Lost it and gained some back Help!!!

Hi Guys, I lost around 127 lbs over a 3 yr period but have been putting it back on very quickly, I have around 22 back on..I'm so frustrated and desperate ...I feel my old self coming back with bad habits and I know it's only me who can change and do this...just struggling right now and so I start here today along with a print out on my fridge with a pic of me weighing 309 lbs and a sign that says NO EXCUSES!!! Anyone in my boat? and how did you get back at it?
«1

Replies

  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
    I was 220lbs at my top weight. I got all the way down to 150 (may 2014) I have slowly put it back and I started this year at 168. When I couldn't button a pair of pants that was loose a year ago that's when I had enough. So I'm back. Weighed today...165. On the right track just gotta re-focus and do it!!

    Small goals work. My immediate goal is to be 162 by the end of the month! No excuses!!!
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    How do you get back at it? Start by logging all (ALL) your food. Then make adjustments to what you eat. It's not rocket science.
  • TrishPo02
    TrishPo02 Posts: 3 Member
    I can relate! From 2013-14 I lost 50+lbs (close to 60) and from 2014-15 I slowly gained back 40 of it! SOOOO mad at myself, and I know I am the one to blame. Toward the end of 2015 I tried to get back on track but failed. Now in the new year I am 100% focused with my eye on the prize!! I want to fit my butt back into those jeans I fit into in 2013 with ease and other closes weren't as restricting PLUS I want to be a happier, healthier me! I have been faithfully logging daily and also exercising at least once a day (min of 20 min) but some days getting 2 routines in. And have even introduced some light jogging back into the mix. I am MORE then determined this time!
  • carrieEL
    carrieEL Posts: 16 Member
    Thanks guys , such a battle and Maxit..I know it's not rocket science trust me i have lost 127 lbs my biggest problem is the self control of food..I love everything about it..I def have heart hunger cause I eat to feel and I am going to do this, I will have the 22 gained off and the last 40 to achieve my goal :)
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    I am very similar to you. I lost 130 and regained 30. I am so irritated with myself. It seems harder this time around for some reason. It is my eating habits as I still exercise a lot. I enjoy that part. I am trying to go back to the basics that got me to lose the weight before and trying to eat like I did back then. Oh I miss the days when my personal trainer told me to eat more. He won't tell me that now. I got 1 pound off last week I guess it's a start.

    I set up some fitness goals to work on along with the weight loss. That seems to be helping.
  • carrieEL
    carrieEL Posts: 16 Member
    Ali, wtg on the 130 though , it shows we are strong and we can do this...I wish I had a brain of a small person...I used to look in the mirror at the 127 lbs I lost and that feeling of being proud and being able to wear clothes from all stores not just the plus size ones and everything else that I felt and then I just blow it away for food...I don't want to go back to that 309lb woman who was depressed could hardly walk from knee pain etc..I can't have excuses..today is my first step back at her and talking it out helps...WE can all do this.
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    I keep making promises to myself, like not going up a size, but I did, not moving the big weight on the scale, but I did, etc. This year I will get back on track. I decided to train for another triathlon. This makes me do more cardio, which hopefully will help. I will still lift weights because I enjoy that more. Then there is food...I have weight loss deals with a friend of mine. So hopefully that will help us both.

    We can do it, I certainly don't want to go back to 320 like I was.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    maxit wrote: »
    How do you get back at it? Start by logging all (ALL) your food. Then make adjustments to what you eat. It's not rocket science.

    This forum isn't only for seeking information, it's also for "support", which sometimes is just about having your feelings and struggles acknowledged and to commiserate with similar folks.

    I gained back much more than 22lbs, so I definitely knooooow how you feel. But good for you deciding not to let it go any further. It is SO scary easy to pile the weight back on, I added 45-50lbs to my body before I even "noticed" (I'm sure I had an awareness but I was clearly ignoring it. Plus all my clothes are stretchy so no size changed).

    You just apply the same determination that you used before :)
  • wolfehound33
    wolfehound33 Posts: 1,320 Member
    I feel your pain, I lost 100lbs over 4 years, but in the past two I've put back on 50. I know I am solely responsible for this, and it is time to get things back in line.

    For me to start, I am looking back over old food journals and pics to help with motivation, and to give me some guidelines on where to begin. Starting is always the hardest, so I know I have to start slow, and also that I won't just lose that 50lbs I put back on overnight. It took two years to put it back on, so I need to give myself some time for it to come back off.

