[bmh_ca]

IMHO, The measure of successful weight loss ought to be at 7 years from the start.

There are three cycles to control: 1. the hunger cycle (short, daily), 2. the hypothalamus equilibrium (aka "set-point", 6-months+ cycle, controls inhibitions [1]), 3. the hydrocarbon cycle (i.e. 1+ year hormone release by non-flush fat cells [2]).

We also know that decisions made in the hypothalamus are responsible for energy regulation,[3] and we also know that those decisions happen before we are consciously aware of them.

In other words, the feeling of hunger and short-term control appears to be a surprisingly small portion (pardon the pun) of the dominant forces that control long-term weight - namely hormone cycles and decision making.

So while the 100lbs loss is an achievement, I'd be more interested in hearing how someone kept it off for several years – since that's presumably the ultimate goal and it requires overcoming what appear to be exponentially more difficult challenges.

(The links below touch on supporting the above, but I think I should be able to find the papers/references for all the above.)

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3084499/ [2] https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2010/... [3] http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(14)0...

[noir_lord]

I went from 250 to 185 (currently 183) in 7mths about 20mths ago, it's stayed off.

All I do is count my calories everyday and add 10%, if it's less than 2630 (my BMR based on age, weight and activity) I'm good.

If I go 200-300 over one day I go 200-300 under the next.

Weight has been completely stable.

It's the running total in my head that works for me as an incentive to not over eat.

[noir_lord]

In fact I should point out I have the opposite problem, If I'm not careful I gradually start losing weight again, I dipped down to 180lbs over a few months and had to adjust my intake to climb back to 185.

It's really hard to over-eat when you calorie track and eat healthy.

[mahyarm]

7 year cycles is a pretty long term horizon. That is almost a decade each time, and keeping the weight off in your 20s is easier than it is in your 30s hormonally speaking. Same thing with each subsequent decade.