I gained everything back and I feel like a failure.

bhbarros · April 2013

Last Summer, I committed to losing weight and getting fit. It was an amazing experience. I dropped from ~125 to 108, and I felt healthier and happier than I had in a long time.

Then, senior year started. School food and fast food began to replace my previously healthy meals. Gym hours were reduced, and then reduced some more, and soon enough my membership was gaining dust, and I was gaining pounds. Last week I weighed myself for the first time in months, and found out I was back at 120.

I really wanted to succeed this year, and in some aspects I did. But buckling down on my education has made me feel absolutely terrible about my body.

Rationally, I know 120 pounds isn't a lot. But when you're 5'2 and wear a 4 1/2 ring, it feels like so much. I think I feel worse about my body now than I did when I was 125, or even when I was 137 a few years ago.

ANYWAY, now I'm a college-bound senior and school is almost over (I have a month left, but I feel completely done

). I want to get back in shape and I want to stay that way, but I'm scared that my efforts will be wasted again.

How do you guys keep life from getting in the way?

Also, if anyone has fallen off the wagon for a few months and were able to fight back, please add me! I want to do this with support this time around.

/ramble.

pnubn1 · April 2013

Just repeat whatever you did to lose the weight....over and over again :flowerforyou:

sc10985 · April 2013

I would KILL to weigh 120. I'm 5'1" and 148. My goal is 125 but I'd even settle for 130. Stress is bad for weight loss so try not to beat yourself up!!

bhbarros · April 2013

I guess I do sound a bit ungrateful, don't I? :embarassed:

And stress really is the biggest obstacle I face, and unfortunately it is mostly internal. Every time I try to get serious about being healthy now, it's like there's this mental roadblock telling me that there's no point.

I don't even have a goal weight anymore. I just want to be happy with my body and myself again.

Refined_by_Fire · April 2013

Don't beat up on yourself, just pick yourself up and start again. I've been through a similar experience in 2006. I went from a size 16 to a size 6. But through life's challenges I also gained it back. Now I'm trying to get it off again. Just take it one day at a time and you'll do fine. You can also add me as a friend if you like.

lizloveszak · April 2013

Don't beat yourself up too much. That isn't a huge gain even though I know it feels so. I have gone through the same but I am embarrassed to even say it, Lets just say i went from 250 pounds to 120 in about 18 months, Then this december I met my boyfriend and he is a big drinker, and I got lazy and started drinking too (after never previously being one to drink) and also getting extremely lazy with my food and binge eating. 6 months later I am back up to 187 and none of my clothes fit me anymore. I am miserable after gaining 60 odd pounds in such a short space of time and only now have I decided to get my weight back in check. All that hard work down the toilet... But I guess all I can do is... Try again... and never let myself get lazy again. All the partying- It's just not worth it.

DeeDeeLHF · May 2013

It is so hard to re-focus again. The second (and third or fourth or....) time around you KNOW the hard work that it takes to get it off and instead of focusing on today...all you can see is the next 6 months of "drudgery" and hard work.

So, being in the exact same place as you (just a lot older), here is the advice I am giving myself.

Let today be today. I will not worry about what tomorrow or the next week, or even the next month, will bring or how I will do. I will measure my success based on what I decide right now in this moment.

For everything I say "yes" to I say "no" to something else. So, in this moment, I will say "yes" to me and "no" to bad choices. "Yes" to the hard boiled egg, "No" to the danish...etc.

Also, I will remember today that time passes regardless of what we do with it. So, do I want this time to pass doing something positive for myself or negative. So I will never give up, even if I fail, I will never give up on me!

The numbers on the scale matter very little....but making little changes and good decisions will create better results in the long run.

Take heart. Diets are something we do for a little while...get results and then return to our bad habits and gain the weight back. Learning to live a healthy lifestyle is for a lifetime. It doesn't end. There is no beginning or end...it just is ...it's LIFE!

So live it!!!

That is my pep talk for myself today...hope it helps you, too.

Best of luck in college. You seem very wise, unselfish, and balanced, my guess is that you will do very well.

D

wnbrice · May 2013

Hey, man life is like, a sin wave ya dig. Ya gonna have ya ups and ya downs. But the equation aint over till ya set the range

What my urban equivalent is trying to say is that you are only a failure when you give up. Until then you have just had a few set backs.

alisonfindyourdiva · May 2013

It is tough when something else has taken your focus and you are stressed out. Try to sneak in a workout when you are stressed. And remember, you're only a failure when you quit. You're on here so you haven't quit so you're not a failure. Just keep moving, one step at a time. You've lost the weight before so you know you can do it again

mazdauk · May 2013

You're not a failure, you've just had a hard time for a few months.

