lost weight then found it, lets try this again..

merie08

Hi everyone. Today I am really really trying to get back into the swing of things, this is probably my 4th time trying to come back since I gained my weight back but my motivation just disappears after a few days... I haven't updated my profile much yet so alot of info(including my profile pic) is from when I hit my goal an slowly stopped logging. I plan on updating after I weigh myself later today so I know where I am starting officially. Here's a little bit of background:

I was about 60 lbs. overweight, joined MFP in October of 2011, and lost about 50 pounds over around 6 months. I was SO HAPPY, I looked and felt great about myself and shopping was no longer a chore.

Well..after I hit my goal i slowly stopped working out and tracking. I guess I thought that the weight was gone and as long as I didn't eat alot that it wouldn't come back. I was obviously wrong. I was going out more now since I was so confident in my appearance. Going to parties and the bar, and started to drink more alcohol. Just the amount of beer and liquor I would drink alone would be alot of calories but I still had my "maintain your weight loss" mentality, so I just made sure I didn't eat much(or not at all) on top of that. That of course led to another problem much worse than being overweight alone.

After awhile of partying I met a new guy and we started dating. I was still drinking every night though, I couldn't stop. Even though I wasn't really going out anymore, I still had to drink every day. At this point me and my boyfriend are going out to eat and I'm starting to let go of the alcohol only diet, little by little, until I'm right back to eating fast food more than a few times a week and of course, waking up in the morning to workout wasn't even a thought.

The weight of course didn't initially show up all at once, so nothing alerted me to a problem until clothes started to get tighter and I didn't feel as comfortable in certain outfits anymore. At first it was just my already kinda tight clothes but then it was everything and I was buying more loose clothes. I had landed myself back to square one and I seriously cried just getting dressed for awhile..All that work and I just threw it all away :sad:

I'm still with the guy that met me when I was kinda in shape and he says that he doesn't notice that I've gained any weight (ya right!). He has seen my cry because of it and I'm guessing he doesn't want to add to the despair. I also still have a drinking problem so that is standing in my way too.

So, I need to get back to where I was only just ONE year ago. I was so dedicated to my health the first time, where did it go?

Since I haven't been around for awhile I don't have very many of the friends I had before so people please feel free to add me or ask questions.ANY advice would be amazing if you've experienced the same thing or even close!!!!

P.S-Thanks for reading my sob story :flowerforyou:

pattialling

Hey girl,

I'm totally there with you. I lost over 50 pounds and then felt comfortable with my body and let myself go back into eating all the cookies in the oreo container in two days and eating at fast food restaurants almost everyday... one day I even ate at a place like McDonalds for lunch and then Moe's for Dinner. (facepalm). I'm a sugar addict and have a hard time not eating it or drinking it.

I gained ALL of my weight back and was back at a whopping 280 pounds! I was so upset when I stepped on the scale that I had let myself get there again. BUT then I realized that being upset about it wasn't going to make the weight go away. I started reading this book called "Total Body Transformation" written by Michelle Bridges and I can't tell you how much it has helped me! I now understand why I gained my weight back and why I even stopped midway through my weightloss journey!

I learned that you can't rely on motivation to get you to your goal weight and you can't rely on motivation to keep the weight off either. Motivation is based on emotions, you could be motivated because you're angry that you got unhealthy and start vigorously working out, or you're sad and want to see a change, or you're happy that you are doing so great and don't want to stop. But emotions are too risky to rely on because they change as your body changes. The only thing that you can 100% without a doubt rely on is CONSISTENCY. I didn't even realize how important that was but if you never stop and always keep going you WILL lose weight and YOU WILL keep the weight off. I've been at this for 15 days now and I've lost 6 pounds by watching what I've been eating (intaking 2,000 calories a day), and exercising 6 days a week no matter what. Of course there are some days where I DO NOT have the motivation to get up and go for a bike ride or go swimming or to dance, but I do it because I need to stay consistent. Losing weight and being healthy isn't about going on a diet for a few months and then abandoning ship and resorting back to old habits (which I totally did!), it's about creating a new way of living.

