One of the big differences between those who have lost weight and those who have never been overweight is that some people who have lost weight are much less active. They burn fewer calories. For some it may be due to a lower metabolism. But, I've read some research where they also found that the previously overweight people burned fewer calories in non-exercise activities because they just didn't move that much. The difference between, say, sitting a lot and someone who putters around a lot. One thing I've really been trying to work on is increasing my non-exercise activities which has been really hard.

Also, it doesn't take all that many extra calories to gain weight. It is way easier to add an extra 500 calories a day than to cut 500 calories a day....

Maybe it's the body weight set point theory in action? Being obese for a long time raises our set point weight and our bodies continuously fight to remain at that weight. I'm sure now that my set point is around 190, because I'm always hovering over that weight whether I gain or lose.

I don't like it, but it's hard to argue against it. http://www.bidmc.org/YourHealth/BIDM...fSetPoint.aspx

Thank you so much for posting that link! I strongly believe in the setpoint. I knew I read somewhere about how to break the setpoint, but couldn't remember the details. I have bookmarked this and plan on referring back to it regularly. It has a lot of information that really makes sense. I don't know about you, but I didn't gain this weight in a hurry and it's not going to go away in a hurry, but once it's gone, I want it to stay gone.

That's the problem with dieting. It doesn't work because people think diet=temporary. In reality it's diet=permanent. (If you don't want regain that is.)

If you can't accept that this is the way it is, for better or worse, you're going to run into problems. I figure it's like any other health issue, you just have to "treat it" and that is that.

I do have a question about your vacation statement though. Why would this stop you from exploring new foods? Just because it's a new food doesn't mean you have to eat above a normal quantity. I don't see any problem at all with trying new things, in a normal portion size. And vacation should be about the place and the people, not the food! So don't let it get you down.

This what I've learned from my Neurophysiology class. This is a very simplistic explanation for some very complex processes.

If you've had a lot stress, depression, or anxiety it can result in you gaining a lot weight. For a lot of people stress leads to stress eating and usually those are carbs because carbs are needed to help tryptophan get into your brain. Tryptophan breaks down into 5-HTP which then increases serotonin levels which help regulate mood. But carbs also tend to come with a lot of calories.

With anxiety your amygdala and hypothalumus is triggered which then results in putting your autonomic nervous system into fight or flight mode. Resources are sent away from unnecessary functions for immediate survival, such as digestion, and goes to your heart and lungs, as well as other major muscle groups. This isn't a helpful process for generalized anxiety and stress since you aren't in any immediate danger. This results in slow digestion and metabolism.

Hoe DOES one break the set point?

But what is normal quantity? Maintenance calories for me when not exercising was 1500 calories. Now, I was swimming and walking a lot on that vacation, but if I wanted to have my meals and a stroll with an ice cream/gelato in the evening while at the seaside, I was well over my calories for the day. AND where I was, the diets were super carb heavy (and options were slim). At least 5 of those pounds I gained were glycogen/water weight from all the bread we ate.

And, I don't want to nibble at a meal to taste it. I want to eat a meal and enjoy it and not leave feeling hungry. Meals in Croatia are NOT huge either, just more calorie dense than what I eat at home.

When we got home - with my husband eating freely, my mother in law eating freely, and me eating somewhat freely- hubby was the same weight, mother in law lost weight. I gained 20 pounds (in a month).

I don't believe in set point. I think "I" have a weight that stabilizes with my activity level and general caloric intake. It happens to be between 255-275. When I don't give a hoot as to what I eat, that is where I will get to because at that point I have a balance between burn and consume with wild eating. I don't think I'm stuck there or predestined to be there, but that my appetite is satiated (with carbs) at that weight.

ITA with this. I believe in a "settling point" rather than a set point. If I ate as much as hunger and desire dictated, I would probably settle at 300 pounds. Right now I'm eating less than I want at virtually every meal (though it still averages out to about 2,000 cals per day), so my settling point is a lot lower.

F.

I think those are pretty well set out, for example, 3oz of protein is a serving etc. So ordering and eating a 10oz steak is too much. Carby things are supposed to be less than 1/4 of a normal sized plate. (Not a huge plate like restaurants have usually, a regular dinner plate.) And so on, etc...

Normal quantity says I should be able to eat 2000 calories a day too. When I'm close to ideal weight (170). 2000 calories is weight gain territory for me.

What is NORMAL, is very individual and age and activity dependent.

It's taken me a long time to accept the set point theory, it seems like a very unfair obstacle but the good news is that it can be changed albeit slowly. A lot of it is dependent on stayin a particular weight for a long time so maintenance is crucial. Unfortunately yoyoing impacts it in a negative way.

Portion size and daily calories are different affairs.

I think for me it is recognizing that at a lower weight and an older age, I need less food. I need to see that as I lose weight my caloric needs go down. I don't always recognize that and instead of adjusting, continue to eat more than I need and that results in a weight gain. Then I freak out and give up and gain even more.

Since I eat a low carb diet for my diabetes I haven't seen the huge jump in weight but I am seeing it creep up- and that is where I have to take control. 10 pounds up and down over the past year- so my gain isn't horrible but I need to get my head back in the game.

This is the main issue, IMHO. Coincidentally, I've been thinking about this a lot during the past few weeks. I first started dieting in June 2011, lost all the weight I wanted to by Nov. 2011, and maintained very easily for more than 3 years by zigzagging my weekly calories but averaging 2200 per day. A little past the 3rd year, I noticed that I had gained. I figured it was because I had gotten looser with my eating and counting, so I shaved 100 a day off my calorie count. I haven't lost a pound since and may have even gained a couple more (I don't know for sure because I cannot face the scale).

I figured I would try something different because even though I really didn't mind logging calories, I was finding that doing so was making me more and more obsessed with food. Instead, I now keep loose mental count of calories and am trying to make wiser decisions. What I've found is that I often feel as if I should get some sort of major weight-loss payoff when I resist something fattening. For instance, the other day, my husband and I picked up some seafood take-out for dinner. In my halcyon days of maintenance, I used to get a fried seafood platter and a piece of carrot cake for dessert, and as long as I logged them, it wouldn't be a problem. But I decided that I would be just as satisfied with some shrimp cocktail (love it!) and a baked potato and that I would skip the cake. I was so proud of myself for making those substitutions that I felt as if I should lose a pound just for doing it! Logically, I realize it will take months of doing that nearly every day to lose the few pounds I've put on.

In other words, fattening foods are so hard to resist, yet we do not get an instant "pay-off" in weight loss when we do succeed in resisting. On the other hand, it's SO easy and pleasurable to give in to doughnuts, cookies, etc., but the gain seems almost instantaneous when we do. I think it's mainly a mental rather than a physical phenomenon, though.