I'm curious if anyone has taken off a significant amount of weight and kept it off for five years or more.
I took off 15-20 lbs four years ago. It's still off. I didn't do WW but I did track my calories using online applications (Fitday or livestrong). The maintenance has been based on changing my eating habits (much less pasta, more whole grains, fewer snacks), making sure I exercise regularly, and weighing myself every morning.
The key for maintenance for me is remembering how difficult/annoying it was to lose the weight in the first place. Well, and I have other, family-related incentives.
One of my best friends lost about 75-80 pounds 15 years ago. She gained some of it back (15-20) but has mostly kept it off. That said, She did yoyo around for a bit. She's since trained to be a nutritionist, and is very focused on maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. But she's by no means a constant dieter, just very into eating healthy, organic, whole foods.
I lost 55 lbs via exercise and eating regimen and kept it off for 3 years. But it came back up plus another 25. :( I think part of the problem is it has been so hard for me to believe exactly *how* much exercise one needs to do as one ages and one's metabolism slows down. If I ever manage to get it down again, I'm apprised.
Huh. I just joined online weightwatchers on Monday. I bought the kit so I have the booklet with the points plus system. I also bought a scale (I haven't had one in a while) - both kit and scale arrived tonight. Well, today - but I just got home.
I have a friend who did gastric bypass surgery and really remade her lifestyle in that first year to include alot more exercise and alot more thought about what she eats. This is important because when you get that done you've destroyed part of your digestive system and need to pay close attention to your intake to make sure you're getting the nutrients you need. That was a while ago - she really discovered that she loves to run and feels down when she can't. But right now she is still rehabbing from an Achilles tendon injury so cannot run and has put some (but not nearly all) the weight back on. So she is joining (rejoining) WW to get back on track.
I am finding the hyponatremia conversation very interesting and educating. Thanks to everyone.
Oh and about that guitar... well I was at Costco, and they had a 3/4 size electric guitar there. So despite the good advice to start with an acoustic, I picked it up. I figure they have a very generous return policy so if I bought it now I could still shop around and see if I could find an acoustic that we liked better.
For Chicagoistas: Weekend forecast: 4-7 inches of snow (eta: the heaviest snows are supposed to northwest of the city.)
Fun! Or, you know, not.
Weekend forecast: 4-7 inches of snow
I don't know how I feel about that.
I've been trying to catch up ...
in re the nativity sets, at least with the ones made out of food, you can eat the evidence.
And Nilly, congratulations! For your sake I hope that this once Pi r'nt squared!
I don't know if surgery counts.
Sadly, it can go both ways.
A client of mine, who weighed more than 300 lbs. (I actually chose my client couch to accommodate her when I opened my private practice.) She subsequently lost more than 150 lbs over about 18 months. The last time I saw her, she'd gained it all back and added a drinking problem to the mix.
