Why People Gain Weight Back After They Lost It

You're on a weight loss plan and it's going to work. You're going to lose 15 pounds in three weeks, just like that diet said you could. But then something happens: Your jeans get tight. Your clothes don't fit anymore. And you're back to square one. What happened? Well, maybe you gained the weight back because losing weight is hard—but there are other reasons why your body might fight back against your good intentions to slim down. Here are some things that can sabotage a healthy lifestyle and keep your weight in check:

Your Body Changes

You'll lose weight, but your body will fight back.


You might lose weight, but your body has a natural tendency to regain it over time. Your metabolism adapts in response to your weight loss by slowing down, creating a vicious cycle of slowing metabolism and gaining more fat. This means that if you try to lose the same number of pounds again, it will take longer than the first time because your body has gotten used to burning less energy at rest (i.e., not doing anything).


Your best bet is to adjust your eating habits so that they're sustainable long-term—and then maintain those habits! If you want something sweet after dinner every night without fail, try cutting out dessert altogether once or twice per week instead. A little creativity can go a long way when it comes to finding ways around cravings while still maintaining healthy eating habits over time.

You Stop Following Your Meal Plan

By far the most common reason people gain the weight back after losing it is that they stop following their meal plan. Meal planning is a key component of successful weight loss, and if you’re going to do it right it takes serious commitment. It’s hard to make good choices when you’re hungry, so having a few easy-to-follow recipes ready in advance will help ensure that you can stick with your plan for longer than one meal at a time.


The second biggest mistake people make when starting their weight loss journey is thinking that since they're following a meal plan now, they can never eat what they want again—or even more important: eating the same foods forever will eventually get boring! But that’s not the case with my meal plans! They are full of various mouth-watering recipes that will help you lose weight and build muscle while keeping you full. You don’t need to eat the same thing over and over again. Get your meal plan here.

You Give up Exercise

You are less likely to gain weight back if you maintain a regular exercise program. In general, exercise appears to help people prevent weight regain.


For example, a study showed that overweight women who had lost weight on the calorie-restricted Ornish diet were able to maintain their weight loss better when they exercised regularly (walking 30 minutes three times per week). By contrast, overweight women who got no additional exercise regained almost all of their lost weight over the same period of time (a year).

You Stop Weighing Yourself

Weighing yourself regularly is an important component of losing weight. It can help you keep track of your progress and motivate you to continue making healthy changes. Unfortunately, many people who have lost weight will stop weighing themselves once they hit their goal weight. This isn't a good idea for a few reasons:

  • If you don't weigh yourself regularly, it's impossible to know if you are maintaining your loss or gaining back the pounds that had been so hard-earned in the first place.

  • Once you reach your goal weight, it's all too easy to think that everything is okay because "you're skinny now." The truth is that successful weight loss requires lifelong vigilance and continued dedication to healthy eating habits and regular exercise; otherwise, all that hard work could come undone in a very short amount of time!

  • Some people who lose large amounts of weight (for instance) may actually discover new health issues related to being underweight once they reach their normal BMI range again—like osteoporosis or infertility problems due to low estrogen levels—which makes them even more motivated not only maintain but improve upon their current state!

You Eat Too Much at Night

Eating too much at night can cause weight gain.

  • Foods that are high in sugar, fat, and sodium are more likely to be eaten at night. This includes sweet snacks like ice cream, cookies, or cake; salty foods such as chips or pretzels; fatty items like pizza or cheese fries.

  • Our bodies respond differently to food depending on when we eat it—sometimes we burn more calories when faced with a big meal than we do when we're faced with the same amount of food earlier in the day. When you eat later in the day, your body is naturally geared toward storing energy for later use; therefore it doesn't need as much fuel (or activity) to process what you take in. You may notice yourself feeling full after eating an entire pizza by yourself—but if you had that same slice before dinner instead of after dinner, chances are good that your hunger would have been satisfied before reaching such a point!

You Don't Sleep Enough

If you're one of the many who struggle with sleep, it's easy to get caught up in thinking that sleeping more would be a cure-all for your weight loss. It's not. While sleep is an important factor when it comes to weight management, it's only one piece of the puzzle.

The amount of sleep we need can vary from person to person based on age and health conditions like insomnia or anxiety disorders. Generally speaking, though, most adults need between seven and nine hours each night—and that includes children! It's easy to think that younger people can function well in less than eight hours (or even less than seven), but this isn't true: getting enough restful shut-eye is essential at every stage of life!

You Get Stressed Out

Stress is an extremely common cause of weight gain and can be a serious problem for those who are trying to lose weight. Although it's not always easy to manage, stress is manageable.

For example, if you're stressed out at work or home, you may find yourself eating more than usual and making poor food choices. Your reactions in these situations can lead to further complications that make it difficult to lose weight. Below are some common ways this happens:

  • Stress causes people to eat more unhealthy foods than they would normally eat (like chips or cookies). These kinds of foods often contain sugar and salt which cause your body to retain water and put on pounds quickly.

  • Stress also leads people with eating disorders such as binge eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa (BN), or anorexia nervosa (AN) towards increased episodes of inappropriate behaviors such as excessive purging through vomiting or inappropriate use of laxatives/diuretics which results in rapid weight loss followed by excessive food intake leading again feeling guilty about their actions so they try again with even more drastic measures such as self-punishment through starvation until finally giving up hope altogether due lack support from others around them including friends family members coworkers etcetera support groups don't work either because everyone has its own set issues going on but rarely wants anyone else gets involved unless directly asked first

You Quit Drinking Water

It's no surprise that water is the first thing you should be drinking when you wake up, but it's also important to drink water as much as possible throughout the day. Drink water before meals and/or with them, whenever your body tells you that it's thirsty, when you're bored or stressed out—basically if any of those things happen at any point during your day, drink some water!


Our bodies are complicated and weight loss can be hard. 

As you may have noticed, the body is a complex system. There are many triggers for weight loss and gain and your body can be unpredictable. This can make it hard to control your weight consistently. Your rational mind might not always be able to keep up with what’s going on inside of you!

But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to make things easier on yourself as you work toward your goal of losing weight and keeping it off forever.


It's important to remember that losing weight is a long-term process. Losing weight doesn't happen overnight, and it won't stay off unless you make healthy lifestyle changes that you can maintain for the rest of your life. If you're struggling with your weight, don't give up! Many things can help you reach your goals and keep them in place—from joining an online support group or enlisting the help of a personal trainer who understands what goes into successful long-term weight loss. No matter what approach works best for you, know that there is always hope!


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