I spent yesterday in tears after my weigh-in :-(

monkeybu

Let this be a lesson to everyone on their weightloss journey.

Yesterday was a bad day for me. Last year I joined MFP and managed to lose 16kg (35lbs) over 8mths which was halfway to my goal weight. I was soooo pleased with myself and got complacent and fell off the wagon a bit, but managed to maintain my new weight for another 6mths despite eating and cheating a bit and slacking off with the exercise.

Over the past 4mths though I haven't weighed myself and haven't exercised apart from doing a couple of events and some half-hearted walking/jogging. I have noticed my new clothes getting tighter and I knew I had put on weight and had to do something about it so yesterday I jumped on the scales and peeked through my fingers at the number.....

....and burst into tears!! I had put on half the weight I had lost last year and I had noone to blame but myself.

I'm now facing the long uphill slog again even to reach the halfway point and it is disheartening to say the least!

I would love to hear from any people who have experienced this type of setback and what they did to find their motivation again after back-sliding badly.

angel79202

Well you took the first step..coming back..all u can do is start over..today is day 1..no regrets, no excuses..just write it all down and start making baby steps to success. Good luck

CarleyLovesPets

I lost 50lbs 3 years ago.

I kept it off for about... 8 - 9 months (even after not working out and eating not as healthy) ... and then Christmas came.
I was so busy... I ate so badly for like 2 months up to Christmas and then until after New Years.

It honestly went downhill from there... I stopped weighing myself... I was on birth control that added weight and I wasn't ever working out and eating horribly.

Three years later...

I gained all the weight back and then 30lbs. So I gained 80lbs.
It sucked and I really wish I never gained it back PLUS MORE. ugh.

KettleBellHoe

i am a yoyo weigher aswell. my weight goes up and down like crazy as i ease up my reigns and be extremely discipline usually its 10lbs i either lose or gain- i weigh myself every few days so i dnt let it go too far but when i drink its maddening,cuz not only do i drink alot of empty calories i get the munchies like mad,
it is a bit disheartening i agree but if you incorporate begin active as just part of being yourself its way easier to stay on track,.

notjustmonday

I'm sure a lot of us go through this. When we see progress, we reward ourselves and say "this won't hurt, I've been doing great!" But we also don't stay disciplined. You fell off the wagon but at least you want to get back on it! Many people see it as defeat! Work just as hard, even harder actually, and get to your goal weight. You've done it before, and you can do it again. No more crying.

runlaugheatpie

It happens, you know? I understand you are upset but you know why it happened so there would be no value in dwelling on it or feeling bad for too long. You know what to do, it doesn't have to be an "uphill slog" it can be something with more of a positive twist. Make your plan and start again, right now, don't wait for any reason!

We all have different battles. Some of us lose and gain back everything. You gained half. That's ok, you are still less than when you started. :flowerforyou:

raggedyangst

I don't think it's the same as last time. You begin again, but smarter. You know what works, you know how to eat and how to exercise--that's a lot of learning you don't have to do again. You know your body so much better now; you're better armed for the fight! So go ahead and dive in; you're so ready!

AdGalicia

Wow this story is all too familiar for me. Last yr I lost almost 40lbs and loved my accomplishment but now I've gained it all back plus 15lbs. So like everyone else my 2012 new yrs resolution was to lose what I had gained but that didn't happen. I didn't get the ball rolling till about June and it was very hard to even wanna try again. I'm doing alright so far...

I hope you find that motivation your looking for

xiala

Don't beat yourself up! Pick yourself up and go forward!

amuchison

Well I started my weightloss journey on 8/20/11 and was 268lbs I got down to my lowest of 177.2 on 4/15/12 and then due to life,my emotions,hubby going out to sea,rearing 3 kiddos under 5 excuse after excuse here I am on my 1 yr anniversary and I am 207.8 as of this morning..still 60lbs down which is great but when I was at my lowest down 90lbs it kinda just sucks...so after balling my eyes out on my husbands shoulders last night I decided okay I can either pick myself up and drop the rest of this weight my goal is 150 or I can keep emotionally eating and not caring and get fat again..yeah NO!!! I don't want that plus I want to fit back into my size 9s again I started out at an 18/20 and am now a 12 I miss my 9s that I could fit 30lbs ago...so every week I will try them on again until they fit and that will to be motivation for me. Plus this is a lifestyle change and for me I have to get it knocked into my head good healthy eating and exercise r what's going to help me continue to lose weight and to keep it off..its a fact of life..either I want to be healthy and get to goal weight and maintain it for life and live longer to be around for my kids or be FAT and unhealthy and I don't want that..U just gotta dig deep think back to why u started losing weight originally your why and goals have to be sooo big its scary and makes u hurl a little..then u know u got it!!;)

