Statistics do not work like this. This sounds simply like overblown baloon news to shock people.
When you are doing statistical research there is a thing called "statistic significance". I won't go into tiring details but NO STATISTIC is valid unless you know how statistically significant the research was.
If they chose 100 americans as a target group and say "Obese people" That is a gross overpresentation of facts. Even worse some statistics come from half truths like client lists from dietologists etc.
Just because you see numbers and % does now mean s**t.
You have to look at how large the researched group was, how well the information was gathered and from what source. Were the researchers fully qualified? You can ask lots of questions and usually you end up doubting statistics a lot.
They are just a tool to predict the future, not the truth tm.

The great thing about statistics is that they only reflect what has happened not what is going to happen.

I had to take classes in statistics in college and graduate school, and I agree that you have to interpret research studies very carefully (and it always pays to read the actual research not some popular magazine's reporting of the research. It's amazing how they can screw up the conclusions - to the point that the researchers wouldn't recognize their own study by the reporting of it).

However, there have been many research studies and reviews of the research trying to estimate success rates for weight loss, and sadly virtually all of them fall in the 90% plus failure rate (even when failure was only defined as loosely as maintaining any weight loss, whatsoever).

That doesn't predict any of our failure. It only predicts failure for those doing weight loss as it's usually done. Just coming to 3FC changes the statistics. Many people do not have a support group of any kind, and the research consistently shows that the most success is found in people who join and participate regularly in a weight loss support group (in person or on-line support groups), and the success rate increases if a person participates in both (This is consistent with my experience, as I don't think I would be as successful without 3FC and my TOPS group).

All the 90% failure rate tells us is that regain is a real and significant risk. It means we have to work harder to be aware of the risk and make efforts to reduce it.

There are still a lot of people who think "I can't wait until I get to goal so I can eat normally again. or at least eat a little more."

One of the reasons I've resisted lowering my calories below what I estimate I'll need at my goal weight is that I would like to eliminate the need to "eat more" when I get to goal. I know it will be hard to eat a "little bit more," without being tempted to eat a lot more, so instead my strategy has been to try to get used to eating "this way" forever. I may have to adjust my calorie level at some point, but mentally it's easier for me to make changes I see as permanent. I don't plan on doing much if anything differently at goal, then at weight loss (except that I am gradually increasing my exercise as I gain ability - but that's not a change at goal, those are changes along the way).

There are a lot of books available on weight loss, but only a few on weight loss maintenance, and I think that's part of the reason for a high failure rate. We plan for our weight loss, but most people don't plan for their weight maintenance. There's still a common myth that weight maintenance will be easier than weight loss, when it actually may be more difficult (all the work, without the "reward" of seeing the scale numbers drop).

I don't think the statistics are discouraging, I think they're empowering. Knowing the risks (and where they lie, or at least having clues to where they may lie) prepares you for fighting them.

Before I knew the weight loss statistics, when I thought (as I was constantly told by my doctor and parents) that weight loss was easy, I thought I had to be a complete idiot where weight loss was concerned. If I found it difficult, I had to be lazy, crazy, or stupid.

When I realized it was hard, I thought "no wonder I have to put so much effort in." It helped me work harder, because I knew it would take harder work to succeed (and not just harder work, but maybe different work than I was putting in).

When I first started losing the weight this time, I complained to my doctor that I wasn't losing as fast as I should, as fast as "normal" people, and my doctor reminded me that any consistent weight loss, even the numbers I thought pitiful was far better than normal, because it's normal to give up. Just staying in the race, puts us in the lead. It made me realize that I could succeed, just by deciding and committing to never giving up.

Every time I feel even the slightest bit discouraged, I remind myself that I'm in the top 2-10% just by continuing to plug away, and I can stay in the top 2-10% just by refusing to quit, and I can do that. I don't always know that I can get to 150 lbs, but I do know that I can not quit heading in that direction. Whether I lose another 10 lbs or another 150, I'm winning just by being here every day, just by watching my weight every day (even when I'm watching it not move).

Remember to take it with a grain of salt.

I have 'gained back' 20lbs. Yes, I'm 129lbs and have gained back 20lbs. 109lbs was far too low and on the other end of the spectrum as 'unhealthy'.

So yes, I lost 50lbs, gained back 20lbs, but at 129lbs and 5'5, there is nothing wrong with that. That's not including my pregnancy.

