Mmm, the grim statistic is 5%. ;) But there's no reason you can't be part of that 5%. And from my experience here over the past year, I'd say 5% of new posters stick around as well.

This is why my most important goal for myself was to stick with it for one year. Just one year. I wanted to be that person that posted a one year anniversary thread. :D

But I wonder how many keep 'most' of it off? Are there statistics for that? So, let's say, someone comes on here and starts at 200 and wants to get to 120. They get there, but it's extremely hard work to maintain it, but they can maintain 135 (a far cry better than 200). To me that is still a huge success, but it probably doesn't count in statistics of who kept it off?

My end goal is 175 which is 10-20 pounds over my 'ideal' for my height and frame. I'll see when I get there if I can get lower or if I want to, but if I get to 155 (very hard to believe I could), but if I did... I will NOT beat myself up if I end up settling at 175 as it's FAR better than where I was.

That's a good attitude berry, but give yourself a little more credit. I think the statistic is that 95% of people who lose weight regain it in 5 years. But I'm sorry, you know why they regain it...because at some point they stop doing what they know works - diet and execise. The others regain because the choose a fad diet or an unsustainable diet or had no maintenance plan.

I guess my biggest issue is that when people know this to be true, don't do it and still b*tch about it. My mom is the classic yo yo dieter, she's at her heaviest again and b*tching and moaning about it and she's knows what to do, she's just not doing.

Now I know this is easier said than done at times, trust me I KNOW, I have an undiagnosed binge eating disorder and a very unhealthy relationship with food. But no matter how much I want to stuff my face, I want this body more. You have to WANT it more than anything.

Love it!! Made me laugh:D

Everyone is looking for the magic secret to weight loss.

The real secret is I have to change the six inch space between my ears. That grey matter up there. My brain thought process lies to me and says one more bite won't hurt. My mind has been out to get me for too long.

It's simple, if energy taken in (calories) is more than energy spent (calories) I gain weight. Reverse this and I lose weight. The choice is mine. :carrot:

Larry,
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If we're not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn't settle for junk food. ~Sally Edwards

One thing to keep in mind about the 95% statistic... Of the 100% that got to goal what % of them were big losers? I' think that those of us with the strength of will to lose large amounts of weight are way more likely to keep a good portion of it off. Compared to alot of the vanity dieters who do it to lose that 10 or 20 pounds. Its alot easier to put back on 10 or 20 pounds then 100+ especially when those of us that manage to lose alot of weight spent months or years learning about our bodies, changing our attitudes about food and being stubborn enough to stick to some sort of plan.

I would think that just having the strength of will to lose large amounts of weight makes a person more likely to beable to keep most of it off.

Most of the studies I've seen (for example, the official weight watchers studies and etc) define "success" as maintaining at least 10-20% of the amount lost after 3 years. The statistics DO count those who are maintaining the majority of a large weight loss, unfortunately. But I don't let them get to me. I'm not a statistic (and I just passed 3 years of maintenance, the length of time for a good number of these studies, so hooray)

I don't know I lost 50 before and then gained 90 in 5 years! I've watched Oprah go up and down tons of weight too. But maybe it is higher for those with very large weight losses, but then, how many people ever MAKE it to very large weight losses?

That is amazing! and Yay you!!!!! It's hard for me to even imagine being at that point - looking back, but I'm working on it!

Thats my point berry, of the 100% of overall dieters who get to their goal are people who had large amounts to lose, i would imagine that, statistically, as the amount of weight lost increases the likelyhood of regaining a large chunk of it would decrease... Im not saying losing 10, 20, or even 50 pounds is easy, its always a struggle. But i would think that someone who found the strength to stay on plan, sometimes for years, to lose 100, 150, or more would be less likely to let themselves regain it.

Yes it will still happen, but i think it would be less likely.

^gosh I don't know I see story after story on 3FC of people who lose 100+ and regain, but again their story is always the same - I, for whatever reason, returned to my old habits.

Personally though I'm hoping having gone through the struggle of losing 130 lbs, and being hyper sensitive to any scale increases and continued activity on 3FC will insure my success as a maintainer.

^^^^
I tend to agree. Some people just little by little lose focus. Like, they got busy one week and no exercise, then someone brought in donuts, and so on. Very soon all those good habits that were so hardly won, disappear. Or, maybe for a month they weren't being very good and it didn't hurt them, so they relax a bit... next thing they know, the two months later, they've gained 20 lbs and so on.

I know for myself, I just stopped stepping on the scale. Stopped paying attention to what was going in my mouth. I was in denial and by the time I realized it, all 50 were back on and I was still piling it on.

I know I lost all focus. I had my high risk pregnancy and emergency c-sect kid, and then that whole infancy-toddler-preschooler stage sucked up time and changed the rules of my Life!

But I'll plonk on the side with food log + fitness works.

I DO have endocrine wacky (PCOS, hypotyroid, etc) that makes my metabolism slow as ****. So what? It's moving again. Took a while and fussing at my doc and checking labs and meds but it's moving again. The problem was finding where my AMR really is because those guesstimating equations online aren't quite a good guess for my conditions. But approximate AMR has been found, and I can work backward from there, and tada! Food log is finally matching the actual weight loss. I can work that scene like nobody's business. I'm an old hand at exchanges. Tell me the AMR, I'll find the right exchanges pattern. Sold!

And child is older -- I don't have to struggle with extended breastfeeding schedules or baby naps or annoying gym daycare time slots limiting my access... she's in school and I can just get to it any time during school hours and have some degree of flexibility.

I never did figure out how to do it with a wee tot and I have a lot of sympathy for those in that stage of life.

But I knew how to do it without a tot (working the food log + fitness thing) because I'd come within 20 lbs of goal when I was a single gal with a BF.

And while I may never know how to work it as a married mom with a baby and DH...

I know I can get back there again as a married mom with a kid and a DH.

Sometimes having patience and willing to give it whatever time it takes is part of it. But the bottom line -- food log and fitness still holds.

A.

That's so true! There's always SOME excuse

The "95% of dieters will regain" statistic is shaky, at best. It comes from ONE study in the 50s of 100 dieters, who were given a printed diet and sent home. No training, no followup, no support network... None of the things that we now know are SOOOO important for any sort of lifestyle change.

http://dietchoices.com/diet-plans/diets-dont-work/

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/...ight-myth.html

So cheer up! There is definitely hope. Even if we are destined to be statistics, it's a bigger statistic than 5%!!

I hate hearing storied that were pregnancy/child related. As you can see from my siggy, I'm one too, but I plan on TTC #2 late this year or sometime next year and I am terrified of the weight gain. I hope to just continue my maintenance plan with some minor adjustments, but the break I'll have to take from exercise and possibly food preparation will be difficult. I'll likely have another c-section and won't be able to run for a minimum of 8 wks not to mention if I can keep it up during the pregnancy in the first place.

My plan will require great attention and tweaking, but it has to be done if I want to keep the gain in check, it HAS to be a priority, HAS to be. That's the problem, people stop making it a priority.