I have had the same experience. The first time I lost weight I was in college and I went from 260 to 220. I eventually gained the weight back plus an additional 30-40 pounds. A few years later I lost weight again, but did not get down to 220. I again gained it back and more --- which put me at about 330. The last time I dieted, which was a few years ago, I went down from 380 to about 330, then once again gained it back. Two months ago I was the heaviest I've ever been.... 405 pounds.

I now now that I can never go back to the way I once ate, and that after I lose my weight and get to my goal I will have to be on some sort of maintenance plan for the rest of my life (which will hopefully be a long one after losing the weight). Otherwise, I know it won't be so long.

Thanks! I'm glad.

I'm not opposed to that idea. I mean, neurochemically certain foods can elicit responses similar to those of drug use. And this doesn't even factor in the psychology side of things. Our bodies are very efficient machines, mentally and physically, at seeking tasty food and eating lots of it.

It's in the very evolutionarily derived fiber that kept our cave dwelling forefathers (mothers) alive during times where food was scarce. The concept of excess food and insane energy density is very novel in the grand scheme of things.

Good for you. And be patient. You'll get better. Grooves are formed by grooving them. And grooving them requires a lot of consistent work. Work that sometimes goes against the grain for a while. The good news is that the direction of the grain tends to shift with enough effort. And if you can stick with it long enough, things will become more natural and automatic.

At that point, you'll learn how to deviate without feeling guilty and without loosing control. There's light at the end of the tunnel and it sounds like you're figuring that out.

HI STEVE! I feel like we have a celebrity in our midst!!! I love that article of yours that JossFit linked over in General Chatter yesterday!




To OP! I took almost all of August "off". I still lost almost 4 pounds for the month. I kind of ate whatever half the week and ate pretty clean and decent the rest of the week -- it kind of came naturally too, I'd sort of off set higher calories days by eating lighter the next day simply because I was full. I didn't count calories all month because I just got so freaking SICK of it. And I, sadly, didn't get to the gym even once all month (that part I DO regret though, I should have stayed active). It was a slow month for me, but it did me good.

I should probably clarify what I meant by saying I am a food addict. I don't necessarily know if there is anything in the food itself that I am addicted to chemically, like a heroin addict would be addicted to that drug. I meant it more in terms of my own psychology. I have certain eating habits which are not normal. Its one thing to make bad food choices, like going to fast food burger places often and ordering high-fat, high-caloric foods like double cheeseburgers and fries - large sized, of course. But I would take it to an extreme. I would over order (an additional chicken sandwich for example), even though my hunger would be more than fulfilled by the burger and fries. Then, as I said earlier, late at night I would binge snack on various foods. When I caught myself having this urge during my dieting, I realized that I really wasn't hungry. I'm not sure what makes me want to snack at night. Boredom? Habit? Some actual addiction? I am not sure. But I do know that it isn't because I'm hungry.

Hahaha, hardly. But thanks... I'm glad you enjoyed the article. That thing's more of a book than an article, so if you stuck it out until the end you have my respect!

I wasn't implying that there are ingredients in the food that are addicting. I'm saying that particular foods actually trigger the same sort of neurochemical response that leads to addictions in drug users. It's a deep rabbit hole with more questions than answers... but it's definitely an interesting area of study.

Hmmm, this conversation reminded me of this research review that my buddy Lyle McDonald did a while back. I think you'll be interested in reading it:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/res...y-balance.html

Well, it may be psychological addiction, indeed. Or maybe also associating certain foods with certain situations that give you some positive feeling. For instance, in my case, for a long time "eating pizza" was associated with the weekends I spent at my grandmother's, and so I regularly wanted pizza because it reminded me of that (nice, warm) atmosphere. In itself, it seems silly, but when you're living alone and life is being hectic, finding yourself "addicted" to such foods might actually stem from something deeper.

That, and I seem to recall that some components (I refuse to call them nutrients) in junk food, like artificial sugars, may make some people crave more of it. I think it depends on the people—some are more sensitive to that than others. (But I'm no scientist, so feel free to debunk that with real data, right now I don't have any links at hand.)