AbbysMonkeyMama

I had lost 40 lbs, then basically did just like you...fell off the wagon, but didn't go crazy. I gained 10 lbs back. I knew it, and knew I had to get back on track, but didn't have the motivation. For me, there was no magic motivation or trick. I had to do what I did the first time. I just made the decision to to it. I use Facebook, and I posted a status telling everyone that I had gained some back, but I was back on track. I like the feeling of knowing that everyone can look at what I'm doing. The fact that I have to lose 10 lbs to get back to where I was sucks, but even after one week, I feel so much better than it really doesn't matter. I'm just happy to see the scale going down again. Just make the decision and do it. You did it once before, you can do it again.

notsothinlizzie

Big Hugs and welcome back honey.
I'll throw my sad tale of woe out there too.... Just to let you know you are not alone.
When I was 25 I lost 90+ pounds in 6 months... I was at goal for 4 weeks. My husband and I went on vacation. I gained 5 pounds... 5 pounds... I was too ashamed to go back to my meeting and face the music... fast forward 20+ years.. 90 plus gained.

You need to be congratulated for coming back sooner than later and start again.
You are gonna do it. Stand tall, dust yourself off and lets get this party started!

mtinta2000

Everything is a process and a process has its ups and downs and setbacks. Try not only to lose weight but to make healthy changes in your life. Even if you lose little by little, you will not get it back. So make a change and make it part of your life, then make another. Make a habit of eating mostly plant based food - fruits, vegetables, salads, and walk every day at least 30 minutes. Splurge once in a while in what you like, but if it is too unhealthy, try to find substitutes that will give you the satisfaction without the damage. But more important - look in the mirror every day and tell yourself how beautiful you are. Self esteem is very important - feel good about yourself and do things that make you feel good. No more tears. Turn that setback into a bigger victory. Now you know the mistakes you made. This time it will be easier. Just remember to incorporate the changes into your daily life.

I haven't gotten where I want to be yet, and sometimes I get lazy, but I am sure I will get there!

Cinny91

Heck yah, I've been through the same thing. At my heaviest I weighed over 300 lbs. Mostly due to my job (was always around food and little or no exercise) but realisticly I had given up on what I could accomplish. After a change in my career to a very active job I lost 40 lbs. with no effort or change of eating habits. Then one day it hit me, I WANTED to be healthier, look better and feel better. I worked hard with diet and exercise and managed to get down to 220 lbs. It was fantastic! The last two years I fell into the trap that I didn't have to do anything more, that the weight would magically continue to fall off on it's own. Yah, right! Eartly this spring I couldn't get my jeans buttoned. I cried and crucified myself for allowing this to happen again. But yanno, the self loathing only lasted a day. The next morning I woke up with a renewed attitude. I buckled down on my excercise and started to watch what I ate. Two weeks ago I joined this site and have logged on faithfully every day. Yesterday I bought a treadmill and I love it! The moral of this story...once you get bucked off the horse, find a stepstool to climb back on. MFP is my stepstool and as long as I continue to see my progress in black and white that horse shouldn't buck me off again. But, if it does I'll climb right back on again. Best wishes to you, I hope you can find your step stool too.

monkeybu

Thanks for you words of support guys - it is much appreciated!

I have done some hard thinking today and I hope I've got my head back in the game, I think the words "don't look back, just look forwards" might become my new mantra

cmcorn26

But you are back! Think positive, move in a forward motion, mentally and physically!

deannakittygirl

about 9 years ago I lost 70 lbs and kept it off for a couple years. then life circumstances happened and I gained most of that weight back. I fell into bad habits and excuses. this year I decided enough was enough and have re lost 30 pounds of what I gained back *19 of if since joining MFP in June and exercising. it can be very depressing but now that you have realized it you must make the effort to get back into good habits. you can do it! I believe losing weight is not hard but maintaining it is. lifestyle changes have to stick. you cant just lose weight and then when you have go back to eating freely and sitting on your behind not exercising. so just wipe away your tears and put on your walking shoes as soon as possible and hit the pavement or treadmill. log your food daily no matter what you eat. and repeat everyday!

ThatBikerChick

I am sorry that the scale has effect you so much to make you turn to tears. I tend not to look at the scale since I am pretty heavy built and I hate looking at the scale. What I do is take measurements since it is much more rewarding (to me) to lose inches (off your waist for example) over how heavy the scale tell you that you are. I hope you hang in there and find the encouragement you need.

