I was pretty successful on IP and lost 50 lbs but have regained about 14 and am starting again this week. When I started I went to an independent weight loss place that advertised on the radio. I started with them and the theory was that when you got your body fat back into the 'normal' range then your metabalosim would adjust to that of a 'normal' weight person. Has any IP counselor ever mentioned anything similar? Why I ask is I hate the idea of doing this every yr but there should be a point when the body normalizes. No one is every going to avoid carbs for their entire life. I don't think I've been bad however I'm in the tour business and spend most of my time on the road. In reality its easier for me to eat healthier on the road than cooking for myself so I don't see that as the major problem.
Just curious what others have been told in regards to maintaining wt once we lose it on IP.

This question may get the most answers if asked in the maintenance thread

A couple of points

If we got back to the way we used to eat, we'll gain weight. That's why we needed IP in the first place.

One of our maintainers has read several books and, in a nutshell, a formerly overweight person usually can not eat as much to maintain as a person who was never overweight.

So, maintenance is tricky business and the people who are most successful carefully monitor and track and make adjustments. Most stay within 3-5 lbs and don't allow themselves to go over that. This can be done without constant rebooting in P1 but it takes diligence.

Here are some of the books I've seen recommended

refuse to regain
state of thin
Accidentally overweight
never going back: Al Roker
Secrets of a Former Fat Girl by Lisa Delaney
The end of overeating

With lots of experience (lost 80 pounds from 9/2010 to 2/2011) maintained until 1/2014 pretty well..would put on a few and take off a few several times a year. Then just went back to old eating (tons of stress). I put on about 35 of the 80 I lost. I tried weight watchers, Atkins, and extreme exercise several times and I couldn't lose a single pound, nothing.

I started IP very strict 2 weeks ago and down 14. It seems to be the only way I lose now. Over those other 3 years in maintenance, I would try to lose the few I was up with those other methods too and they never worked. So almost 4 years in maintenance and IP is the only thing that works.

Here's the reality.

Just because we lose weight, it doesn't mean that our bodies suddenly start acting like a naturally thin/naturally healthy weight person. Yes, some functions will improve without the extra weight but metabolism doesn't magically self-correct when the weight comes off. If only it did!!

Weight maintenance is a lifelong battle - and getting in that frame of mind will help you immensely in Maintenance and beyond. We can make some minor improvements to our metabolism by adding lean muscle and exercising regularly, but we aren't among those who will never have to worry about our weight or fight the tide to maintain a lower weight.

The way I have come to look at it is this: I will probably have to reboot periodically but that's OK! I have a powerful tool in my arsenal with IP, something I know unequivocally works to get the extra weight off if I go too far off the rails, or if stress/body changes/aging cause a gain. Some people fight against weight gain and never get something like that in their back pocket.

While I'm new to IP, I think I can safely weigh in here . . .

Some bodies are just naturally thin, some are not.

I lost 60 lbs in 2006 through Weight Watchers. I maintained my loss for 5 years. At which point, I had gotten remarried and with that came two additional children making our home a house of 6. . . and it came with a ton of stress because of a crazy ex-wife. I slowly started packing on the weight even though I was working out and eating correctly. Then I got diagnosed with cancer, a huge life setback and several chemicals pumped into me. So I then added on more weight, even though I was still doing the same things.

Life happens and we don't realize where we are in our weight factor until we reach that ah-ha moment (for me it was walking into Lane Bryant (same as in 2006).

Those of us that struggle with our weight have a life long battle. We can't just sit and eat a few slices of pizza or wolf down that burger . . . we have to be accountable for our bodies. While it's a genetic factor, we have the tools to fight it and show our children (for those of us with them) a healthy way to live . . .in hopes of them not having the same struggles.

Pinky

yes, LIFE LONG Battle.

But from experience, I do feel that the only way I can get the weight off now is with IP, with that said, I love IP and it is easy and works for me. I just have to remember to reboot more often

AND

Step on the scale...avoiding it definitely put the 35 on

I think much of regain comes from attempting to go back to eating foods that simply aren't good for our health, from a nutrition perspective.

I have started looking up the Glycemic Index values for ALL the foods that I like to see which are very high and which are low. When I get to the maintenance phase I will be trying to build a balanced diet of vitamins, minerals and calorie/carb/healthy fats/protein ratios so I don't NEED to take supplements.

I know that I am predisposed to gain weight. I've only to look at all the women in my family to see that, but I can CHOOSE not to make it worse and that is the path I'm determined to take.

I don't see the point of spending the time and money on IP, only to throw it away by trying to revert to the former eating patterns. I feel too good now, much less when I get to target weight, to allow myself to slide back into that self-loathing, embarrassed and constantly feeling like crap pit that I crawled out of.

Of course metabolism changes on IP. If you think about it, your liver is going from processing predominantly carb-based foods and providing energy to burning fat to provide ketones for energy. This is a massive metabolic change and it logically has to have a long term effect on how the liver functions. I'm sure that over time, when we revert to using carbs/protein as our primary fuel source it will correct itself, but I doubt it'll happen quickly. Your metabolic rate is also linked to your activity level and your new weight, so of course your caloric intake will be much less for maintenance than your starting weight level.

