November/December weight management challenge

[Possegal]

I'm in too - if it's OK, I might not set a goal for this one, though. I'm not meeting my goals - but I am getting in better shape, tweaking my diet, and generally becoming healthier. I'm going to focus on those things, and see where the weight ends up, I think.

Totally OK. Others have done that before. Some folks need to not have that hanging over them.

This chart is all about helping people in what ever way works for them. So all of you do what works best!

[goldfinch]

My weight last Friday was 112 but today it was 114. I thought the 112 it was a blip. Either way, I am wanting to now maintain my weight. I've been losing weight since the end of December of last year. Ten months, 45 pounds. Thirty percent of my initial weight. I am now in the normal range. But I want to join the challenge because I have the toughest challenge ahead, not regaining the weight I lost. This challenge will continue for the rest of my life.

I really enjoy being thinner than I have since the mid 1980s. I enjoy the increased energy. Looking and feeling better. Being able to ride 50 miles on a bike rather than 2 miles. Being able to walk indefinitely. But for some reason I have a bit of depression, or maybe it is anxiety, about the weight loss. Now I am here. How in the world am I going to stay here?

Also, my weight loss was not a "cure" for health conditions I have. My blood pressure is still high enough to require drugs. My cholesterol still requires drugs and is unchanged. I still have sleep apnea. These things did not magically go away and I am kind of bummed about it.

Sorry for feeling sorry for myself today. I know that I am extraordinarily lucky. Lucky to be retired early and have the time to work on my fitness.

I remain obsessed with food. I probably should be.

My goal weight for the challenge is 112, a maintenance goal. I left for a trip so I'll use 114 as my weigh in weight.

[maillotpois]

(I think I may be up a little from last week owing to a trip to a 2 Michelin star restaurant with about 11 courses on Sunday. Worth it. )

Heh, I think I gained a few pounds looking at the menu on their website.

If you're going to splurge, make it worthwhile!

Agreed! It was well worth the splurge and I don't even care if I gained a little from it. I don't often (um ever) go out to a 2 Michelin star restaurant - I think there are only a couple in the Bay Area. A four hour dinner is truly extravagant. And we didn't even do the wine pairing!

I truly believe that it's got to be a lifestyle and not a diet and any lifestyle that doesn't make room for the daily beer and very occasional over the top splurge just isn't sustainable for me. I can generally fit those indulgences in and continue to maintain or lose, in general.

[Crankin]

Goldfinch, perhaps you are thinking about how tough maintaining your weight loss is going to be. With all of the negativity around about how hard it is to live a healthy lifestyle, sometimes we feel like we are the only ones with this goal.
As for your other concern, while losing weight does help with the health issues you talked about, it is not a cure. My DH takes bp medication, has 2 stents, and also takes 2 cholesterol lowering drugs, and a blood thinner. He rides 2-3K miles a year and is thin. He looks like a very fit, healthy person. Genetics plays a large part in this. Perhaps you should look at it from the point of view that if you hadn't lost the weight, these conditions would be worse.

[Dannielle]

Goldfinch, I'm in the exact same place. My weight has stabilized at 143-145 (I'm 5'11") after years spent working on weight loss (started at around 350lbs). I've been this weight since July and I'm scared to death to loosen the reins. I still weigh myself daily. I still count calories and weigh/measure everything I eat. I've worked so hard to accomplish this and the fear I could gain it all back easily is huge.

[azfiddle]

Here is a link to the story from NPR:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011...at-and-biology

Maintenance is really a challenge! Goldfinch you're not alone

[Dannielle]

Here is a link to the story from NPR:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011...at-and-biology

Maintenance is really a challenge! Goldfinch you're not alone

Thank you for posting this article! It's very validating for me to read that it's normal to not be able to eat as many calories as everyone thinks I can after having lost a large amount of weight. Being tall (5'11") the assumption is that I should be able to eat around 2000 calories a day since I'm active. The reality is that I maintain with 1300-1400 per day (a little more if I ride long) so I have to be careful despite the expectation that I should lighten up now that I'm not working to lose.

[goldfinch]

Goldfinch, I'm in the exact same place. My weight has stabilized at 143-145 (I'm 5'11") after years spent working on weight loss (started at around 350lbs). I've been this weight since July and I'm scared to death to loosen the reins. I still weigh myself daily. I still count calories and weigh/measure everything I eat. I've worked so hard to accomplish this and the fear I could gain it all back easily is huge.

Exactly!

Here is a link to the story from NPR:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011...at-and-biology

Maintenance is really a challenge! Goldfinch you're not alone

I have read a lot of research on weight loss. I lost the rose colored glasses about keeping it off a while ago. My goal is to make it a year and get on the national weight control registry. http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal.../registry.html . And then make it two years. It does sound like once you make it two years your odds of continuing to keep it off improve. Exercise also is key.