If it makes you feel better as well, I actually was weighing in at 203Lbs a week and a half ago. Today Im at 194.61 Digg deeper and find what you need as your motivation.

amuchison

Know that bottom line u have to change your habits of health...so maybe choose a bad habit and work on taking 22 days to fix it and the bad habit will become a good one...so if u hate cardio do cardio for 22 days and then go from there;)

jerbear1962

At least now you know what you have done in the past and know what to do with the future...if in the future you need a cheat...make it a meal or a day...not 5 or 6 months...you can do it....

myth4ever

This time you will go stronger and reach new heights.....you hate this feeling and by no means want it again. You now understand something you didn't once before. Life is for learning. Let's go and finish what was started!

selig0730

6 years ago i went from 240 down to 205 and then over the year i gained it all back. In october 2011 was at my highest 249 and needed a change so cut out pop and then nov 2011 started MFP full time and started a gym membership. now im at 185 and better then ever. im never going back i will stay on mfp if i have to just so i dont gain the weight back. you can lose the weight you gained but you just have to get over the weight gain and just get back on the horse and lose the weight just like you lost it before. remember with mfp you get the motivation from other people.

misscarissak

I went through this as well. Worked hard, lost a decent amount of weight (without ever actually reaching my goal), only to put it all back on again - and then some!

I think the main thing is that you have now made yourself accountable by jumping back on those scales. That's a big step in the right direction and I don't think you should ignore that. For me the biggest thing was the following decisions:

1. not to set a goal weight "deadline" - as you only get bitterly disappointed when the date comes and goes without the success you were hoping for. This is a lifestyle change, and so what if it takes me months to get to goal? At least by then my habits will be firmly planted in my subconcious!

2. weigh in once a week - NO MATTER WHAT. I know that when I have a bad week my first instinct is to avoid those scales so I don't see the damage. Before I know it, 4 weeks have passed in my state of denial and my clothes inevitably are getting tighter. You can undo a week's damage pretty quickly - a month? Not so much aragh. Stay accountable to yourself.

3. take it day by day. By breaking everything down to smaller, more manageable "chunks" it's so much easier. I hate seeing that I have 26kg to lose. It's easy to be overwhelmed. So, I am just concentrating on the next 5kg. Once that's done and dusted, I'll look at the next 5.

I too am now looking at a big uphill slog. I admit that there have been times where I have been utterly overwhelmed by that hill. But I'm realising now that by looking at the ground in front of me and just taking small steps, day by day, I can look up every now and then and be surprised that the top is just that little bit closer. Even better, I can turn back and see just how far I've come!

This is just what works for me (and yes, there are certainly times where I've fallen off the wagon!) - everyone is different and you just need to find what switches that light on for you.

The thing to remember about those wagons is a) they're so bumpy that you have to hang on tight not to fall off and b) in my experience, they're not going fast enough for you not to be able to chase down and jump back on!

Hope this was helpful and I wish you the best of luck!

robin68562

Somebody call the Waaahmulance! :laugh:
Cheer up and don't beat yourself up. I know how it is to fall off and gain it back. I think we all do. But today is a new day. Think of how good you felt when you lost the weight. Think of the reasons you wanted to lose weight in the first place and how good you'll feel when you do. Sometimes getting motivated is the hardest part, but once you get there, the rest is easy. It took me a long time to get motivated, but now I am and it's like the weight is falling off. I'm eating healthier and I don't even feel deprived.
I don't consider myself as being on diet. I call it a lifestyle change because that is what it is. That's what it has to be or I know I will be continually backsliding.
You can do it. Just reach into that place that I know is inside you and tell yourself you deserve to treat yourself better. You did it before --- you can do it again. Best of luck to you.

TravisBurns

Definitely been there and done that. You just gotta tell yourself if you don't get back at it now, you will only be going even further backwards. And when you do get back at it, don't let that scale run your indication of progression. Scale don't mean ****. You can lose many inches, gain much muscle and actually gain weight. For future reference.
To sum it all up.
JUST DO IT!
Keep your head up, your Shoulders cocked, and keep charging!

Casey45

One of the women I've become friends with here has a blog I find wise and inspirational. She celebrates in 10 pound increments. Today's blog announced a total of 60lbs.

She finished with: "Every ten pounds makes a difference. You only fail if you quit.". Her MFP blog is Reesecuptyler's Blog. She has entries for each ten pounds she's lost.

You haven't failed. It's a set back, so figure out your lessons learned, And move on.

I know the yo yo experience. 30+ years of being on a diet most of the time ( but never being dedicated to making my health and fitness the goal - just a number on the scale- all I accomplished was gaining weight from 150lbs my starting weight on my first diet in high school all the way up to 212lbs when I finally started doing it right in August last year. At two different times I managed to get up to 225 ( once was post partum, the other time, no excuse.) When I got on the scale in August (like you I'd been avoiding facing the truth throughout the last upsurge) I suddenly realized that if I didn't do something different I was only a few pounds away from a new record.

