both my brother in law and sister in law had gastric bypass, both gained almost all the weight back. they didnt change any of their habits.

Some people are just cursed from the git go.I have two friends who eat like a horse and never gain an ounce.One even eats a gallon of ice cream every two days and has eaten a box of honey buns in one.Gains nothing.Some people walk by it and gain weight.That sucks.Measuring portions and weighing them sucks as a way to live.If you are one of those people who can eat anything and never gain weight before you laugh at someone else or make fun of them think of how blessed and how lucky you are first.

The problem with "diets" is that they are used as a temporary fix. You may lose the weight you hope for, but if you are the type that gains weight unless you are trying to lose, then you WILL gain back the weight after the "diet" has ended. I've been through it a few times.

The simple answer is that you must change the way you eat, permanently. You may not lose pounds as fast as a "diet", but it will be sustainable for a longer period; hopefully forever. Increased exercise helps, too - obviously. 

Just remember, diets are meant to be temporary. Nobody wants to eat only special "diet" foods forever, right? Then what happens? The above article tells you what. This is from a fat kid that finally figured it out and has kept off the excess pounds for 25 years.

I am 33 and am back up to 173 from 167 last week. i went from 178 to 167 in 3 weeks and got depressed. . lol. . this article inspired me to go for a walk so now I feel motivated to not just go all day without eating. . to get up and exercise. . 2 years ago i went down to 140 from 180 in 3 months and 2 years later here i am again. . i can lose the weight so easily but just don't feel inspired to keep it off. . i have now realized that I am damaging my body so much especially when it comes to the natural cancer protection. I never want to have to experience the pain of dealing with something so intense as cancer. my sister has had several surgeries and I thank God that I have never had to experience being worked on other than to have my daughter. My sister was up to 250 and now is down to 238 after having to have gallbladder surgery. Its so sad she is just 30. Shes had breast reduction and appendix removed, tonsils, and 2 kids. So she has stock in the hospital . . lol. . but I now realize that I could bring myself to that fate if I continue to yo yo. So I will now put 30 min of exercise each day in my schedule. . no matter what. . and I will work my way up to losing weight the natural way and building musle. . thanks for the article. . It did seem a little weird that how it ended. . you would think it would have been another page with how to lose it the right way from this authors perspective to go with the article, but I guess they got tired of writing. . lol. . still good info to know. .

Well, it's a complicated issue and not resolved by this junk science. How many 'theories' have been formulated over the years that were taken as the solution only to be debunked down the road? I thought they gave up thinking the yo-yo thing was all that detrimental. Every individual needs a specific approach, so trying one size fits all approach will never be the answer. Personally - I have had to learn the triggers that cause the anxiety that casues the emotional eating. I only eat what I love to eat, if it doesn't taste good I don't want to waste my intake on it. Cravings are likely a deficiency of some kind, and giving in to a small amount of the desired food and then stopping is better than eating everything else - like salad - just to get filled up and then eating the desired food anyway. Denial or restriction sets up the forbidden food syndrome.

Or the craving is an emotional issue that I am trying to avoid - head hunger and not real hunger. Exercise really does produce endorphins, but getting started at it and then keeping at it takes loving yourself more than you are used to doing. and doing something you avtually like is the key - hitting the gym isn't everyone's thing - maybe it's dancing, or walking a pet or something. Building new routines is never easy and even failure isn't failure unless you completely stop trying all together. Each time I lost weight - I learned aomething that worked and kept part of it until I found all the pieces. like - only eat the serving size of chips when I go to subway - can I enjoy the sandwich w/o the cheese? - yes. i prefer soup to salad frequently - it's more 'mouth satisfying'. Is it the brownie I want - chocolate - or the texture? Or is it because I'm PO'd and feel like eating?

Be kind to those around you that are struggling with this - they don't need another stare or comment or judgement. Next time you are at the ice cream place - just smile and say "yeah I love ice cream, don't you!" You never know - maybe they just came from a hike and they have already lost 50 pounds, and just want an ice cream cone just like you do.

I forgot to add that Weight Watchers actually has the program right this time around. For the weekly fee - you get the plan and some light therapy.

It's about picking the nutritious food and then having a planned small amount of something extra - like that brownie. Making small permanent changes that you can live with - not everyone wants chicken, carrots and salad, maybe it's a baked sweet potato and a lean pork chop on the grill, or salmon and asparagus and some lemon pie - choices. Find the whole grain product you like. baby steps and taking small losses as the rule

I know this lady that lost about 150 lbs. she weight about 300, she did not put herself on a starvation diet tho, she walked everywhere she went, and just reduced the amount of food that she ate, she still ate mostly the same food but just cut down. If she went to McDonalds she did not order a big Mac and two large orders of fries, instead she just got a regular hamburger and medium fries and a diet soda and she did lose. although it took her a couple of years to do it, but she did it and has stayed fairly slim for about 3 years.

