It’s Not Your Fault You Regained The Weight
I was reading this article in the Los Angeles Times.
The article tries to explain why it is so difficult for people to keep the weight off once they have lost it. In the article they discuss many reasons it is difficult to keep the pounds off including:
- The human body’s yearn to be at its fatter weight
- The physical adaptations of the human body
- Lack of exercise
- Not eating certain foods
- Metabolism
- Appetite hormones
- Signals from the internal organs
Soon they are going to blame the Hare Krishnas.
Why You Can’t Keep The Pounds Off
People can’t keep the pounds off because they are impatient and unrealistic. Most people trying to lose weight start some ultra-strict diet or exercise program. Some even chose to have weight loss surgery or get liposuction.
They lose the weight very quickly. They become content. Then they go back to living the way they were before they lost the weight. Then they are amazed that they regained all of the weight. Are you kidding me?
People can’t keep the pounds off because they expect permanent results from temporary changes.
How To Keep The Pounds Off
To lose weight and keep it off:
- Be patient
- Aim to lose ½ a pound or 1 pound a week
- Only adopt lifestyle changes that you can maintain for the rest of your LIFE
- Plan to cheat occasionally
- Expect to fail occasionally
- Get help from family and friends
- Understand that it is a lifelong battle
- Understand that you can NEVER go back to the way you used to live
Big temporary lifestyle changes lead to fast temporary weight loss. Small permanent lifestyle changes lead to slow permanent weight loss. The choice is your.
Let me get off my soap box before someone knocks me off.
I have no problem with the Hare Krishnas. Some of my best friends are Hare Krishnas. Not really, but it’s the politically correct thing to say.
Dr. Kalvin Chinyere is a physician, weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.
You nailed it on the last two bullets:
* Understand that it is a lifelong battle
* Understand that you can NEVER go back to the way you used to live
When I got down to 300 lbs from 440 I relaxed. I went back to the old habits for a while and then took a a new job. With my attention temporarily (well, 10 months temporary) diverted, I kept on with the old habits. Viola, 360 lbs.
Here’s to taking it back off and keeping it off.
Steven, keep fighting the good fight. Strive to be consistent but not perfect and you will achieve all of your health-related goals. Slow and steady wins the race. Let us know if you need any help.
Thats a significant weight loss nonetheless.
I agree that it needs to be gradual. There are so many commercials and infomercials touting methods to lose X amount of pounds or inches in just weeks. They don’t realize if they do that, they are setting themselves up to gain it all back immediately. If you do it the right way and be patient, good things will come your way.
Also, I think it’s interesting that you mentioned that the body yearns to be at its fattest weight. I have to think this has to do with how we were centuries ago, when we were hunters and didn’t always know when the next meal was coming. Our bodies needed to store fat. Now that we don’t need that extra fat, our bodies haven’t quite gotten the message 🙂
Your last point, Emily, is something I brought up in an essay I wrote over the weekend. If anyone’s interested, it’s called The Elephant in the Room.
What you say I believe is wholeheartedly true. Back when we were hunting mammoths, a successful kill meant you could eat. It might have been days or weeks since you had a decent meal. Our bodies became predisposed to eat as much as they could every chance they could. It’s a basic survival instinct–something not lightly thrown aside.
Today most of us are no more than fifteen minutes from the nearest grocery store. We can buy mammoth anytime we want now. Mammoth pancakes for breakfast, mammoth salad for lunch, and mammoth burgers for dinner. We can snack all day on mammoth chips (wait a minute, that one didn’t come out right.)
Point is, we work best in an environment where food is scarce. Where we live now couldn’t be worse for us.
Its a good article which provides the end to end details of as why a person puts on the weight and what are the measures that has to be taken to put down the wait. As if we approach any of this weight reduction centers they don’t provide much of the information in this regard. Thanks a lot for the information.
Yeah I strongly agree with only losing up to 1lb a week. This means you can make smaller changes and it becomes sustainable. The problem is people make these huge initial changes (particulary in regards to exercise) and then when they burn out. Food is also more important than diet. There are more calories in a bottle of coke than that burnt in a run around the block
Yep, that is why I dont waster my calories in drinks. I drink water.
I think that article is a load of crap. Yes, the body years for certain things, and hormones can exacerbate that (I crave chocolate all the time). But craving to gain weight is ridiculous.
Now, that said, I don’t recommend setting a certain weight as a goal. I’d recommend going for a specific body fat percentage instead. It’s just healthier
I say go for a body look. I use a specific weight range only because I know how I look at that range.
I say diet until you’re healthy in both body and mind. That means being happy with yourself as well. As for it not being your fault if you put the weight back on? Rubbish, unless somebody is chaining you in a room and force feeding you cr@p food then it’s your own fault.
“Only adopt lifestyle changes that you can maintain for the rest of your LIFE” – exactly! This is the kind of advice we need to see a lot more of. Sustainable fitness is the only kind of fitness that is worth getting excited about if you ask me.
Just a note though, “Aim to lose ½ a pound or 1 pound a week” – is that sustainable? My advice is to not worry so much about weight but about body fat. The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be, and as such the more fat you’ll burn (and of course muscle weights more than fat tissue does). …just my two cents.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Israel. That article may have some validity but I’m tired of giving myself excuses. That’s why I gained weight in the first place!
Slow and steady wins the race with lifestyle changes you know you can maintain forever. A lot of people say “Oh I’m just doing this diet or this exercise routine right now just to get a few pounds off. I just need to lose the weight and then I can go back to normal.” I don’t think they realize they can’t “go back to normal” and expect to keep the weight off.
And the last one is the final motivator: You can NEVER go back. I tell myself I CAN’T give up on my health. That keeps me going every day whether I’ve had a good week or not. I WON’T go back. It’s not a choice.
Well said. Well said.
Great article.
Excellent point.. expecting permanent results from temporary changes.
I talked about that in one of my posts. The slower it comes off the more permanent and more likely it will stay off.
It’s sad, but everyone wants the quick fix.
Sometimes the quick fix is a catalyst to permanent changes. Sometimes, not always.
Being patient is certainly one of the biggest factors. In today’s day and age we want instant satisfaction with everything. But being patient, is something we all need to do.
Though it’s not my fault, I still feel unhappy
Yes, to keep the weight you’ve lost off, you need to really stick with it the rest of your life by staying healthy and eating the right foods. You will eventually tone out and/or but on huge amounts of weight if you slack off after you have reached your weight loss goals. So stick with it!
“People can’t keep the pounds off because they expect permanent results from temporary changes…”, spot on! Long term weight loss requires long term changes in lifestyle and living habits. People need to change the way they think, which inturn will result in lasting changes.
I talked about that in one of my posts. The slower it comes off the more permanent and more likely it will stay off.
Well said, long term lifestyle changes are imperative for losing weight and keeping it off. I really enjoy this weight loss blog, and it actually inspired me to create my own blog.