Sounds like you are facing reality in more timely manner. You did it before, now start thinking abut LONG term, life long changes and make it happen.!

You can do this.

Best wishes.

ascott048

I went through this as well. Worked hard, lost a decent amount of weight (without ever actually reaching my goal), only to put it all back on again - and then some!

I think the main thing is that you have now made yourself accountable by jumping back on those scales. That's a big step in the right direction and I don't think you should ignore that. For me the biggest thing was the following decisions:

1. not to set a goal weight "deadline" - as you only get bitterly disappointed when the date comes and goes without the success you were hoping for. This is a lifestyle change, and so what if it takes me months to get to goal? At least by then my habits will be firmly planted in my subconcious!

2. weigh in once a week - NO MATTER WHAT. I know that when I have a bad week my first instinct is to avoid those scales so I don't see the damage. Before I know it, 4 weeks have passed in my state of denial and my clothes inevitably are getting tighter. You can undo a week's damage pretty quickly - a month? Not so much aragh. Stay accountable to yourself.

3. take it day by day. By breaking everything down to smaller, more manageable "chunks" it's so much easier. I hate seeing that I have 26kg to lose. It's easy to be overwhelmed. So, I am just concentrating on the next 5kg. Once that's done and dusted, I'll look at the next 5.

I too am now looking at a big uphill slog. I admit that there have been times where I have been utterly overwhelmed by that hill. But I'm realising now that by looking at the ground in front of me and just taking small steps, day by day, I can look up every now and then and be surprised that the top is just that little bit closer. Even better, I can turn back and see just how far I've come!

This is just what works for me (and yes, there are certainly times where I've fallen off the wagon!) - everyone is different and you just need to find what switches that light on for you.

The thing to remember about those wagons is a) they're so bumpy that you have to hang on tight not to fall off and b) in my experience, they're not going fast enough for you not to be able to chase down and jump back on!

Hope this was helpful and I wish you the best of luck!

Don't think I could have said it better. Did the loss and gain game several times myself. I am currently working on losing the 10 pounds I gained back after a back injury. I basically used that as an excuse to take a break from the gym and turned my weekend into foodie adventures. Yes, I am that girl who plans her weekend around finding the best crepe in Seattle. Which is fine if you exercise and keep your portions small. But this girl made it an event.

One thing I did not stop doing was weighing myself. I was fully aware of what I was doing to myself with every pound I gained. Ten pound up and I was done! Even trying to lose ten pounds is a bummer for me but I will never reach my goal if I don't put in the work.

Now I have small goals. Drink all my water. Go to the gym twice a week (used to go four times). Stay at calorie goal. Weigh myself once a week. Try to plan my meals ahead.

Good luck to you! You can do it, just remind yourself that this is a journey. The ending is what matters most at this point and you are in control of that!

MizzTweezy

Oh yeah was just there not to long ago... I feel off for 5 months and gained 20 pounds back...I fell out of my zone do to issues with others that were affecting my progress, I finally decided I worked to dam hard for what I did and wasn't going to let anyone but me be responsible of my actions... I dropped the 20 pounds plus some already... It is never to late to get back on the wagon.. But you have to really want it and get back into that zone you were in before... I am so much happier in this place this zone than I was that 5 months of letting go of myself... Hang in there, don't look back at your mistakes, remember what happened and take it as a lesson learned and move forward again.. You can do it!!!

AlessisMore

Thanks. So much what I wanted to say.

Dudagarcia

Somebody call the Waaahmulance! :laugh:
Cheer up and don't beat yourself up. I know how it is to fall off and gain it back. I think we all do. But today is a new day. Think of how good you felt when you lost the weight. Think of the reasons you wanted to lose weight in the first place and how good you'll feel when you do. Sometimes getting motivated is the hardest part, but once you get there, the rest is easy. It took me a long time to get motivated, but now I am and it's like the weight is falling off. I'm eating healthier and I don't even feel deprived.
I don't consider myself as being on diet. I call it a lifestyle change because that is what it is. That's what it has to be or I know I will be continually backsliding.
You can do it. Just reach into that place that I know is inside you and tell yourself you deserve to treat yourself better. You did it before --- you can do it again. Best of luck to you.

Well said ^^^^^.

Christi6604

I don't think it's the same as last time. You begin again, but smarter. You know what works, you know how to eat and how to exercise--that's a lot of learning you don't have to do again. You know your body so much better now; you're better armed for the fight! So go ahead and dive in; you're so ready!

^^^ Totally this.

Just think of all you know now that you didn't know before. I also remind myself of all those folks you've seen who were addicted to drugs and had to keep trying to beat their particular drug of choice. You can do it. Be glad you woke up when you did. Also, Welcome back.