I'm glad you asked this question. I see so many other weight loss forums where people are decrying IP as a "I gained it all back and more when I stopped", but they aren't honest enough to admit that they didn't phase out properly or they reverted to their previous lifestyle habits and that annoys me. If you take responsibility for what you put into your mouth, then you stand a greater chance of keeping the weight off. I love to see our returnees, because it's a sign that the IP mentality DOES work when they go off the rails or have gains outside tolerance levels that they set.

I agree, people gain it back because they don't watch what they eat. When I was so careful the first 3 years in maintenance, I maintained 75 of the 80 lost well. But when I lived a free-for-all the last 10 months, I put on 35 of those 80. But still down almost 50, now down 65.

But the question is does your metabolism change?

Yes, for me it has. I cannot lose with any other diet.

But I don't care, this works

I am a part of 2 different Facebook groups that originated as 3Fat chicks (one from 2010 when I started and second 2011 when I was finishing). These women were the most focused and determined at the time I was on 3Fatchicks for hours a day. All of them, ALL have put some (20-50% back on), but we try to stop ourselves at that...so we are winning the battle

I am not on IP but the only way I have seen any uptick in my metabolism is through exercise (and not diet) which of course you cannot do while on IP.

So my advice is once you finish with IP - start running and going to the gym.

It's a shame IP folks cannot do this before.

I agree with all those that posted and yes read the books. I'm a newbie to maintaining, only 4 weeks post phasing off. Maintanance requires more work, more planning, and accountability than P1. Not sure if your metabolism slows but I know you can never return to previous eating patterns

I would encourage exercising while on P1, check with your Dr, add the extra protein and start light. I found it helped with the inches and loose skin as well as building lean muscle which burns more calories. It is also a great habit which will help you be successful in maintance and boost your metabolism.
I'm doing my first 1/2 marathon Nov 2nd and started running in Febuary.

Well, the fat's been chewed somewhat on this subject since I left for work this am. Here's my $.02...

IP DOES slow metabolism in two ways:

1) As mentioned on here, the process of losing weight means we are supporting a smaller body mass...technically that is not SLOWING metabolism, but means that my smaller self doesn't have the same resting metabolic rate as my pre-IP self.

2) Not specific to IP but to any diet utilizing extreme calorie restriction: Our bodies will begin to "smarten" to our restricted calorie consumption and therefore slow down the metabolic process. Of course, in primitive society where food could be scarce, this is a good thing. Not so much in modern life!

To combat the second issue, IP builds in a slow calorie-phasing in process of P2 and P3. Anectdotally, I find that I was barely losing weight near the end of P1....less than a pound a week on a 800-1000 calorie a day diet! My body did get good indeed keeping as much mass as possible. The week that I moved to P2 and ADDED 200-300 calories daily, I lost 5 pounds!

I am working to increase my metabolism further through exercise (as other's mentioned) and continued SLOW calorie increase. I also use the fun day/free day as a means of boosting metabolism (have read conflicting reports on the science of this, but I also enjoy the free day and have not had any gains from it).

I used a formula to calculate my resting metabolic rate (1420) and am now working to get up to my calculated daily maintenance calories (1846). Having steadily increased my calories, I have continued to lose weight, and thus am working to keep increasing until I get to the tipping point. I want to be eating as high as I can calorically before I start gaining weight.

What I don't believe is an issue for me is the insulin resistence that plays a role in metabolism. While I can't say what was going on for me pre-IP, I have been processing carbs (of all kinds) normally and have not experienced weight gain with adding in a reasonable amount of carbs into my diet. I stick with a ratio of 35% protein, 35% fat, 30% carbs. That has been a relief for me. I know some maintainers believe they need to keep their carb ratios much lower.

What I find is that maintenance is really just as challenging as weight-loss. It's HARD to keep on top of something so strictly....but I intend to keep working at it!

thanks for the advice. In Seattle there is a weight loss program called 3010 weight loss for life. They say that when all the fat factors get into the 'normal' range your metabolism returns to that of a 'normal' thin person. I realized after 8 weeks that the packets were virtually the same as IP in fact I'm now sure they are from Nashua however they were charging $235 per week. I was just wondering if anyone had been told a similar line. I'm still down 35# but had been down almost 48. Its only been 6 months however am back on phase 1 for a few wks, and hoping for good results. Truth is I'm happy but just feel like a 'loser' for gaining back any weight. You all know that feeling after buying new clothes and now they aren't fitting.

Is the 3010 program the one that has you sit in a sauna and do a "body vibration"?

I suspect from how I feel maintaining for nearly 6 months and bits and pieces I have read that I will never be a "normal" thin person - i.e. a person who is naturally thin and doesn't have to monitor what I eat. I am not sure whether it is a physical issue meaning my body doesn't respond the same as someone who has never been overweight or a mental issue with having to monitor to make sure I don't go back to old eating behaviors.

And you are not a loser davidgmg for putting some of the weight back on - it's a learning/experimentation process and now you know what you need to do to get the pounds back off. Good for you recognizing it and getting back at losing!

Think about this....if our metabolisms suddenly converted over to that of a normal thin person when we lost the weight.....would we ever regain? Probably not. Your metabolism doesn't magically reset to a place where it has never been just because you lose weight. HOWEVER we know that IP is a tool we can use to manage the regains when they happen (either due to eating patterns, or hormonal changes/aging, or stress, etc) and we NEVER have to feel out of control!

A loser would've given up and let the weight gain continue. You chose to clamp down on it, and come back to fix the issue. That's someone who wants to succeed, not someone who is planning to fail.