I'm currently trying to lose the weight which crept on over 2-3 years of a very stressful job (combined with communitng by train every day - YUK). On Monday I'd had what passes for a stressful day in my nice new. local job (would have passed unnoticed in the old job!) and I was SO bad-tempered when I got home. Luckily for my family it was Zumba night - I really went for it, was exhausted by the end but felt much more happy ad energised - and ready to kick bottom the next day. Try and find a class you REALLY enjoy local to you - can be aqua aerobics even if that's your bag - and if nothing else you'll have a bright spot to look forward to every week.

valey1234 · May 2013

I think we have all had an occasional set back when it comes to loseing weight. Dont waste time feeling bad about it learn from it . try to make small goals at first so that way you wont feel overwellmed. keep a journal of the foods you are eating and find an exersize you can enjoy and do it walking bike rideing just keep doing it for you . All good things take work and good friends to support us. good luck. valey1234.

mrsmclarke · May 2013

I gained more than half of what I lost back. I went from 255 to 180 in 2010 and today I'm back up to 224. Lack of motivation, life struggles, and losses helped dig me back into the hole I had crawled out of. Two weeks ago i finally kicked myself in the butt and said, get it together, you will be 30 this year and I really want to start my family.

You can do it.. don't be down on yourself, just do what you can to pick back up where you left off.

TAMayorga · May 2013

Your college experience may be very helpful in helping your weight/health. For example, if you live on campus, schedule your classes so you can WALK to class. You might have access to a student gym for free; the small college where I live has an excellent gym that the students can use for free. Hit the salad bar in the cafeteria at lunch. I was the slimmest I've ever been when I was in college. Good luck, and congratulations on your impending graduation! :flowerforyou:

suejonestx · May 2013

There will always be obstacles in life, the older you grow, the more obstacles there are...job responsibilities, children needing attention, family members ill, etc. You just have to make the decision for yourself. Will you find the time to treat yourself right (i.e. exercise and eating mostly healthy) or not? You don't have to be obsessive about it with 7 days a week in the gym and never letting anything unhealthy touch your lips, but rather make it a lifestyle change, having healthy habits most of the time. Over time you will get stronger, healthier and drop excess weight, and believe me, your future 40 year old self will thank you!!! Good luck.

GuybrushThreepw00d · May 2013

Keep logging on mfp, and keep weighing yourself regularly.

Mfp is a crutch, it would be great to stop logging and not gain weight... It will come with practice.

cranium853 · May 2013

I heard four things that went wrong.

Fast food.

Reduced exercise.

Unmanaged stress.

Letting up on commitment.

You might consider a meditation class to address the cortisol you are pumping into your bloodstream and to focus on why you would call yourself a failure. I hear a committed person who can be honest about what went wrong and who is seeking help rather than whining.

MENichols5 · May 2013

The same thing happened to me a few years ago. I lost 18 lbs from September-February and was feeling great about myself! I remember trying on old clothes with my mom and dancing around my room because I was so excited that they fit and looked cute. That Summer through Fall (I know, Summer Bikini time!) I gained it ALL back! I have no idea why, but I feel like I self-sabotage myself by becoming too comfortable with the success and get lenient again.

Anyways, I know exactly where you are coming from! I managed to lose 10 of those pounds again by just buckling down and counting calories and working out again. Just try and remember how good it felt the first time around and focus, focus, focus. You are still going to have some bad days (or weeks!), trust me, I am still working on those last 8 pounds, but the only way to get back on track and to just jump back in!

Good luck!

cebreisch · May 2013

Know your limits, and allow yourself to be human - know you're going to slip, and that's okay.

Between eating right and exercising, the most important thing to focus on (to me) is: what sort of food you're eating. The better quality the food, the more of it you can have. Most fast food places have some reasonably healthier things on the menu. One thing I do is order a cheeseburger, cut it in half, and lost half the bun - I count it on MFP as 1/2 a double cheeseburger. Order kids meals - You can usually order some sort of fruit (apple slices, apple sauce, fruit cup, etc.) depending on the place you go. I've also seen it where I've eaten more calories eating right, and still lost weight that week just because the quality of food was better than most weeks.

Choose one thing to focus on, then take small steps to add things to the path to get skinny/healthy. If you eat out breakfast a lot, start having yogurt and/or fruit for breakfast instead of some breakfast sandwich or something. Then start making sure you drink more water. Then try to increase intake of lean/healthy protein.....then increase your fiber intake. Those are just some of the steps I've taken over the last 2 years.

For what it's worth - and good luck!

1shauna1 · May 2013

I have been where you are a few times unfortunately. I'm taller and heavier though. But I think any up and down is really hard on a person. You know what you did last time to lose the weight and you just have to commit to that again. You have the summer to get in shape for college....but watch those "freshmen 15"! They are real and it's hard to avoid the temptations of college life.

akanewbie · May 2013

if life gets in the way than change your life, it is all in the mind and you have the power to overcome any obsticle if you put your mind to it. Dont beat yourself up but look at is as you are the one holding yourself back and all you need to do is change that. perception is key, good luck

saminmio · May 2013

Just get back on the horse honey. We frequently fail at things until we succeed. I quit smoking 6 times for varying times from 8 years to 4 months until I succeeded 27 years ago. It's all a learning curve so keep it up you just haven't graduated.

I gained everything back and I feel like a failure.

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