True, most people who 'diet' DO gain it back. However, most people who do lifestyle changes seem to find some balance - nobody's gonna look like they did at 20-30 when they are 70-80, our bodies WILL change (some gain, some even lose), but what's important is that we sustain the healthy habits.

I could care less about anybody's "statistics". They don't apply to me.

I have put too much time and effort into losing the weight, and because of that, I am not planning to regain it.

I do see that a lot of people on this forum have lost weight, then came back after a year or more because they regained some of it. I give them a lot of credit for returning.

(I also see people who join this forum and never lose a pound. What they are thinking, I just can't figure out.)

(Then I see the emotional types that get sooo excited when they lose a few pounds...then blame everyone and anything when they regain the pounds a month later! Excuses...Excuses... They don't stick around here for long.)

The people I most admire are the ones that have lost a considerable amount of weight and are inspirational to all. They are successfully maintaining their goal weight, some for many years now.

So I am continuing on my weight loss journey and plan on maintaining my weight after that. And I made up my mind not to regain any pounds.

I post everything I eat on LoseIt.com ... and that really helps me a lot to stay aware and focused on my eating habits. I don't have cheat days or overeat and then make excuses. I just don't go over my calorie allotment.

This dieting and maintaining has to be made a way of life from now on.
Just do that, stick to a method that works for you, and you will be OK.
:)

My Name is Crystal. ^^ Japaneses Phonetic spelling of the name. I'm glad someone here knows that. Most peope always think it's either a character I use, like from Anime, or they ask if I made it up.

To lose the weight the first time, I did a lot of biking to and from work, I did eat less calories then I am now... so I know that was a failure, I also ran a LOT, and did more zumba than I do now. Now I do the same things but I eat 1300- 1500 calories instead of 1000-1200, and I switch up my exercises. Mostly the SHRED, but I do others as well instead of just Zumba.

I know how I gained it back though. School got in the way of biking, friends got in the way of nights of exercising (or homework did) and I had an addiction to Starbucks and other coffee houses. I LOVE doing homework at a shop instead of at home. It helps me focus for some reason...

This time, when I go to the coffee shops (because it really does help me not get distracted), I'm just getting green tea, no sugar. (I do love tea). Instead of the caramel lattes and such. I also plan on doing exercise 3x a week, no excuses. Biking will happen as well, just during good weather.

Hopefully I can keep it up this time... cancel that. I WILL stick with it this time.

I think this quote needs to be hung on a wall.
>.>
<.<

NO! Not the Facebook wall... I'm so lame I don't have one of those. The reason I don't have one... my weight is too embarrassing to allow friends to tag me in photos or old high school friends to go, "What happened?"

HA! I got more fat, I'm one of the statistics. "Will keep it up." Right past self, you failed, miserably. Don't let that happen again.

lol, thanks Pattience. I'm no longer worried about the stat, I made this thread 3 years ago and I was mocking my past self. Back then... I only needed to lose 30lbs and had lost 10, so 20lbs to go.

Now... 72.2 was my starting loss, and I'm so frustrated. I'm more mad, because my mindset was always in the right place and I would do so well, then... I had excuses.

I read the article, and... again, other than exercising AFTER I lose the weight, I'm in the good place. I always am when I start, I just wonder if I'll have an excuse this time, I tell myself I won't and "NO WAY!" but......... I'm terrified of it.

How many "Last Halloween I'm FAT!" Or "Last summer I won't swim!" Or, different diets, pills, bullimea, you name it I've done it. I've hated myself for so long, and 30lbs? That's crazy... that's so... not as bad as I am now. And it's hurtful to see that I would get in a good place and NOT do the unealthy things, and then.... just... give up I guess.

School, or dating, or homework, or my rape... so many things that have made me restart or gain weight. I just wonder.... I'm in such a good place now and wanting to get it for my wedding and so I can have kids in a few years and be healthy for that. I have every reason to lose weight and no reason not to. I have money this round and bought a tread mill, I have a supportive Fiance, I have the ability to utilize my doctor I can afford a gym membership. I know what diets that just don't work for me and I know that calorie counting does.

I'm just so terrified that something will get in my way, and then... 3 years from now I'll read this post and get mad at this present me and say "You only had 68 lbs to go... now it's 120lbs... what's wrong with you!?" I just... it hurts. And... I'm not sure what I can do that I haven't done differently.

