
I plan to be a daily weigher for life. That's my maintenance plan. I can't imagine watching the scale go up day after day and not doing something. When I'm gaining it's because I'm not on the scale.
You all need to read Anne M Fletcher's "Thin for Life". She speaks to those "5%". Of all the books I've read with regard to health and weight loss ... it's been the most impactful.
And Dolphea is absolutely right ... it depends who you count. Where did they get their sample pool? Did they ask you? They didn't ask me.
Another thought is the number of people who don't wish to be remembered as formerly fat. I can think of a handful of people I know who have lost and maintained but really don't talk about it.
Another thought is about the definition of success. If Q meant to lose 80 lbs but lost 50 ... even if she has maintained that loss for ten years, how does she fit in their criteria?
I'm rambling now because this statistic makes me sooo angry!!
Go read in maintainers. More people are successful than you can possibly imagine. You can be too. Never never doubt it.
For me, maintenance has been A LOT harder than loss, to the point that I understand completely how this figure could be 100% accurate.
During loss, you have all kinds of external goodness going on to motivate you...compliments, lowering scale numbers, smaller sizes, cute clothes, feeling constantly better physically. Which, for me, made it one HECK of a lot easier to turn down a piece of cake or do a workout when I was sore. I had a GOAL and I wanted to REACH it and every decision I make counted for or against that.
Now, in maintenance, I have to do pretty much all of the same things - count calories, exercise daily, strength train, cook at home, turn down most sweets - but I have to do it to stay where I am, not to make progress. It's a different mindset. Plus there are all sorts of emotional issues that come with making goal - like realizing that losing weight doesn't solve all of your problems and that you may still have self esteem/body issues.
Now, 95% of the time, I don't mind this. Not only is the effort worth it for my health, but I also really LIKE most of the new habits I've developed, and really don't mind them at all on most days. But a lot of people don't develop those habits...they go on plans that they don't enjoy fully, they don't learn to love to cook healthy foods and develop recipes. They avoid social situations so they don't learn how to navigate them (like skipping a meal out for a friend's birthday because they don't know how to order at a restaurant to minimize damage), and then have no idea how to handle those situations at maintenance.
This is why I love the 3FC Maintainers forum - because although the above sounds like doom and gloom, maintenance IS possible and lots of us there prove it every day. Easy, no. Possible? Yes!
5 pounds is like-- a normal fluctuation of weight. I'd figure that I'd gain 5-10 pounds if I were at a normal weight to begin with, just over winter where I get out less and exersise less. Now if I skiied, I wouldn't have that sort of problem.
The way I look at it is that this is just an observational study. It really has no predictive value about what YOUR weight loss experience will be (or mine). We don't know what "plan", if any, these people followed, or how well they stuck to it. They could have been on the lemon juice and tabasco diet and after a week they said aw heck no. They could have been on a sensible plan and developed thyroid problems, or an injury that prevented exercising. They might have been trying to lose weight for the wrong reasons, or they just weren't ready yet. The study also does not say anything about if these people will ever sucessfully lose. We all know that just because you try and fail once or twice does not mean that you are doomed to never have weight loss success.
What I do know, and what science supports is that if an individual makes a committment to a healthy lifestyle, eats nutritious foods in reasonable portions, exercises regularly and sticks to their plan, they can and will be successful in managing their weight. It is all about the individual. IMO, my chances of losing the weight are 100% as long as I stick to my plan. It is my choice, and I have control of it!
I started at 5'5 and about 155-160lbs. After a few years, I was 5'5 and 109lbs(!). Eventually, I went back up to around 120lbs which is very normal for that height (and still lean!).
So yes, I "gained back" 11lbs, but I was a lot healthier!
Now, I am 144lbs at 7 months pregnant. So, that's around 35lbs up from 109lbs!!! Yet, at 144lbs, 7 months pregnant, and 5'5, that's very reasonable and healthy
You will never always be "X" number for the rest of your life!
So go by YOU and what is right for YOU! Nobody would argue that gaining 11lbs at 109lbs is unhealthy, or that being 5'5 and 144lbs at 7 months pregnant is unhealthy (quite the opposite). You can't look at things in black and white.
The only "study" that matters is the one you do with yourself--your very own experiment of one. That's why this is an adventure! You don't know what the outcome will be--it's a day-to-day observation and effort. 5%, 15% who cares? It's all about YOU.
In my humble opinion 5% is probably a little high. For example, if you spent several hour just researching 3FC newbies (and some maintainers) for say, the first month of January...in every forum...(not just the introduction forum) and tally up how many say something like, "New to 3FC but not new to weight loss" *or* "I'm back again" *or* "This is the last time"...I bet you that at least 95% of the new members have lost weight and regained it before. It's hard to maintain. Very, very hard. I've lost (substantial) weight many times over the last 30 years, (started "dieting" around 14 yrs old) and this is the first time my main goal was not to lose, but to maintain whatever I lost.
Well all of the 5% are here on 3FC. So if you are on 3FC you will maintain your weight loss. Easy enough. This survey was done by cathydoe and a hardcopy of the documentation maybe attained by sending $5.99 to cathydoe c/o 3FC, 123 Goal Weight-Apt 1, Fat Loss City, OH 12345
The only "study" that matters is the one you do with yourself--your very own experiment of one. That's why this is an adventure! You don't know what the outcome will be--it's a day-to-day observation and effort. 5%, 15% who cares? It's all about YOU.
I have lost weight before and regained it, but I have never before tried to maintain. I have only just learned that you can and should maintain whatever loss you've accomplished. I always had the mindset that maintenance didn't happen until the was reached.
"Only 5% of people who lose weight..."
