Why do we gain the weight back after we've lost it?
As I mentioned before, studies show the odds are stacked against us. If we lose weight, chances are we're going to gain it back.
So what's up with that??
NBC News says it's because of a "too restrictive" diet. They quote the Obesity journal that says if people follow a very low-calorie diet, they'll regain significantly more weight back.
Danny Cahill now has to eat 800 calorie less than a typical man of his size. If he eats any more calories than that each day he'll gain weight.
Wow!
Well, there's proof, even if it's just one man, who proves the theory of rapid weight loss leads to gaining all of it back.
What about me, though?
I lost ONE HUNDRED POUNDS from 2007 to 2010. That's definitely NOT rapid weight loss. Doing the quick math, that's about two-thirds of a pound a week. (Sure, my weight loss was anything from steady loss—ups and downs plagued me.)
Yet here I am, FIFTY POUNDS heavier. I have already lost almost 20 pounds since the first of the year, so realistically, I gained SIXTY POUNDS back.
So why did I gain almost all of my weight back?
2 comments:
I gained about 50 -60 pounds back from my lowest and I attribute it a couple different things.
1. I didn't reset my habits...The bad habits were still lurking deep!
2. I didn't set myself up for a lifelong activity that would keep me very active! I exercised a bit to lose and then pretty much stopped when I arrived!! I am working to find exercise and activity that I love!!
3. Arriving at the coveted weights and saying 'I've arrived..the journey is over. The journey will NEVER be over. There were reasons that made me so overweight in the first place and just because I lost the weight doesn't mean that those reasons disappeared...it was willpower that made me override those reasons for a while!!!
That said...I didn't appreciate the weight loss the first time...I was still unhappy and striving for 'more'. Lower numbers (I never made it to my bmi weight...I made it to where my doctor was happy....but I wasn't happy). I think I needed to backtrack so I could see how awesome that lower weight really was and to realize that it's not a number that's important! It's my health!! My activity levels...my future!!!!
Also, please realize that you have NOT "gained almost all your weight back." You have approximately 40 more pounds to lose until you reach 100, right? You can do this! I urge you to get a Fitbit if you don't have one already and ramp up the exercise and start recording your food again. It WORKS. Thank you for the immense inspiration that you are to so many of us. Do you think that none of us have regained and lost some of our weight? It's a daily struggle!
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