I think it just goes to prove the point that diets don't work for most people. People count calories, starve themselves, over-exercise and all kinds of other things to lose weight. Problem is they never treat what caused the overeating in the first place. In this day and age it's very possible that someone's overeating is a faulty thinking process. We're overstressed and overworked with all kinds of problems in between and it results in overeating to make us feel better about it. Once we get into that routine, it's all over. We start to pack on the pounds.

Then when they've lost the weight and stop thinking about losing it all the time they go back to eating when stressed or eating large amounts when they can around their busy schedules because those problems were never addressed. It needs to very much be a lifestyle change and especially an emotional change.

Oprah, for instance, clearly doesn't have it together as much as people think she does, or the yo-yo-ing would probably stop. You can do all the diets and have as many personal trainers as you want, but it isn't gonna fix what the root of the eating problem was in the first place.

IMHO--to continue to "eat" ( it is not even considered proper food) will eventually get a person right back to  where they started--it would be much smarter to forgo McDonald and choose something healthier...I really do NOT understand WHY ON EARTH folk consider that fast food junk/poison as a viable food option-it is pure sabotage...

The article last sentence said "despite the tabliods, it can be done", HOW!!!. Eating less, how much less so that you can lose, but not hurt your metabolism further. Exercise.. How much? Therapy? what kind??!!

I turned 30 at the beginning of the year. I struggled with being overweight throughout most of my twenties, but have been yo-yoing the last five years. Like the person in the story, being focused on college, graduate school and teaching has really taken its toll on my body. I'm currently down about 50 pounds from my very heaviest weight, but I can always stand to lose more. I did so succesfully the past couple of years, but now it's back up again. You can definitely tell by my writing that yes, I have REALLY STRUGGLED with my weight. But the most important thing is that I'm alive. And sometime soon I'll be able to achieve the 'homeostasis' that I need in life to balance health and general daily life by way of making good choices, and keeping track of everything that pertains to my health and well-being.

I still ask how do you lose weight successfully.

I lost about 35 lbs. back in the early 90's. It's a matter of eating a slice of Velveeta as opposed to the whole 2 lb block. The amount you weigh is the direct result of amount of food you consume, unless a true medical problem exists. If you want to lose weight, cut down.

I lost 65 pounds during the time period of Aug. 2002- May of 2004 and was taken off of diabetes medication as a result of that weight loss. This was not easy for me as I had been a yo yo dieter; it wasn't until I was told that I had type 2 diabetes that I got the wake up call that I needed to FINALLY GET ME OFF OF THE WAGON. Below you will find a link to my story that was featured in the Health Magazine. http://diet.health.com/tag/health-magazine-november-2007/

Nadine you successfully loose weight by first getting to know yourself; I say this because I believe that it is ALL mental. If you are not mentally ready to make the lifestyle changes that you need to make, you will always go on a diet. I did not go on a diet... I changed my life by going through the mental proccess first. I count calories, I drink lots of water and I weigh myself every morning (many diet plans tell you not to do this); I have been doing this for 8 yrs and have kept the weight off...Yes, I do SOMETIMES put on a few pounds during the Holidays but, that has been all. What I learned about myself is that I was a stress eater and an emotional eater and I can tell you that I have been under a lot of stress during the past couple of years Looseing my home and my job but, still I have not allowed myself to take up old unhealthy and useless habbits stay strong you can do it.

I am the epitome of a "yo-yo" dieter. throughout my young adult life I found I could only maintain my skinniness by quite literally starving myself-- one very small meal every other day (a dish of yogurt and granola with two pieces of toast). my extremely busy lifestyle kept my mind off food. I was single mom, worked and attended university full time.

Since I became ill 10 years ago the weight gain has been steady anf relentless. I do not drive and walk everywhere but it isn't enough. I find I can no longer starve myself and must eat daily, even if it is only a bowl of cereal earlier in the day and maybe a few pretzels later on. Cola is probably my problem-- a 2 liter bottle every day; this is enough to keep me gaining and I am now over 200 pounds. And without the "bonus" of getting to overeat! Having rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, I find exercising difficult. I still walk daily in spite of the pain, often up to 20 blocks a day but again, it isn't enough. It seems unfortunate to resign myself to my weight. 50 isn't 70 and having a minimal amount of wrinkles on my face I might almost resemble my old self if I could just drop the pounds! In the old days they melted like magic whenever I felt like I wanted to lose. I am baffled and don't what to do!

We have screwed up our metabolisms with environmental poisons compounded by continuous dieting. I`ll believe they are serious about studying when they start looking at all the chemicals in our bodies that should not be there. Prime culprit in my mind are all the growth hormones given to our meat products. They may not be human growth hormone but that doesn`t mean our bodies do not recognize it as such even though they can`t use it..... thus shutting down our own production of growth hormone that our bodies can use. I keep looking for such research and nothing to date. So far it is all focused on "we eat too much and don`t exercise enough."