I like the hints in these forums, and they've helped a lot, but... I'm still not sure. Sucks... I'm not sure how to explain this emotion. I'm excited to lose weight. I feel good right now, I know I can do it, I know that this is my life, that the calories I'm eating aren't miserable, that the work outs I do aren't horrid and easily could do for the rest of my life. I feel better, I feel energized, less tired, more happy, less hateful of myself, and more motivated. But.... I've had all that before, and I doubled the weight I needed to lose.

UGH!

Thanks for the link though.

Exercise was never the problem. I have always exercised, even while fat. I walk the dog for 30 minutes even when my life was the most chaotic. Usually, it's the diet that goes. I get upset and eat ice cream, I get stressed and get a Starbucks. When I was in school, I would just eat snacks while studying, and eat junk with friends, order pizzas and didn't have the time to cook (or so I told myself). The only thing that really didn't make me hate myself was I was always able to say "at least I exercise." I knew that didn't negate the extra calories I was eating, as running and walking only give you maybe... 200 calories to work with (which isn't much). But... I've depressed and the one thing that keeps me going is when I work out. I like it, it's my happy place.

It's diet that's hard. I can't do low carb, I've tried and that's the one I fail the most at. XD (I know it works for some people, but most of what I eat has carbs, I like subs, and I love pastas). I've done "Deal a Meal" and that was the most successful actually. It's basically a calorie counting thing, though... I can't find where to get one these days. So, I went to old fashioned calorie counting and trying to get an apple as a snack and not a small cookie (which can sometimes have the same calories depending on the cookie).

I always fail, when I get stressed, sad, or something scary in my life happens. It's like... I compensate with food. I saw a counselor for this and that helped a great deal. I still fell into eating everything at the first sign up trouble.

Last summer, I lost about 20lbs from May - September. I was doing good, then school took full swing and I was an organization president. I gained 10lbs from Oct - December. Then... chaos came. My fiance wound up in the ICU, I thought he was going to die. I was in master level courses, I was working tax season, I was scared, depressed, and over worked. Cooking didn't happen (AT ALL), and my preparedness for work was non-existant. I didn't bring food and I could get food as we were so busy, so I ordered. What delivers? Chinese, pizza, this pasta place. I'd get off work, run home to walk the dog for her exercise for about 20-30 minutes, then go straight to the hospital to see my Fiance. He couldn't even talk as he had tubes going down his throat. I'd eat in the cafetteria, their food sucked so I'd get the packaged things like Dorritos, Lunchables, microwaved burgers. I would have homework so I would get a Starbucks. Sundays I had off, and it was all homework, all day in the hospital, minus the walk for the dog.

I gained over 20lbs from Mid Jan - Mid April. Then some more from April - May while I finished school. The only thing that kept me sane through all of that was being able to hold my Fiance's hand and see his smile, as weak as it was, and the times I was able to escape from reality for a moment at a time, walking the dog.

I totally get that a lot of people will think the only way they can lose weight is by running an hour a day, and the moment they miss that they think it's over, why try. I know a lot of people don't like exercise or pick a routine they can't maintain. But for me, I get depressed and miserable without it. I lose energy and spirit. I feel good running, empowered even. I also love to play games and hike, I'm just getting so fat I get winded a lot and my exercise did dwindle to just walks for a while.

I appreciate that advice, and I'm glad it works for you, but I know I can't just put that to the side and work on diet alone. I need to figure out how to make time for cooking when I'm busy, or find something I can eat that takes little to no prep-time, and I need to learn how to deal with my emotions when they are overwhelming instead of getting a muffin or turning to pastries. I feel like I'm in that good place now, and I feel I can handle it, but tax season is right around the corner... and... yeah...

For me, neither exercise nor diet is the main battle (or you could say, equally as accurately that it's both equally).

The main battle for me (and I think for many) is fighting the all or nothing mentality. For decades, I only had two speeds with diet, exercise, and other healthy/unhealthy habits. I was either doing absolutely everything "right" or everything "wrong."

It wasn't quite that simple, because it wasn't so much right and wrong as other dillemas, such as choosing whether to focus entirely on myself, or entirely on others.

My natural inclination is to have extreme "tunnel vision," focusing 100% of my energy on a single "passion" to the neglect of EVERYTHING else.

