Need support - lost 2 stone 3lbs, gained 9lbs

Hi all

I started my journey in Feb 2018 and lost 2st 3lbs. I was so chuffed and wanted to lose another 1.5 st. However I seemed to hit a plateau last November and really struggled to get my mind in the right frame (felt like no matter what I’d do, I wouldn’t start losing weight again).

This went on for a while - gaining then losing, gaining then losing - but over the last month I’ve gained and not lost. It’s like I’m losing hope in everything, especially my ability to be strong and practise willpower. I’ve lost a sense of rationality and motivation over my size and how I want to look. After a weekend away last week, feel like my weight has shot up despite the fact that I wasn’t bingeing on food but actually exercising a lot but I realise this is a result of lagging motivation and lack of serious effort over the past few months.

Looks like I’ve gained 9lbs (around 12.11lvs on scales now) and at the mo I’m in that place where I can do 3 days good then go over my calories on day 4 say.

Has anyone out there gained back so much on their journey but managed to get back on track and lose even more to get to goal? I’d love to hear from anyone with some supportive words or advice.

I feel terrible that I’ve let this gain happen despite all my success and happiness I’ve gained from achieving this. Sometimes I feel I’m destined never to reach my goal and enjoy the clothes that I’d love to wear etc.

Replies

  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,454 Member
    edited May 2019
    This was my experience. Not sure how our numbers match up.

    Starting at 285 lbs. lost on my own just exercising and watching what I ate to about 215-220 lbs. Took about 18 months. Started training with weights. My blood pressure went down. I was overweight but in fairly good shape. Stayed stuck like this for several years.

    Then it all came unraveled. I gained back about 25lbs. In a year I was back at 240. My exercise program fell apart. Then I regained my footing. Lost back to my old sticking point of about 215lbs. Had to rebuild my entire workout routine. It was depressing.

    But now I was working harder than ever at the gym. Never could get lower than 212lbs. Stayed like this about another year, maybe 2. In desperation I joined Weight Watchers. Not a plug for them but it’s where I learned the value of a food diary. I got and used a food scale. WW is just calorie counting dressed up for copyright protection. In about 6 months I lost about 30+ lbs to under 184lbs. I’ve been here ever since. Years.

    You make an interesting point in your post. You, everyone, needs hope. And there seems to be something about weight loss and negative thinking. Our brains are constantly trying to convince us that all of our efforts are for nothing. Don’t believe it. Push back.

    Make a plan. Take a long term view. If you aren’t getting anywhere over a reasonable test period, say 4-6 weeks, adjust. Make your plan better. Never quit tinkering with your plan. If you want to get to goal weight and stay there the tinkering and adjusting never ends.

    The way I look at it I had to reinvent my program about 3-4 times to lose 100lbs.
    I didn’t like joining WW at first. I thought it was embarrassing. But tracking worked. You can do it for free on MFP. It takes time to learn but with persistence and time it works. Stick with it. You can do this.
  • kx7003
    kx7003 Posts: 102 Member
    What was it that made you start consuming too much after such an impressive loss? Was it just a bad day that triggered excessive calorie consumption and then you just couldn’t stop binge eating?
  • hoops1888
    hoops1888 Posts: 93 Member
    88olds, thanks for your story. It’s really good to see that it is possible to climb back onto the ladder. Sometimes I’ve felt like I’d just give up and let it all go on again because messing up is so demoralising.

    kx7003, I feel like what’s caused this is me allowing my resistance muscle to get weaker and weaker. So I’m not bad in the house but it’s the dinners out and the drinks and drinks that come afterwards that I have struggled to curb. Having said that, before I lost all the weight that was a problem for me but I overcame it and was able to do all that in moderation and making better choices. I’m on anti depressants but they have become ineffective over the past couple of months so perhaps that’s not helping; currently been prescribed other ones to switch to. I’m not sure exactly what has caused this but it’s a weird mental weakness and feeling like I’m destined to fail and put it all back on despite how good I had it before.