How many times have you yo-yoed before and what's different this time?
Just thought I'd do an informal survey:
1. How many times have you lost and gained a significant (say, 30 pounds) amount of weight before?
2. What do you think makes this time different?
I'll go first. I've probably done a 30+ pound yo-yo at least five times in my life. What makes this time different is that I have a specific strategy to deploy if I exceed my maintenance range and that I'm exercising regularly (and actually enjoying it). Also, at age 55 I place health much higher up on my priority list than before. I plan to be a dynamic, jet-setting, creatively pumped retiree.
Freelance
Last edited by freelancemomma; 02-14-2012 at 11:53 AM.
At least two previous times I lost a sizeable amount of weight (50 lbs or more). Both those times, I lost weight by "dieting." I dieted, lost weight, stopped dieting and gained weight.
I'd lost 22-25 pounds before (last big loss was 37), but I'd done it through stays at a health spa. Yeah, fat camp. I'd never been able to lose on my own. At fat camp it's easy, you're locked there with no access to food except what they feed you. This was the huge diiference for me. That last time *I* did it. The other times it was like somebody had lost the weight for me, if that makes any sense.
I've never managed to lose 30lbs before this but I have lost somewhere on the order of 10-20lbs. Actually, when I was 14 I lost about 25lbs (I'm not sure of the exact amount) and I maintained that weight for 4 years. My weight increased when I went to college mostly because of late night snacking and I played on my college's soccer team so I was training extensively (and put zero thought to my food intake). After that I gained again once I was done with college because I wasn't keeping up with physical activity as much.
Then as an adult I've lost weight two other times. Both were smaller amounts (I think around 10lbs but I'm guessing at the exact amount of loss here). Once I went really low carb, which wasn't sustainable because I love pizza too much and the other time I became a vegetarian but then got pregnant, had major meat cravings and gained a TON of weight.
I'd say this time it's different because:
1. I found 3FC
2. I figured out a lot more about my body, my weaknesses (sugar/white carbs) and my strengths (meat keeps me full, and I love exercise)
3. I've made time for myself (hard to do as a mom!)
4. I realized I was going to do this no matter what DH was or wasn't doing. This was about ME and nobody else
5. I made small changes. I made a lot of promises to myself at the beginning (daily weighing, no calorie counting, eating until I was full etc) and have stuck with them. I didn't want something that I couldn't stick with so I figured I'd rather lose slowly and maintain a higher weight than lose quickly and get to a low goal weight but not be able to maintain that. It seems to be working for me.
I lost and regained weight so many times I can't even count. I lost 100+ pounds about 15 years ago (when I was 20 ish) by eating one meal a day and walking all over the city like a maniac. Needless to say that was not sustainable.
This time is different because I didn't diet, I changed my habits permanently. It's the only thing that works long term.
I've lost 30-50 lbs. a few times. However, I never really internalized the fact that these new habits were for life. I also was living in a Never-Never-Land in terms of my eating and weight loss, i.e., I was ignoring certain obvious realities because they were too unpleasant to face. By far the most significant difference this time is that I have really accepted some of the harsh realities of keeping a healthy weight, such as . . .
1) I cannot eat as much of everything I want all the time. If I do, I'll be fat. I know this seems like an obvious fact, but it has taken me years to really accept it. When bad habits would start to reappear --i.e., increases in those "licks, bites, and tastes" that "never counted"; eating WAY over my calories & starting fresh "tomorrow," etc.----I would ignore them, subconsciously denying the definite cause-effect relationship between those habits and my increasingly tight pants.
2) If I hope to eat at an acceptable level, I must move more. Exercise isn't nearly so bad now that I've accepted this. I realize that I'm probably able to eat a lot more than I thought I would simply because I burn so many calories doing intentional exercise and just moving more in general.
I lost 30lbs and then gained 35lbs once before. The main difference? 3FC. I didn't know "maintenance" existed the first time. I didn't know what a healthy diet was. I didn't know how many calories I should eat. I didn't exercise. I thought once I lost the weight I was "done" and could go back to eating like "normal". All the credit goes to the chicks here for teaching me how to do it right.
1.) I've lost 25-30 lbs twice and regained once. Once in 2003 (depressed teen angst starvation), then gradual gain through college topping out at 156 lbs in spring 2010. I went down to 123.5 at one point (winter 2010) then went through a period of binge/restrict bouncing between 130-140 for months.
2.) It's too soon to tell. I suppose "healthy moderate eating" is the norm for me now, so if I need to cut back because I see gains I know what to do.
Twice in the last 20 years I lost around 30 lbs. Each time it took me a few years to regain it. Those times I dieted/exercised to lose weight and then went back to my previous eating and activity level. This time I adusted my eating and activity level gradually to a level I'd be able to maintain.
Too many to count! I've maintained this 90 lb loss for a year and a half now and am ready to get the rest off!
This time I have the tools I need to succeed. I understand nutrition. I understand exercise and I've found a plan that works for me! It's not a quick fix. This is my life!
The only time i lost weight and kept it off for more than 2 months was also the only time that i happened to lose the weight without even trying. I went traveling for 4 months and discovered when i got back that i had gone from about 160 down to around 144. This was while traveling in third world countries and eating crap food, but i was active. Then when i settled back here, i still didn't really watch what i ate--and stayed at roughly the same weight for another 6 months.
Sigh. i wish i could replicate what i did then--which was basically nothing--and lose weight! Different age, different lifestyle though...unfortunately those days are long gone.
I've yo-yod since I was 15 years old and I'm now 46. I've lost 45, regained 20 lost 30 regained 50 lost 40 regained 60 lost 50 regained 70 lost 75 regained ...oh, it's all a blur, but I'm sure most of you get the picture.
So this time I lost 190ish pounds and have kept it off for 2 years, 7 months. I have regained only monthly fluctuations, (and a few holiday benders that I quickly recovered from.) What is different this time *for me*:
1. I'm older and realize it's not about catching a man, making friends jealous, or looking hot in a bikini....It's about living a healthy active life.
2. A few days of poor choices is not the end. It's human to mess up, as long as I realize the consequences and am fully willing to get back on track and not to blame ANYONE or ANYTHING but myself.
3. That yeah, there are some things I CAN live without, and YES I can live without some foods, and I am NOT depriving myself if I don't eat my FAVORITE junk foods on a regular basis, especially those that trigger more poor choices.
4. Not everyone is jealous of my weight loss. Some people are truly happy for me. Some people are jealous and they can take a hike.
5. Drinking alcohol makes me gain weight and I don't NEED it to live a happy fulling life.
6. I don't want to do this again. I don't want to lose weight again...ever. I want to remain at this weight and am willing to "SUFFER" though cravings and pity parties and free-for-all food frenzies if it means not becoming obese.
7. The only thing I deserve is to be healthy and fit.
That's about it for now, but I could write a book on the subject. And as always, these comments are about ME personally. It's how I feel about MY body. No one else...just me.
Great list, Lori. The only item that's different for me is #5. While I don't need wine for a happy life, I really enjoy it with dinner and have proven to myself that I can drink in moderation as well as lose/maintain while having a daily glass. I have no desire to drink either beer or hard liquor.
How many times have you yo-yoed before and what's different this time?
