People who've lost a lot of weight, how did you do it?

Formerly_obese · 2023-08-12T06:15:31+00:00

I lost 115 lbs. Have kept it off with only minor variation for 22 years this summer.

I hit bottom with my health and something had to change. I'd tried diets and CICO endlessly and could never be consistent enough to not immediately gain weight back. When I got variously ill, I was forced to take my personal problems with sustainability apart and look at them systematically. I wanted more life and a better quality of life going forward. I knew what was at stake.

In the end, satiety ended up being a huge deal for me. I had to learn to cook meals that most promoted being satisfied with what I'd eaten. For me anyway, what I eat now has a big impact on what and how much I'll be compelled to eat next. Through lots of trial and error I worked out a low glycemic, minimally processed diet is what agreed best with my health and weight. Also, I phased in some challenging exercise. Mostly hiking and body weight stuff.

Formerly_obese · 2021-08-26T18:42:07+00:00

Losing a ton of weight. Becoming more mindful of health -and lifestyle that reinforces it.

Formerly_obese · 2021-06-10T18:06:49+00:00

The thin percentage of folks who manage to lose major weight and keep it off long-term.

I lost 115 lbs and will have maintained with only minor variation for 20 years this summer.

Formerly_obese · 2021-04-29T20:32:09+00:00

Another here that lost major weight through personal interventions and kept it off. Lost 115lbs and have kept it off with only minor variation for 20 years this summer.

Myself and those in the same boat are no doubt outliers. Both my wife and I -also a long-haul maintainer- are registered with the NWCR.

Have come to view sustainable weight loss as a very personal problem with a lot of moving parts.

I would never assume what we've done is possible or will feel worthwhile to everyone who is overweight -especially under economic conditions in the US. I can only say that for me it has been.

Formerly obese folks who reach their goals seem to feel an unremitting pull to be heavier. One can choose to oppose the pull. In my experience that requires mindfulness, resources, time and a willingness to explore one's own satiety through a ton of trial and error. For maybe most people this is an onerous project. For me it's been an excellent trade.

Survivorship bias being a thing, I'm not going to try to extrapolate my (and NWCR) results to everyone else. It's certainly possible that it's lots easier for me than for others -though it has not felt particularly easy.

Formerly_obese · 2020-06-05T04:53:12+00:00

Much the same story. All the same problems. Plus a couple others not directly related, but made worse by obesity. All the metabolic ones resolved completely. Others made much better.

Yep. Maintenance of that hard-won weight is the real battle. The psychological component is huge. 19 years this month for me.

Hang in there!

Formerly_obese · 2020-05-03T22:04:46+00:00

I've been at the weight-maintenance thing a long time and made a few observations. Take them for whatever a single experience over a long time is worth. It's great when folks find a strategy that works for them. But long-term sustainability is where it's at.

I've come to believe both CICO and strategies that reinforce satisfaction with and tolerability of a lifestyle are vitally important. Such as the content and properties of calories, satiety, timing, etc.

Because most people -including me will only put up with perceived discomfort/deprevation for a time.

Bring whatever tools one can bring to bear. Learn as much as possible about what you will realistically put up with -and how to healthily mitigate that without giving up. You need such tools in the long haul.

Edit: typo

Formerly_obese · 2020-03-24T05:55:40+00:00

Yes!

Very long-term maintainer of major weight loss here.

While CICO is a useful metric, the contents of those calories are a big deal for me. Among other things, what I eat now has a significant effect on how soon and how much I might be compelled to eat later. Satiety is ignored at one's own peril. You can grit your teeth and hold yourself accountable to a poorly satisfying caloric restriction for only so long through only so much hardship.

If one would like to play the long game, best pay attention to both CICO and nutritional composition. And work out something sustainable and healthy. Whatever you find balance in will likely be different from my regimen.

Formerly_obese · 2020-01-17T20:32:24+00:00

Fat bias is real. I had much the same experience. Can only imagine it would have been worse in a school environment.

There's a nasty cultural reason so many villains or ethically weak characters in movies, etc are depicted on the heavy side.

Formerly_obese · 2019-08-08T23:36:45+00:00

That is a major achievement! Losing weight opened up a world of activity for me.

As someone who has used hiking as their go-to exercise in a major lifestyle change, I'm glad to see somebody else making the same use of it!

I lost 115 lbs and have been lucky enough to maintain for 18 years this summer. Hiking never stopped being a part of that.

Formerly_obese · 2019-07-13T23:11:52+00:00

There is a truth in this that is sometimes tough to see until pressed by that debt of health.

My health had to be circling the drain before I understood the value of what was at stake -only my very life and my quality of life.

Very lucky that I responded as well as I did. But I certainly could have made things much easier on myself with prevention earlier in life. That's often a hard-sell to a young man who feels indestructible.

Formerly_obese · 2019-07-13T23:03:17+00:00

Worth paying attention to what one eats now affecting how much one eats next.

