It's always the same reasons for me - celebrating too soon or plateau and giving up. I'm a yoyo but I really don't want to be. I hate it that I'm always losing and gaining the same few pounds.

Food provides not only comfort, but pleasure. It's how we humans are designed. I think my several 30-to-60-pound regains boil down to making a subliminal decision, at some point, that I would rather be heavier and eat liberally than be thin and eat moderately. This is the longest I've ever maintained a loss (over a year), and I'm not sure what's different, other than the two new behaviours I've incorporated -- exercising several times a week and weighing myself several times a week.

F.

I was put on Zoloft back in August and was told I may gain weight. Here I am almost 40lbs heavier in just a few short months. I exercise everyday and do 2 to 3 classes which are super intense. My eating hasn't been the best and I've had some binge days because my anxiety had been really bad.

2013 is going to be MY year, I'm getting to goal! I was 5lbs away at one point and I refuse to let this gain stop me.

I gained my weight back mainly from losing hours at work and sitting around most of the day, mixed with a little depression. Then I fell pregnant, but managed to lose 9kg afterward, but then my husband stopped smoking and he started eating and bringing home junk food and I gained too. This time when I lose it I will have to maintain it and not eat everything in sight without a second thought. Eating is easy, losing is damn hard.

I regained weight after getting married (10 pounds), having a baby (25 pounds), another baby (10 pounds) and another baby (15 pounds). These events occurred as I worked a full-time office job for the first time since I'd lost weight (which occurred while I was a grad student and had a flexible schedule to make room for exercise and meal planning).

There were a lot of ups and downs not reflected in those numbers, but I think what my weight gain boiled down to was being overwhelmed by no longer having (or making) time to take care of myself and just sort of putting it aside. I've been on a sort of exploration to find a plan that works for me, and finally not being a perfectionist about it.

I attend WW on a weekly basis for the weigh-in now, no matter what. One really hard lesson I learned was that once I start skipping weigh-ins or hide the scale, is when the weight comes rushing on.

Amy, you are exactly right about the scale and weigh-ins. If you make yourself get on that scale regularly, even if you think you have gained, you will see it right in front of your face and hopefully get it back off before it gets out of hand. I know that getting weighed at WW can be so important to keeping you on track, but I just can't afford the monthly fee. It is working wonderfully for my DIL.

Freelance - I also think lifestyle changes are key to maintenance. If you choose an eating plan that you think you can live with the rest of your life, success will come much easier. Diets are something we do for a period of time and then stop. That's setting yourself up to regain, IMO.

I lost 40 Lbs, and gained it all back because I was doing everything in extreme. One day I would be extremely focused and intense at the gym, and the next week I would be extremely negative about my ability to change my behaviours.

I would attend the gym 5 days a week, work out hard for a solid hour and a half, and then would make poor food choices. My weight didn't move. For 4 months, and I gave up. I just wasn't ready to be honest with myself.

That brings us to present day, and I've never been more real with myself, and owning up to my behaviours has been hugely eye-opening.