How do people lose 50+ pounds and then gain the weight back?

Question

I mean if you "crash diet" and lose the weight then how do you not just notice you're gaining a few pounds and cut calories for a few days? Is it just people being too lazy or is there another problem I should think about beside just "old habits die hard"?

Answer 1

Because when you lose weight too fast your metabolism goes down so you don't burn calories as fast. Also a lot of people lose weight then go back to their old habits and end up gaining all the weight back and possibly more.  

Answer 2

well, if you lose the weight people who live where it snows for awhile you dont really go and take a run in the snow

Answer 3

Are you trying to dis people who gain weight back...?

You sound pretty arrogant and stuck up to me.

Some people just have problems with their diet and do go back to their normal ways.

It's hard to keep the weight off, and I'm assuming you've never had to deal with that.

Don't be so judgemental.  

Answer 4

the lbs come back slow.  I guess they figure "oh one more deep fried meal wont hurt"  next thing you know you going up a size.  Counting cal is like managing money.  If you dont keep track of your bank balance you will overdraft.  Tell me that has not happend to you at least once.

Answer 5

"Diets" don't work period.  The reason it comes back is because the body doesn't work like we want it to.  If you eat c**p and you are genetically predisposed to gain weight, you will gain weight.  Think more about "lifestyle change" than "diet."  Or just a permanent diet change.

Answer 6

Because food can be an addiction--it can be a substitute for love, among other things.  If you have food issues, then it's so much more complex than "calories in, calories out".  You can be an alcoholic and stop drinking, you can be a drug user and stop using, but if you're a food addict you still have to eat.  Laziness has less to do with it than the comfort people receive from food.  And if you've lost weight the 'wrong' way, say via a liquid diet, then when you go back to eating food, the weight will pile back on.  This is an incredibly complex issue that doctors and therapists are having a hard time solving, so there's a lot more to it than "old habits and laziness".  It's every bit the struggle that stopping smoking is:  there's a depth to this that is tougher than just a self control thing.  If it were as simple as you think, then no one would have a weight problem.  

Food is all kinds of things to people:  look at bulimics, anorexics, etc. Maybe you need to develop some empathy--why don't you do some reading about addictions?    

Answer 7

Because most of the time when you skip eating your body goes into a starvation mode where it turns everything you eat into fat. basically storing the food like our bodies did when we were cavemen to stay alive.  

Answer 8

Because "diets" don't work !- Especially "crash diet"'s.  The tummy is used to getting fed what it always got, naturally when you diet you'll lose about 5 lbs immediately - fluid and continue to lose.  But as soon as you stop dieting, the weight, and more, comes back. Because the body knows what is was used to getting. You have to stay on a regimen for good, not just short-term.

IF you want to lose weight, do it properly; eat good healthy food, (fruit, nuts, veggies, proteins, carbs) regularly, take a tablespoon of olive oil a day, and exercise (walking 20 mins).  I don't know anyone who dieted that ever lost weight for good. They always put back on the weight, plus !!  And remember, if you decide to do "exercising", do stretching exercises before and after the workout.  Don't do strenuous walking, leisurely walking is better, especially if you do it consistently.

May try eating small amounts every few hours, keeps your energy up and your metabolism working.

Answer 9

It is easy to gain weight and difficult to take it off and KEEP it off.

Diet is 1/4 of the answer.

Exercise is a necessity.

Commitment to the weight point is another necessity.

Genetics plays a factor - some people tend to be from fat parents and grandparents.  In this case, control of one's weight - even if it appears to be 25 or 50 pounds over optimum - is a worthy goal.

Answer 10

yap, As soon as they loose weight, they forget they need to keep it up to stay that way. they get tired and go back on the same thing they were doing before. It takes a long time our body get use to a new habits.

Answer 11

because people only diet for a certain amount of time, once they actually reach their ideal weight loss they feel the need to not continue excersizing/dieting.  

Answer 12

Many people that start on diets do a massive change in their way of eating. This is important for those who constantly eat junk food, but most of these people try to loose the weight as soon as possible. During the day, they try to eat the least carbs as possible and they usually stay hungry like they were before. Right now i have been eating healthier, but that doesnt mean you have to starve yourself. You also need to give your body the amount of protein, calories, and carbs that it needs (espaeccially if you are still growing up). You need to change your way of eating, but if you want your body to get used to eating healthier, take the time so that it becomes a lifestyle and when you loose the weight you wanted or needed to, you don't start pigging out with the first thing you see. Exercising helped me loose weight a lot. That is one very important thing.

Answer 13

a crash diet is not a lifestyle change. someone who loses a lot of weight all at once will be less likely to keep a healthy lifestyle that will keep the weight off. plus..it is must easier to put on the lbs than lose them. just think of the amount of energy and exhertion it takes to burn 100 calories, walking at 2mph for 30 minutes. but it only takes one minute to eat a 400 cal. candy bar

Answer 14

Unless you've ever had a weight problem... it's not something you could easily understand.

People always assume folks are fat because they are lazy.

For most it's a lot deeper than that.

Overweight people have a relationship with food most of us can't understand. Food is a comfort. Where some of us fill our "empty hole" with friends, family, sports, a hobby, some fill it with food.

And the way you view yourself as a big person is different too. When someone loses 50 pounds - we all notice a big difference, but chances are the person who lost the weight doesn't really see it like we do. They still have that old image of not being thin enough in their head... then when the weight loss slows, they get frustraited and start to gain it back.

Unless the person with the weight issue gets mental help too - to find out why they over eat and how to break the cycle and change their relationship with food - then they aren't getting better 100%. The actual weight is just 50% of the problem...

Look at all the people who got the surgery... and have gained almost all of it back...

There is no simple solution for America's weight problem. And those of us who make fun of them do more harm than good.

We just need to learn to love OURSELVES and love EACH OTHER unconditionally.

Answer 15

First of all, it's very hard to lose 50 pounds in the first place.   Eventually, you have to eat.   You obviously can't starve constantly.   Then Winter sets in and you can't go out and ride your bike or walk and swim because it's too cold where you live.   Then you get bored and eat snacks.   Next thing you know the weight is back.    When I was skinny and younger I always wondered why do people let themselves get fat.   Why don't they just stop eating.   Now I'm 40 and 2 kids later I understand how and why it happens.   Just hope it doesn't happen to you.   Be careful because it sneaks up on you before you realize your fat.

Answer 16

Low calorie dieting makes your body go into starvation mode, where every calorie you eat gets stored as fat.  As soon as the person goes off the diet, and you can't stay on a low calorie diet forever, your body goes into hyper fat-storing mode.  People can actually gain weight while on a 500 calorie a day diet, even when they're not "cheating."  That is the body's way of making sure we don't die when we do stupid things like only eat 500 calories a day.

That's why low calorie diets don't work.

Answer 17

once the structure of the diet is not there it is life like before or they want to reward themselves because they did drop the lbs....... and food is the drug of choice!!!!  

Answer 18

This recently happened to me....The best answer I can give is that once you fall off the wagon, it is very hard to get back on. It's kinda like a drug addict or an alcoholic. If you stay away from the drug or alcohol, you are OK. But, if you get a taste of it, it is all down hill. The problem is that my "drug" is food, which you have to have.....