Just wondering how many have been chubby or big all their life, as very young kids till now- ate bad foods all their life and struggle to stay away from those bad foods - yet have managed to get down to a low weight (say, 150lbs or less) and keep it off for atleast a year? Is it possible for us? our the fat cells that grew as a kid just more resistant to letting go of fat and if it does let go will make us go nuts till we eat that fat back?


Just seems harder to lose weight than people that were thin as kids and teenagers and just gained in adult life from pregnancies, medical reasons, etc...or am I wrong and it's all the same?

Well, I'm not at the '150 lbs or less' mark that you have set. Maybe I will one day... I've been fat all my life and have no idea what 150 lbs would look like on me! For my height (5"10) it would likely make me thin, but not too thin. I'd definitely enjoy seeing that number.

But regardless, I think I'm qualified to answer your question because I've kept off over 100 lbs for over a year now. I've lost about 130 lbs all together.

I can't really say if it's more difficult or not because I only have my experience. Just like people who are dieting with some obstacle (disabilities, complicated medical history, depression, diabetes etc) people who have been fat their whole lives face certain challenges. Namely, that we can find it difficult to imagine being thin because we've never been there, and maybe also because physiologically our bodies are comfortable being fat due to more fat cells or whatever the case may be.

But it is possible to lose weight and keep it off because I've done it and so have a lot of others on this board.

I also don't quite hit that 150 lb marker, but I AM a single digit size, after being a size 24. And yes, it's possible.

Go into the "Living Maintenance" section...you'll find a LOT of proof that it can be done.

Been big all my life (apart from actual birth weight). Got down to thin weight twice, once in my late 20s, once in my late 40s.
3rd time's the charm.

You might enjoy the book Thin for Life by Anne M. Fletcher. The author interviews folks who have lost a substantial amount of weight and kept it off for a substantial amount of time. The variety and similarities are interesting.

Let me see if I'm clever enough to add a link to a book study we've done on this.


http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51577

My weight started coming on in the fifth grade.

It's definitely possible to lose the weight - and all of it. Now mind you, I didn't always think so. But now - I know so. In fact, I'm certain of it.

The truth is it's hard under many different circumstances. Losing weight and keeping it off is HARD. It takes extreme desire. Hard work. Determination. Willingness to change. Focus. And utter commitment. With all of those things - anything is possible.

Thanks! that book looks like it's going over all the questions I'm basically wondering and worrying about if I'll be always craving junk and have to eat like a bird struggling to keep the weight down. I will have to check it out

As for craving junk, my experience has been that the longer I go without eating something, the less I crave it until eventually the cravings are gone. Cravings are only food memories, after all.

And we don't need to eat like birds, although a large weight loss does result in a slower metabolism than that of a comparable sized, never-obese person. So we eat a little less and exercise a little more. No big deal.