It would be nice to have a definitive answer so that, if possible, steps could be taken to avoid a certain situation or trigger. But I don't know if I'll ever be able to figure it out. I suppose if I can't figure out why I eat the way I do, I should just concentrate on making sure I don't succumb to my old bad habits.

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case for me. I can be eating well below that (even under 1300 or 1200), but if I don't get my water or some exercise in, I still gain. It's very frustrating. Maintenance escapes me to be honest.

So to battle diet fatigue (because I'm at 6 months out), I kinda just stick it out. I'd love to be able to maintain, but I have a hard time with it and wouldn't take a break for a week. What I tend to do is still have water and exercise, but have two meals during weekends that are "free". Then I hop right back up on the wagon (hopefully) on Monday.

You're confusing water gain with fat gain. There is a very significant difference and understanding the two will help you, a lot.

Oh.

Well that would help, actually. I shall look that up!

Nice to see that you're still going strong here John. And yeah, John took the words right out of my mouth.

Remember, weight is comprised of a lot of variables... muscle, connective tissue, fat, water, bowel matter, etc. Fat can be reducing while another variable is accumulating. And if that's the case, per the scale, fat loss can be entirely masked by, say, water retention.

For this reason, it's important to set realistic expectations, monitor rates of progress by the month... not the day or week, and rely on a variety of metrics to monitor progress... not just the scale. Things like monthly pictures in the same light, taken in the same clothing and same lighting, standing the same distance from the camera can help a lot. And measurements.

Many people wind up confusing water fluctuation for fat fluctuation, get frustrated, give up a bit, over eat, then get frustrated again, then start dieting again, etc. It's a vicious cycle that stands to keep your long term energy balance close to maintenance.

I'll say this...

Yes, everyone's operating with a unique body and there's going to be some variance across the population with how this uniqueness plays out. However, there are some underlying foundational concepts that apply to each and every one of us.

Never in our history have we found a human who can maintain a lot of excess fat without a corresponding inflow of calories to support said fat. And if we did find such a person, their body would potentially possess the key to solving our world's energy crisis. Essentially their bodies would be able to preserve energy/mass irrespective of the energy coming in the door.

Oh, I didn't figure it out in two days. It took time (years, even), and I'm sure I haven't identified some of my triggers yet. On the other hand, some of those are easy enough to start with, since they tend to be the same for a lot of people. For instance: grazing when watching TV, or when being 'bored' in general. (For me, watching TV = being bored, because I'm not doing anything with my hands, and so it's as if I unconsciously try to keep them busy with something, anything, including mechanically shoveling food into my mouth. Once I had identified it

Common triggers include:
- Watching TV.
- Boredom.
- Lack of purpose. (By that, I mean stuff like "going home after work and finding yourself alone without anything planned for the evening".)
- Feelings (sadness, loneliness, overall negative feelings that make people "fill the void" with food—this said, being happy can also lead to overeating, e.g. large family meals).

There are many other triggers, but these are the ones I commonly see mentioned here. Maybe they can help you start figuring it out for yourself?

Of course, you can white-knuckle it, too, but I find it makes things more difficult in the long run, and more difficult means unsustainable, and thus weight gain. (It's way easier to, say, knit or draw while enjoying a TV show, rather than sit through the show gritting my teeth thinking "I won't eat, I won't eat, I won't eat". *sigh*)

I have dieter's ADD. I get bored easily and this used to be a HUGE challenge for me, because I believed the myth that in order to lose weight I had to find something and "stick with it."

I don't. I have to stick with something, but it doesn't have to be the same something. When I get bored, I change my plan, change my focus, change the types of foods I'm eating or the types of exercise I'm doing - whatever it takes to be excited about my new plan.

Well, this is part of the reason it has taken me four years to get off 100-ish pounds. I take maintenance breaks, alter to a new approach, keep having babies, you name it. When my brain gets fed up with weight loss and a new recipe or refocusing on my goals isn't enough, it is time for me to transition to maintenance for awhile and focus on keeping my weight in a range (and correcting if I gain above it) but otherwise relaxing my food choices and rigor while finding the threshold of what I can do without losing control. Now, I am not only a good loser, but I can maintain as needed, too, because I practiced those skills with the strictness of weight loss became too much. They're different skillsets, one is not harder than the other, but it takes practice.