How do restart from here, I lose weight, I gain it back and more!

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EpicMeyri
EpicMeyri Posts: 109 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I fell off again. The original 35+ pounds that I had lost I've gained! I was weighing at 209(the lowest since I was 18 years old). I now weigh 253 pounds! So I've gained well over 40 pounds! I know I am capable of losing the weight, because I did it once. But lately it seems impossible to get back on track.

I need genuine advice on how to get back up from this huge mistake I've done. I haven't counted my calories in months now. I am in this group challenge but it isn't helping much. I need someone who has been through my struggles and has overcome them.

I want this! I want to be healthy badly! Mainly for myself because I deserve a better life! I have just lost my mojo or whatever it was that I had in the beginning when I lost those 35 pounds. I guess I have a fear of failure.

Any help, tips or advice would be appreciated.

Replies

  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
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    As I have told my girlfriend who has gained in the past year....go back to what lost you the weight in the first place. you gained the weight back because you stopped doing what you were doing for whatever reason. Recall the details of that weight loss, including what you ate, how much water you drank, what workouts you did, etc. You don't need help because you already have all the information you need. Plain and simple.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    Lose weight without a fad and lose weight mindfully. Track caloric intake, don't rely on exercise to create your deficit, understand TDEE/maintenance calorie needs, lose weight slowly (~1lb/week or less), eat the things you plan on eating while in maintenance.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Eat at a caloric deficit, and you'll lose. Do it in a way that is sustainable, and you won't keep gaining it back. This is about a lifestyle change, meaning learning to eat in moderation and not restricting yourself so you feel you're doing without.
  • RHPSgirl1984
    RHPSgirl1984 Posts: 436 Member
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    Keep counting! I fell off the wagon and gained 20 pounds or so. Now that I'm keeping myself accountable it's coming off.
    You've got this!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Track in the diary every day. That really is the whole thing.
  • fearlessleader104
    fearlessleader104 Posts: 723 Member
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    Don't overthink it. It's hard and there is no way around it so just do it and start right now
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Make it forever - not until an arbitrary goal

    Enjoy your food, up your activity level, log everything

    Don't see it as having an end date - it just is
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    Make it your lifestyle, so whatever you do has to be sustainable, so don't go on a fad diet, or have unrealistic exercise plans. Do something you can see yourself doing forever.

    I have gained weight again...3 times...but it was due to pregnancy. I started my third pregnancy, age 35, the thinnest I'd been since I was in my early 20s, I exercised until 38 weeks pregnant (with a huge bump) and I logged and didn't eat above maintenance, so imagine my shock to weigh myself at 4 months post partum to be 40lbs up still.

    So, now I'm nearly 7 months post partum and a UK size 14 (US10) looking to get back to my UK10/12.

    I exercise a lot, but I really enjoy it. I find having exercise challenges is a big motivator and it's better to focus on lifting heavier weights, doing a plank for longer etc than losing x amount of lbs, and the fitter you get, the more weight will drop anyway.

    I do a treat day once a week too, and that keeps me on track. I usually bake a cake at the weekend, then it's a treat for my kids too (the 5 and 3 year old).

    I aim for 1550 calories a day, so I'm not depriving myself. If you aim for too low calories then you'll probably end up hungry and it won't last. Aim for 1lb a week loss and anything more is a bonus. It's not a race. It doesn't matter if it takes 18 months to get where you want to be, because you'll still be healthy and fit along the way.
  • sharonpryke
    sharonpryke Posts: 13 Member
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    I have lost and regained weight more times than I can count. I am now struggling to re-lose the weight I'd already lost for my wedding 18 months ago - and then some. I know I can lose weight - as you have, I've done it before - my problem is maintaining the weight loss.

    This time, it was my Dad having a stroke that pulled me back into eating badly. I gave myself chocolate bars and other treats to help me cope.

    One thing you need to realise is why you've gained the weight. Part of it may be that your version of eating 'normally' means that you gain weight. Most of us see dieting as a temporary thing, something to stick to until we reach goal, and then our reward is to go back to eating 'normally'. As others here have said that probably isn't the case. We need to make changes not just to lose weight, but for life.

    My motivation at the moment is fitness. I have high blood pressure and if I can't lose weight and get it down, I'll probably end up on drugs for the rest of my life. Or having a stroke like my Dad.

    I'm trying to do it slowly and to see this as the new way I eat, the new way I relate to food. It isn't easy when you've logged and stuck to the MFP goals and you've gone three weeks with no weight loss. But like I said this is for life so I've got to just keep going.

    It's much harder when you're just not feeling it though - so why not make some little changes at first? What can you do right now? Give up one thing - that morning latte or the late night chocolate bar and have something healthy in it's place ... or start doing one thing extra. An exercise class, a walk in the park ... something.

    You deserve this - being healthy isn't a punishment, it's a reward.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    RockstarWilson wrote: »
    As I have told my girlfriend who has gained in the past year....go back to what lost you the weight in the first place. you gained the weight back because you stopped doing what you were doing for whatever reason. Recall the details of that weight loss, including what you ate, how much water you drank, what workouts you did, etc. You don't need help because you already have all the information you need. Plain and simple.

    That would work if the OP was purely a machine. But humans are biological beings, we have desires and preferences, we can be motivated or angry, we feel pleasure and pain. The last food and exercise regime wasn't sustainable, or else she wouldn't have "fallen off" it. Eat and exercise in a way that you see not only being possible, but enjoyable, for the rest of your life. That is your effective diet.

  • Juvenica
    Juvenica Posts: 460 Member
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    All of us have gone through the same thing to a certain extent and it's nothing to fear Op. I believe what you should do is observe your life other than your diet first hand. Fix what needs to be fixed first and do keep in your mind that it can be done, keep telling yourself every day until you never forget it. you can do it. you can do it.
    meanwhile stock your fridge only with good unprocessed food, loots of fruits, start learning new recipes for slow foods. they might take longer to prepare, but they're worth it. as my trainer used to say its 70% what you eat and 30% how you work out.
    as for the training part take it easier, warm into it, weight training rocks for loosing weight and toning your body!
    You can do it! You can do it! Keep us posted!
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    edited November 2014
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    DawnieB1977 wrote: »
    Make it your lifestyle, so whatever you do has to be sustainable, so don't go on a fad diet, or have unrealistic exercise plans. Do something you can see yourself doing forever.
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
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    THIS! This is it.
  • msjohnson426
    msjohnson426 Posts: 40 Member
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    You're not alone dear. We can do this its all about lifestyle changes. Good luck!
  • sparkly75
    sparkly75 Posts: 29 Member
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    dramaqueen45 wrote: »
    DawnieB1977 wrote: »
    Make it your lifestyle, so whatever you do has to be sustainable, so don't go on a fad diet, or have unrealistic exercise plans. Do something you can see yourself doing forever.

    Exactly this!
    I have been yo yo dieting for what seems like forever!
    Lost 50lbs gained 60lbs!
    All because of being impatient to see a result - weight that comes off quickly does not stay off!
    How many times have I told myself that - but still as "DawnieB" said - couldnt see myself doing any of it forever.
    Or starting a diet on a Monday morning and by Monday afternoon I would be eating everything in sight because I felt deprived - and then completely gave up because I'd ruined it anyway!
    No - I can't do this anymore!
    No more diets no more giving up just because I had a bad day - I just log it and move on - slow and steady!
    Just by doing this I have lost 20lbs over the last month and a half :D
    Good luck with your journey OP and it is really hard especially for people like us that have always been overweight - it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks right haha x
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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