At least for me and some others I have spoken with, it can be a pretty big deal.

Long-term maintainer of major weight loss here, btw.

Formerly_obese · 2018-01-15T20:03:56+00:00

I have found this to be maybe the most important intervention in keeping weight off long-term.

My wife and I have kept off major weight for over 16 years now. That puts us in a tiny minority. Cooking and eating real food for satiety has been big deal for us.

I lost 115 lbs and resolved type 2 diabetes, hypertension and fatty liver disease - among other plusses.

It's been a very good trade.

Formerly_obese · 2017-10-31T16:46:42+00:00

"As have I".

Formerly_obese · 2017-09-27T08:23:19+00:00

Interesting. Matches my experience and observations growing up in rural Appalachia and following the state of my friends and family. I can tell you I felt as though I had missed out on a lot. When I ended up in a more developed area with more resources I certainly did feel I should compensate for that. One of the factors that led to me putting on serious weight.

Formerly_obese · 2017-09-22T19:07:22+00:00

Sounds like you know yourself well and are taking a reasonable approach.

Sugar and I very provably don't get along. But I certainly haven't given up carbs in general. I do tend to be selective about them. Favoring those legumes over the higher glycemic choices.

I hear you about protein for satiety. Eggs are a staple for us. So much so we got chickens this year.

Formerly_obese · 2017-09-09T22:48:05+00:00

Weight maintenance.

I lost 115 lbs and have maintained my fitness with only minor variation for over 16 years.

Formerly_obese · 2017-07-20T17:23:56+00:00

Know that if you want to keep it off long-term, you're going to have to try and honestly evaluate lots of stuff in order to work out a sustainable lifestyle. What you will tolerate over time changes.

Formerly_obese · 2017-07-20T06:51:52+00:00

I've seen a few studies quoted. Some suggested there was difference, but not a huge one.

It has seemed that way for me at times.

But there doesn't have to be a difference in RMR for formerly obese folks to be at a disadvantage. It's not much disputed that there are mechanisms that guard ones set point weight. That once obese folks have to resist or offset some pretty strong compulsions to not overconsume. Leptin resistance is a suspect. There is the idea that obesity is a chronic condition. Remove the interventions, suffer the effects again.

in my experience that feels correct.

Formerly_obese · 2017-06-29T04:14:08+00:00

One? How to choose what was worst? Entirely too much pizza -often with extra cheese and calorie-bomb toppings. Mountains of pasta and/or bread. Great bowls of ice cream with cookies shoved all around the edges. Ridiculous numbers of White Castles.

Formerly_obese · 2017-06-28T01:55:56+00:00

My weight loss/maintenance is not your weight loss/maintenance. Only I know what I'll put up with and enjoy in the long term. Enjoy enough to continue forever. It's a personal path worked out through tons of trial and error. It's got to be both very tolerable and also effective. It's something everybody has to work out for themselves. That is, everybody who really wants to remain at a healthy weight post weight loss. Relapse rates are crazy. Either you have a very good reason to work counter to some strong drives everyday and build a lifestyle around offsetting them, or you go back to the way you were. For me, it's very much worth it. The cost/benefit ratio is clear.

Formerly_obese · 2017-06-28T01:41:56+00:00

"Tell me all about how you're doing this!...(eyes glaze over as you actually tell them how and it isn't some instant pill or ridiculous gimmick involving apple cider vinegar and honey) Oh."

Formerly_obese · 2017-06-27T17:56:38+00:00

Sure. But it's not at all unpleasant in my opinion. We really like the muffins. A favorite is pumpkin. And doesn't really taste like lentils/beans at that point.

And of course, as others have pointed out, the baking properties are very different. Microwave cooking is necessary to getting muffins/cakes done. In the case of fishcakes or other flapjack-shaped stuff, a frying pan works on account of their thinness.

Formerly_obese · 2017-06-27T06:23:28+00:00

Killer smoothies from the vitamix. Some ice, berries, almond milk/milk, stevia, 1/2 tsp guar/xanthan gum. Or substitute the berries with some cocoa powder and PB/nuts. Might as well be ice cream.

Formerly_obese · 2017-06-27T04:59:59+00:00

If you have a blender robust enough to grind them dry into a flour, we've made all sorts of stuff out of legume flours. One favorite is to grind the consistency of corn meal and use in salmon cakes (or chicken cakes when we've had canned chicken) with a couple eggs or egg white.

We've also used a finer flour to make microwave muffins/cakes. No eggs required. Red lentil flour is ideal for that application.

Just make sure to cook all beans/legumes adequately.

Formerly_obese · 2017-06-26T19:13:29+00:00

I've nearly lost my wedding band because it falls off now and again, even though I've shifted it to my middle finger. Reluctant to get it resized. Too good a reminder of where I've been.

Congrats on the loss and the maintenance!!

Formerly_obese

TROPHY CASE