My neighbor was massively fat. She went and had her jaws wired shut.This was years ago and gastric bypass wasn't an option then.

She discovered she could just dump everything into a blender. Same calories, just through a straw.

If you want to lose weight(fat) and get in shape, eat several small meals daily, and exercise. For that matter, just reducing caloric intake OR increasing physical activity will work too.

I will be 50 this year and am determined to get this extra 160 pounds off of me. Since January 4th 2010 I have lost 60 pounds, the most I have ever lost in my life. I joined the gym and do cardio for an hour and lift weights for an hour, three times a week. For me and I believe for most people the hardest part about exercise is getting there to do it. That's whether you exercise from home or the gym, you have to make exercise your lifestyle and just do it. There are only a few food choices that I changed. Instead of ground beef for a hamburger I go to turkey or veggie burgers. I eat only 100% whole wheat bread and have included more salads with my meal. The one factor I have heard many times concerning how people from other countries live longer is all about what they eat but I have another theory that goes hand in hand with their diet that I never hear talked about. And that is, WHEN you eat. Americans eat dinner very late in the day and then go to bed with that full belly. Now I know most people can't change that for many reasons but because I work from home and my husband is retired we eat dinner between 2 and 3 in the after- noon most days of the week. Most days we have a light breakfast, no lunch and dinner between 2 and 3. If we get hungry later, we have fruit, popcorn or raisins, something light but yet satisfying. So far, it's been working as I continue to lose the pounds. Above all, I know as I expect to get this weight off and for good, I must work out at least three days a week for the as long as my body will allow which should be for a very long time to come. I've gone on way too long and I apologize for that. I sure wish everyone the best and please don't be afraid to make changes in your life (i.e., eat differently and the time you eat, add exercise). Live the best life you can while your here and smile!

Gaining weight back is the easy part once you had lost it. Most people gain weight back because all they do is diet. Diet alone will not work. You have to exercise. Combine the two and you will have a good chance of keeping the weight off or at an acceptable level. At my highest, 174, I had to lose the weight, the Air Force has a height to weight ratio, I was over at 174. I thought I would never reach that mark, and when I did I lose the weight immediately. I have bounced around 150 to 165 since. I found that when I get to 155, I felt terrible, almost hypoglycemic. I found that my idea weight is 160 and I have kept it at the weight for 20 years. I do watch what I eat but nothing like a dieter would, I exercise everyday for anywhere from 35-50 minutes. As long as you are losing at least a third of your calories daily, you should be able to keep you weight at an good level. The best way to figure out if you can keep and maintain your weight is by keeping a log of what you eat and how much exercise you need daily to maintain the weight, once you figure that out just do that daily. If there is a day where you splurge, just put a little more time exercising the following day. The key to keep your weight off is exercise.

////

You can eat as much as you want and lose weight easily and get healthy at the same time!!!!!!!!!!

The trick is to eat a whole, unrefined, plant based diet. No processed foods, all whole simple plant based foods. Plant based has all the protien you need to thrive so don't get hung up on protein!

It takes 30 days to get off of the sugars, fats, and processed foods and then you will enjoy your new foods more than your old ones!

If any of you need help, I will personally work with you at no charge! Provide an email address where I can contact you and I will share information with you.

People go on these diets and beat themselves up at the gym to lose those pounds. They reach their magic "goal weight" and they revert back to their old habits. You have to know WHY you eat the way you do and solve the emotional issues before you can lose the weight successfully. Eat until you are satisfied (not full), try to avoid processed crap, and only eat when you're physically hungry.

Weight gain is like buying a bigger drinking cup. Once you have a bigger cup it is easy to fill it to capacity. Starting now don't buy a bigger cup ...don't exceed your highest lifetime weight.

The thing to do is quit worrying about it, realize that life isn't forever and that yours will end from something. Ignore the studies; what's healthy today is often found unhealthy tomorrow. Move on and enjoy your life.

I lost 40 lbs and kept it off for 15 years. Once the weight came off I left my husband. Extra weight is a great at distracting you from what is really hurting you. You can always blame your unhappiness on the fat which for some is much easier than facing the truth. The truth is, losing weight will not make you happy. You loose the weight and you go right back to where you were on the inside. The outside is soon to follow. Also, you can't go back to eating the things you used to. I couldn't go back to eating any amount of junk food for a very long time. You can't keep looking over your shoulder and wishing you can eat like you did before you lost the weight. You have to want it with most or all of your heart. Losing weight changes more than your body. I had to develop coping mechanisms. It's about healing on the inside. For me the food was the easy part. I bought a book called 'The Zone' and followed the instructions. But maybe any reasonable program would have worked because it was time.