Miserable about gaining back the weight that I have lost after all that hard work!

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fadilahjubir26
fadilahjubir26 Posts: 2
in Motivation and Support
Im 5'7 and started out weighing 145pounds during March 2014. I am working hard to reach my target weight of 130pounds. i managed to lost 10 pounds over the past year and reached 135 pounds in Early Dec 2014 which i felt really great about.

But because of the stress i faced during clinical attachments as a nursing student during that period, i gained most of the weight back, regressed and am now 145pounds again in Jan 2016. Food gives me comfort when im down and i often find myself guilty of emotional eating when i desperately need to feel better about life.

I understand losing weight is like a marathon, there are ups and downs. But how do one get up or bounce back from such an upsetting predicament? Ive been quite depressed about it and it has affected my mood and quality of life significantly. Hope someone can kindly share insights or tips to help me recover from this:(

Replies

  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,789 Member
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    I could use those tips myself. I lost 60 pounds in 2013, maintained through the spring and summer of 2014, and have regained almost 40 since September. I'm kicking myself, and I'm finding it really hard to get back into loss mode. I don't know how to bounce back. I feel miserable about it, then I comfort myself with food and booze, then I am fatter, then I am more miserable... forever, apparently.

    Remind yourself that you did this once and you can do it again. One foot in front of the other for a day. Then a week. Then a month. Then it'll get easier. And then you'll be at your goal. Right?
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    Maybe focus on logging just one day really well to start with. Get within your calorie target, hit that "Complete Entry" button and say "I did it". It starts with one day at a time. If you can do that first day, there's no reason why you can't do the second one etc.
  • fitphoenix
    fitphoenix Posts: 9,673 Member
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    Will you be less depressed in a month if you've done nothing? What about if you get back on the horse and manage a month of good food choices and exercise?

    The time is passing anyway, and although it might feel like you're going backwards ("I already did this!") the fact of the matter is that you're moving forward once again, and that can only be a good thing. You won't re-lose those 10 pounds in 10 minutes, but you *will* get them off again if you work at it.

    I slipped up a bit at the end of this past year. Sure, I'm annoyed with myself for the work I have to redo, but I know there's nothing that's going to undo the damage except time and effort. I know it will be worth it when I see the results.

    Best of luck to you!
  • jacey12300
    jacey12300 Posts: 18 Member
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    I can completely relate! Back in 2013 I went from 12st to 9, now at the start of 2015 ive put most back on, I'll add you and perhaps we can help one another out :smile:
  • jazzine1
    jazzine1 Posts: 280 Member
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    Back in 2009 I lost over 100 lbs. then had a baby in 2010 and kept eating like I was eating for two up until 2014. I regained 93 lbs back of the 119 I had lost. I decided Jan 2015 that I would not get back to my heaviest weight of 266 ever again. I brought a Fitbit, joined Nutrisystem to get a head start of eating right and joined MFP. Its been 11 days and I log everything I eat and make sure I burn more calories than I eat. Its a daily struggle because I eat just to eat and am a very emotional eater but I come on here everyday and read up and I get my determination & motivation back. All I keep telling myself is one day at a time, one day at a time!! Good luck!!
  • dunlol
    dunlol Posts: 57 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Try spending your day with your significant other or friends. Helps me get back on track after breaks/cheat days
  • davis978
    davis978 Posts: 103 Member
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    Is 130 a reasonable weight for you? That is the bottom of the "normal" range for someone your height. Unless you have a very small frame, that might be somewhat unrealistic goal? You might be asking your body to maintain a weight that it really doesn't want to. If that's the case, you can sure do it, but it might take more work than you are able or willing to put in.

  • chatterbox3110
    chatterbox3110 Posts: 630 Member
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    Please don't think of this as a diet; it has to be a change of lifestyle to keep it fresh in your mind. All the diets I've done over the years have come to nothing, leaving me gaining all the weight back and more, but this time I've lost loads and managed to keep it off just by careful choices. If I think of myself as being on a diet all the time I know I'm just setting myself up for failure. Good luck :)
  • lizc0616
    lizc0616 Posts: 68 Member
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    I posted a very similar post yesterday ! I am in the same boat. Although, i lost 25 and gained every single lb back, now looking to lose 30. I am 5'2" goal weight is 110-115.
  • maraq
    maraq Posts: 38 Member
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    Most of us have been there! I once lost close to 90 lbs only to gain 60 back over several years when I was in a career that made me miserable (and led to binge eating). I had to make some changes in my personal life (change careers) and I've lost 40 of the 60 lbs I gained back. It still feels crappy that I let myself gain all the weight back - but it's not uncommon, especially when we associate food with comfort and we're going through a hard time.

    To lose the weight again and to get off of the up and down cycle you'll need to address the stress and depression you are going through with (not sure if you just mean depressed from gaining the weight or if you mean more serious depression) and find ways to comfort yourself with something other than food (sometimes all we need is a hug, a nap or a chat with a good friend!). Focus as much as possible on the quality (vegetables, good fats, protein, whole foods etc) of your food rather than the quantity (calories) and when a craving for the bad stuff comes up and you know it's related to the emotional stuff - before you satisfy the craving ask yourself "what would make me feel best in this moment?". Odds are you will feel better about yourself (and your body will feel better too) if you nourish yourself with something that is good for you. Or, as mentioned earlier, it might be something else that would make you feel best (not food at all) - talking to a friend, going for a walk or making a constructive plan to change whatever is bringing you down.

    Good luck! You're not alone and it's not the end of the world. Try focusing on taking good care of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. No one ever lost weight long term by beating themselves up about it and emotional eating becomes less of an issue when we chose to treat ourselves with kindness instead of shame.
  • shanaet
    shanaet Posts: 15 Member
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    Yes I have been there I lost 80 got pregnant and year after the baby I still can't seem to lose any I even gained ten pounds after I had baby . I need so much help. I'm new at this and trying to figure it out
  • fadilahjubir26
    fadilahjubir26 Posts: 2
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    Thank you so much for all the insights and for sharing your situations guys! Feels a lot better knowing that there are other people who face the same predicament!

    Anyway, I think I'm starting to see the light. After a while of reflection and reading on the relationship between muscles and fats and my body weight, I suddenly realise that although my weight did increase, my body proportions, such as the circumference of my chest-waist-hip are much lesser than when i started out!

    I've been incorporating weight lifting throughout my program of weight loss and i think my mistake was to use the weighing scale as judgement when it comes to assessing my progress. So much so that it validates how happy or depressed i feel with myself.

    For those of you who have been facing trouble seeing your weight decrease as much as you want it to despite the workouts, please understand that you might have lost body fats but still weigh the same because your muscles are now leaner! Muscles are much more denser and take lesser volumer compared to the same amount of body fats. So your weight is not a very good indication of how healthy you are or how good you look!

    I think my next step for now is to decrease the no of times i step on the weighing scale. i usually weight myself everyday in the morning when i wake up to check how much progress i've made the day before. Now i will continue logging in my calorie intake and balancing it with my outtake but only weighing myself once a week.

    And maybe its true, my body might not agree to weigh 130lbs which is the lowest range of normal bmi for my height. So Im going to let go of such expectations and desires and change my target weight to 135lbs^^ this time im going to focus more on body sculpting rather than weight loss

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