You can add me as a friend if you'd like, I'm going to college for Applied Exercise Science and Nutrition right now (I start school in a week!), and I am very encouraging! I have to lose 100 pounds, so I'm sure I'll be on here for a while
Keep on trucking along! I believe in you! You can totally do this!!!!

berkra

Add me I I am on that roller coaster
firt time ever that I lost weight was in the mid 90 (yes dating myself, I am 45) that was when I was in college i dropped about 35lbs and was very excited. I did it with a food plan and watching what I ate. That was of course before the cell phone days...
fast forward I started working and all the pounds kept on coming, got married and more showed up...
got a kick in the butt when my wife told me that everyone around her is getting fitter and she has me at home ;-)
started in secret for a year without MFP, heard about MFP and started loosing ~40lbs
20 came back due to running injury and not using MFP
I was kidding myself that I can do it without any control...

Here I am again and lost ~7
10 to go to get back to my 9min/miles (in a half marathon)
15 to feel much better again
23 to go for my lowest over the last 10 years
~35-40 where I really want to be

merie08

Thanks pattialling, I'll have to look into that.and I definitely agree about the whole emotion thing, one day I'm ready to work hard and the next day I'm throwing in the towel lol

CynCyndi

Bump this thread! I'd love to see the progress! This is my first time on MFP and I try to learn as much from the newbies but even more from those who have been through this journey before!

hearthwood

Buy a scale and let that be your alert. Pay attention to a couple of pound gain, and you'll stay on track. If you refuse to get on a scale at least once a week, the weight will come back in little increments--until you're back to starting all over again.

Pick a day each week that you weigh yourself, it's best to do it in the morning, and then you won't have this problem of losing 50 pounds and gaining it back.

luna323

I understand how you feel....the up/down weight loss I cant seem to get it right either. Extremely frustrating but at least you are motivated now. Stay positive and take it one day at time.

ashesofher

You got this!! #notdoneyet

Flyers1010

I've been up and down and back and forth for twenty years. I get lazy about tracking and busy with life (i.e., stop working out), but we all know where that lands me.

You can do it and so can I!!! Add me as a friend, if you'd like. Good luck!

merie08

Buy a scale and let that be your alert. Pay attention to a couple of pound gain, and you'll stay on track. If you refuse to get on a scale at least once a week, the weight will come back in little increments--until you're back to starting all over again.

Pick a day each week that you weigh yourself, it's best to do it in the morning, and then you won't have this problem of losing 50 pounds and gaining it back.

Definitely gonna be doing this!! Thankso for the reminder!

fitwithin

I sent you a friend request. I lost 30 pounds in 2012 and slowly put it all back on in 2 years time. I realized how bad when I was trying on clothes from my last cruise (March 2013) and realized they were 2-3 sizes smaller. I refused to buy all new clothes and had to get serious about losing the weight. I lost 10 pounds last month and really need to lose another 10 before my cruise in 5 weeks. This time I decided rather than to diet, to eat healthier. I am watching carbs, cut out diet drinks and artificial sweetners. I feel great. My problem is that I still love to drink wine so even when I'm doing great all week, I have to drink that wine on the weekends. It is still better than drinking every night that I hate to admit that I was doing. You lost a lot of weight before and you know what to do. Just pull up those bootstraps and get busy. I know you can do it!

GeeksWife

I hear ya!
Lost 50lbs myself and have let 25 creep back on...ugh...sigh!
Got a little slack after the 50, thinking it was gone for good. Kept working out and logging with MFP and want seeing results like I had been so even though I kept logging, I kinda gave up in a way. A couple of pounds here, another 3 there and this is where I'm at. My once again beginning.
Feel free to add me if you like...any of you

merie08

I sent you a friend request. I lost 30 pounds in 2012 and slowly put it all back on in 2 years time. I realized how bad when I was trying on clothes from my last cruise (March 2013) and realized they were 2-3 sizes smaller. I refused to buy all new clothes and had to get serious about losing the weight. I lost 10 pounds last month and really need to lose another 10 before my cruise in 5 weeks. This time I decided rather than to diet, to eat healthier. I am watching carbs, cut out diet drinks and artificial sweetners. I feel great. My problem is that I still love to drink wine so even when I'm doing great all week, I have to drink that wine on the weekends. It is still better than drinking every night that I hate to admit that I was doing. You lost a lot of weight before and you know what to do. Just pull up those bootstraps and get busy. I know you can do it!

That is exactly what I keep telling myself, "you've done it once, you can do it again!!" lol then i get sad because i have to do it all over again!hopefully it was a lesson learned and ill maintain better since i know the feeling of hard work going to waste.

Liftng4Lis

Welcome back everyone!