When actress Kirstie Alley went public with the fact that she has regained all the weight she lost so publicly several years ago, many people who have been yo-yo dieters saw themselves in her story.
The fact that celebrities such as Alley and Oprah Winfrey, who have financial resources most Americans don't have, still can't lose weight and keep it off shows what a formidable challenge it is, says psychologist Thomas Wadden, director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
And USA TODAY readers expressed empathy in reaction to Alley's acknowledgement in People magazine that she gained 83 pounds after parting company with Jenny Craig in December 2007. Alley lost 75 pounds in her three years as a spokeswoman for the diet plan that features prepared meals and individual consultations.
"Just about every woman in the world can relate to weight regain," says Lin Cochran, 58, of Huntsville, Ala., who lost 126 pounds and has put 40 back on. "I'm sad for Kirstie. I know she worked really hard to lose the weight, and now she is facing having to climb up that hill again."
Readers say it's hard to figure out why they yo-yo.
"I wish someone could figure out the head game that caused Kirstie to do what she did and then tell me because I've done the same thing," says Mary Gavila, 59, of Ocala, Fla., who at 5-4 weighed 133 pounds a few years ago but now weighs a lot more than she cares to admit. "I torpedo myself all the time. It's ridiculous. I don't know why I allowed this to happen.
"I lose my focus," Gavila says. "It's the same thing with Kirstie Alley. She lost her focus."
Alley, 58, had gotten down to 145 pounds in 2006 and appeared on Oprah wearing a bikini. Last month, she appeared on Oprah again, this time to discuss how she was at her highest weight ever at 228 pounds. Winfrey too has been public about her own fluctuating size and said in the January edition of her self-titled magazine that she gained weight as her work-focused life lost balance.
Erik Chopin, the winner of Season 3 of NBC's popular The Biggest Loser, also appeared on Oprah this year to report that he had gained back more than half of the 214 pounds he lost on the weight-loss show.
Unfortunately, yo-yo dieting is probably the most common outcome of efforts to lose weight, says Wadden. "People do lose weight, but the majority regain some or all of their weight, whether it's over one year, two years, three years or five."
Regaining takes a toll on people emotionally, he says. "People often feel very ashamed, humiliated and powerless."
It's natural to blame yourself, but it's not that simple, he says. After you lose weight, there's a cascade of biological responses designed to return you to your pre-diet levels. A hunger hormone called ghrelin increases, and a fullness hormone called leptin decreases, Wadden says.
Besides fighting your biology, you are also up against a culture in which food is available 24/7 and exercise has been squeezed out of people's lives, he says.
Another problem is dieters set "lofty goals" that are almost impossible to maintain, says Keith Ayoob, a registered dietitian who works with overweight patients at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. They may want to lose 80 pounds when 20 would be much more realistic to begin with, he says.
People need to understand that losing weight is a process, not a sprint, Ayoob says. "It's a marathon, and sometimes it feels like it's an Ironman Triathlon. The triathlon is diet, physical activity and the mental approach to food. Food has to become less of priority in your life."
Donna Addy, 53, of Boca Raton, Fla., agrees. "I felt Kirstie was like a bride who was so busy planning for the big day that she lost sight of making a plan for the days that followed. She had a goal. She was sponsored by a national weight-loss company, and she went on Oprah in the bikini," says Addy, who says she has struggled with her weight for 20 years.
"Oprah did the same thing. Her goal was to get into size 10 Calvin Klein jeans. These are women who are good at setting and achieving goals, but they didn't look beyond that."
Alley said in People that after she reached her goal, she moved her exercise equipment out of the house and into the garage.
Something similar happened to Mitchell Krzyzek, 34, an accountant from Seekonk, Mass., who was profiled a few weeks ago in USA TODAY's annual Weight-Loss Challenge series. In 2001, he went from 310 to 230 pounds by eating healthfully and going to the gym regularly, but then the weight crept back over two years. "It wasn't like I gained 5 pounds in one week. I gained a pound here and a pound there, and I didn't think much about it."
He stopped working out and started grabbing more fast food. "I started eating a little more here and a little more there. I didn't go to the gym as much. Once you go off track, it's easy to stay off track."
Treat it like a job
He was back up to 309 pounds when he started eating right and exercising, and now he has gotten back down to 235. Krzyzek now realizes he has to be vigilant. "It takes a lot of concentration. Just as you go to work every day and put forth your best effort, you have to do the same thing with eating and exercise."
Amy Kreidler, 36, who was also profiled in this year's weight-loss challenge, says she has gone up and down 20 or more pounds for years but now has found a comfortable weight (170 pounds).
For her, the key to keeping it off is working at it every day, she says. "Some days I don't want to run, but I know if I don't, the weight will creep back on. On many days I'd like to go out to eat and have something tasty that isn't good for me rather than cooking a cheaper, healthful meal at home and cleaning up after it." But, she says, that would also catch up with her.
For years, she saw her efforts as short-term but now knows she is in it for the long haul. "If you gain 5 pounds back, you need to lose 5 and not just let it snowball. I think I'm finally learning that you need to keep at it."
Other dieters agree that if you start regaining, it's important to put the brakes on it fast. Dana Miller, 42, of Los Angeles lost more than 100 pounds but has regained about 25 of it. "I maintained the lost weight for quite some time. Then I got kind of lazy and let things go. I've seen too many people keep letting it go."
Now, she says, "I'm working like a crazy person" to get rid of the extra weight.
Beth Schwan, 29, of Columbus, Ohio, who at 5 feet tall weighs 120 pounds, down from 150, says losing weight permanently is about overcoming two major obstacles:
*You have to lose the dream that you can eat anything in sight and not gain weight. It's just not possible.
*You replace bad habits with new ones. "I used to eat ice cream when I was bored or depressed, but now I exercise or go for a walk."
Daily weigh-ins
Paulette Griffis, 41, of Chula Vista, Calif., who lost more than 50 pounds in USA TODAY's 2006 Weight-Loss Challenge on the Jenny Craig program, says she weighs herself daily and watches what she eats "because I know that 1 or 2 pounds can creep up on you really fast, and I'm scared to gain the weight back."
Wadden agrees that dieters should weigh themselves daily and respond to small changes in their weight immediately: "This is mandatory."
Sometimes people don't weigh themselves for a week or month and then discover they are up 5 or 10 pounds, and they don't want to get on the scale again, he says. They avoid the scale and essentially stop paying attention to their weight, but even if you're not counting pounds and calories, your body still is, he says.
Remind yourself that you've lost weight before and you can lose it and keep it off, and don't be afraid to look for help, he says. You may want to consider joining Weight Watchers or another program that will help you keep the weight off, Wadden says. "Keeping weight off is one of the most significant accomplishments you can do in modern America."
To succeed long-term, you have to have the right "mind-set," says Steve Swanson, 52, of Topeka. At 5-foot-7, he weighs 140, down from 300.
He believes Alley will lose the weight again, once she has the "right frame of mind."
To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to http://www.usatoday.com
Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.