I could successfully diet and exercise, but only by sacrificing everything else of value in my life.

I had to be obsessively committed or I couldn't be bothered at all, because something else was monopolizing my attention.

This might not be so terrible if I didn't have thousands of interests competing for my undivided attention.

I still struggle with tunnel vision. I can't and won't ever again make my life only about weight loss, but I still find it difficult and uncomfortable to multitask. Finding time and energy for everything I want to do is a struggle, especially since my years of burning the candle at both ends physically and mentally, has left me with health issues that sap my strength and stamina.

I'm slowly learning that "anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly if I don't have time to do it well."

Still, we all get a lot of messages that no matter what we do, it's not good enough unless we can do it flawlessly (and the definition of flawlessly always seems to be changing).

Trying to live a balanced life just doesn't come naturally to me. I tremendously enjoy emersing and even losing myself in a succession of "passions." Staying grounded in the practical isn't easy, especially when my inner voice is telling me that I shouldn't even bother if I'm not willing to sacrifice everything else in my life in order to commit 100%.

That's probably part of my problem. I think that's why school hit me so hard. I got tunnel vision. I had to be perfect or why try? Mainly with diet, and even working out. When it's summer I'm so active. I love biking and hiking and tennis. Love. But school would hit and I could really only focus on home work. Or friends, weight loss was out the window and exercise was a short bike ride or walk. The End.

I think it's good I graduated, I'll try not to get tunnel vision.

I certainly plan on having a plan for tax season. I stress because you get pulled so many ways, but mostly, it's the time you spend doing it. Getting into the office at 8:00am, and getting home by 10:00 pm. M-Sat, some of the people even work Sundays. It's only about 2 months, but it's just a huge time sink. The worst part is the losing track of time. As long as Steve isn't in the hospital, I think I will be asking him to prepare my lunches and cook dinner for those 2 months. He's not a bad cook when he has motivation.

I also, while they are very processed, will rely on lean cuisines for lunches for days nothing is prepared. There aren't restaurants that close to our office, and the only deliveries are not healthy! I figured... if I can't make my lunch the night before, I can at least grab something low calorie that will keep me from ordering Chinese.

I'm not against your no exercising that you mention. I think some people need to hear it. Yes, there are a lot of people that need exercise, it is healthy and good for you, it can help with stress and depression, but not everyone can balance it and a new diet. I get that, I really do. Some people will find it uplifting and helpful that they can do it without exercise. It's like a lot of opinions on here. Some go low carb, and others think that is the worst thing for your health ever. We all have experiences and some doctor that supports our opinion. I think on these forums, it's good for people looking for something that works. Some of us will find ourselves in the C25K thread and that's our place. Others will find themselves in the IP threads and that's their place. We may bounce around until we find that thing we can do and continue doing. At this point, I think it's just advice, and people should take it as such. If someone mentions a diet or pill that sounds great! Then it's up to you to research it, ask your doctor about it, and then if you wish, try it. You may have the same results, better results, or awful results. If it works, spiffy, if not, next advice please.

I've been following this thread and I just want to say, I'm rooting for you. I wish I could say I relate and I have the ultimate foolproof fix for you! (Spoiler: there isn't one) I've honestly been lucky enough to not have any catastrophes during my journey so far. I hope not to, and I like to think I have a plan in place should something happen, but that's rather optimistic. Also, I hope your fiance is doing better! Sounds like it was a scary, stressful time.

It seems like you graduated (I think?) so that should help. School is just so stressful by nature! And time consuming! I know many accountants though and they basically disappear for 2-3 months of the year. I can't imagine how difficult that must be to maintain any semblance of normalcy. It's a great idea to have your fiance help you out and there is nothing wrong with a frozen meal when you need it especially if it keeps you on track. Extra sodium, in my opinion, is much better than extra sodium AND extra calories :) Couldn't hurt to start looking around the grocery store for other satisfying last-minute meal ideas - prepared fresh salads maybe? A bottled smoothie? Maybe take a tour through the grocery store when you have time and make a mental checklist of things that might work. You can even write down a list of your options for those days where you have to grab something quick and you're not sure what to eat - look at the list and see what is appealing.

And don't forget to check in with us here. I'm sure that will be near impossible to do around tax season, but I must say this place in incredibly motivating and helps me feel accountable. But maybe that's just me :)

YOU CAN DO THIS. You don't have to be a statistic!