Goldfinch, perhaps you are thinking about how tough maintaining your weight loss is going to be. With all of the negativity around about how hard it is to live a healthy lifestyle, sometimes we feel like we are the only ones with this goal.
As for your other concern, while losing weight does help with the health issues you talked about, it is not a cure. My DH takes bp medication, has 2 stents, and also takes 2 cholesterol lowering drugs, and a blood thinner. He rides 2-3K miles a year and is thin. He looks like a very fit, healthy person. Genetics plays a large part in this. Perhaps you should look at it from the point of view that if you hadn't lost the weight, these conditions would be worse.

I know my genes are not on my side. I still had really hoped that at least the sleep apnea would be resolved and now I am learning to live with the fact that I am a CPAP lifer. It is a bit difficult to take.

My mother died at 39 of a heart attack. My dad's first heart attack was in his early 40s. He died at 63 after multiple heart attacks. I know that I am better off with less weight so that helps with motivation. But the real problem is that motivation can be strong but so can the drive to eat. Hormones are not necessarily our friends. There is some research that indicates that after losing weight levels of leptin remain abnormally low (an appetite suppressant) and levels of hormones that stimulate appetite are abnormally high. But I think knowing that, though a bit depressing, can help because I know that I have to be extra alert to any slip in maintaining weight. I have to catch it right away and jump on the issue. I have to exercise. And at the same time I have to not beat myself up for imperfections.

[Trek-chick]

I'm in

Current --- 135#
Goal --- 125#

[ny biker]

Thank you for posting this article! It's very validating for me to read that it's normal to not be able to eat as many calories as everyone thinks I can after having lost a large amount of weight. Being tall (5'11") the assumption is that I should be able to eat around 2000 calories a day since I'm active. The reality is that I maintain with 1300-1400 per day (a little more if I ride long) so I have to be careful despite the expectation that I should lighten up now that I'm not working to lose.

I think almost all adults who are trying to maintain a healthy weight/lifestyle need to keep track of and limit the amount of food they eat, even if they have never gained and then lost excess weight. Some might do it more casually, rather than weighing and measuring, and they might be able to get away with treats more often, but they're still doing it. And then there are people like the always-thin guy in my office who doesn't gain weight easily, but has to watch his diet due to hereditary health issues (high blood pressure in his case).

And btw, congratulations on losing 200 lbs. That's a huge achievement.

[maillotpois]

And btw, congratulations on losing 200 lbs. That's a huge achievement.

+1 - that is so impressive.

[goldfinch]

I think almost all adults who are trying to maintain a healthy weight/lifestyle need to keep track of and limit the amount of food they eat, even if they have never gained and then lost excess weight. Some might do it more casually, rather than weighing and measuring, and they might be able to get away with treats more often, but they're still doing it. And then there are people like the always-thin guy in my office who doesn't gain weight easily, but has to watch his diet due to hereditary health issues (high blood pressure in his case).

And btw, congratulations on losing 200 lbs. That's a huge achievement.

I think it is substantially different for the obese and formerly obese than for those who are not. I think one difference is the huge drive to eat that the formerly obese have. Our bodies and their brains say feed me right now. Resistance is far more demanding than simply watching what you eat. It is driving yourself to exercise more than others may have to exercise. It is being obsessed with what you eat. It is catching yourself immediately if weight goes up the least little bit because once it starts up significantly odds are it will not stop. For many if not most it is living with not eating what your body says is enough for the rest of your life.

"The greater the weight loss, the greater the hunger and, sooner or later for most dieters, a primal hunger trumps the conscious desire to be thin.”

"Obesity is not a personal failing. In trying to lose weight, the obese are fighting a difficult battle. It is a battle against biology, a battle that only the intrepid take on and one in which only a few prevail.” Jeffrey Friedman, A War on Obesity, Not the Obese. [Science. 2003] – PubMed – NCBI.

Years ago I was pregnant and my hormones went out of whack. I couldn't eat a thing as I would just throw it up. I threw up many times a day for a couple of months. I dramatically lost weight. I had to be fed intervenously. When I recovered I was hungry. I was hungry for years. I was never, ever full. And I gained weight. I know the power of hormones.

[carlotta]

I'd like in again, I definitely slacked the last couple weeks (family in town, then friends, etc....) but the good news is numbers haven't gone up, so it's time to get back on the wagon (bike? )

I'll weigh on Friday, but goal is 170.

[ny biker]

Just realized I haven't stated my goal. It remains 140 lbs. I started at 143 this morning.

[Susan Otcenas]

I'm in again as well. Will weigh Friday for a starting weight.

My last 3 WW weigh-ins have all been down. Just a wee bit each week (0.5 to 1 lb.), but down nonetheless. After spending most of September just bouncing around, this is encouraging.

I think I too will refrain from stating a weight goal this time.