    Be patient, you know what works, just get back to what you were doing.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    once you lose the weight to prevent from gaining it back you need to keep yourself on track. its a lifestyle change. once you lose the weight stay at or around maintenance. I know its hard but thats the only way to keep the weight off long term.its very easy to gain the weight back if you get off track. I wish it were easy but its not. but you can do it so good luck
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    You've done the hard bit, you've decided enough is enough and it's time to start going in the right direction again before you back-track any further. I'm 128lbs down at the moment, but was 134lbs down at one point, haven't stopped logging here but was too lapse with my eating in December! Happy to support you if you want to add me? I'm plugging away at it and hope to lose another 44lbs this year. Rather than retreading old ground you may find it helpful to reset your weight so your ticker shows just this year's loss? But you may wish to leave it how it is and take pride in what you have achieved since your heaviest. Shame is a pointless emotion, we're all works in progress and will slip up many times!
  • tesha_chandler
    tesha_chandler Posts: 378 Member
    The best thing you can do is surround yourself with people who are good examples! Make friends who will motivate you to stay on track. I work with some fitness/health nuts and I wouldn't dream of eating bad in front of them lol
  • LittleTikiBirdy
    LittleTikiBirdy Posts: 11 Member
    Hey guys, I had a similar experience. I bit the bullet and lost 14lb last year to finally achieve my dream weight, but over a period of 3 months, I gained it all back. After all that effort, too. I know I can do it again, but it is just so hard to start. I feel like before, it was just a matter of willpower, but now I feel like I have less energy than before and reducing calories makes me feel extra tired and I'm afraid that I will be grumpy at work. I don't want to make the people around me have to suffer for my past greedy nature. Perhaps it will be even harder, and for that I'm very disappointed. So far I have been able to reduce my intake from 2300 a day by 50 calories per day for 2 weeks though, and I am starting to feel like I am gaining control over my intake again. Going straight to 1200 (or lower) like many of my friends suggested was just unrealistic for me at this stage, but small and gradual changes have helped. I hope I can keep this up and I hope you wonderful people can find the strength to hit your daily goal today.
    xx
  • carrieEL
    carrieEL Posts: 16 Member
    Why is there not a love button under all your post, because I would press love on everyone's post...I feel good today here sipping on my coffee reading all these msg..I can see I'm not alone and that i have hope and encouragement to keep going..lots of great ideas..I love the last thing you wrote Littletikibirdy...I hope you wonderful people can find the strength to hit your goal TODAY...I am going to take that msg and remind myself to do it day to day. I tend to want it right away but like a few of you said above..it took this long to gain, it will take this long to lose...Thanks everyone...would be awesome to keep in touch to motivate each other..if you would like please add me as a friend :)
  • carrieEL
    carrieEL Posts: 16 Member
    P.S what does the flag mean on our msg?
  • oolou
    oolou Posts: 765 Member
    Flag is what you click if you want to warn the admin about a post.

    I'm empathising with everyone as I'm another who put weight back on after losing it initially. My problem was that I didn't have a plan to maintain my weight. This time around when I eventually hit my goal (in probably a year's time >.< ) I'll be thinking about maintenance too - which right now means that I'm trying to include in my current daily calories the same sort of food I would like to eat later on - just less of it.

    Good luck to everyone!
  • carrieEL
    carrieEL Posts: 16 Member
    Thanks oolou and good idea, I do have a lot of foods I love to eat that are healthy..If I could find a wine, cheese, chips and chocolate that works It would be great LOL But great point..I def need a maintenance plan when I get to my goal weight..I'm going to start working on that :)
  • sc0rpi0gal
    sc0rpi0gal Posts: 32 Member
    carrieEL wrote: »
    Thanks oolou and good idea, I do have a lot of foods I love to eat that are healthy..If I could find a wine, cheese, chips and chocolate that works It would be great LOL But great point..I def need a maintenance plan when I get to my goal weight..I'm going to start working on that :)

    Laughing cow cheese ☺
    Choc strawberry balls from aldi
    Delites
  • carrieEL
    carrieEL Posts: 16 Member
    Chocolate strawberry balls sound awesome...I wonder is this from the U.S...I'm in Canada, don't think I have come across these ? And yes I love the laughing cow cheese, I just eat too many :open_mouth: but portion portion portion right !!
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    I agree, I need a better plan at maintenance. I know where my weigh gain started and I will have a plan when it hits this time. The first time I trained for a triathlon, I was doing crazy amounts of cardio in the mornings and lifting in the evenings. I didn't do two a days every day, but probably 3 times a week. It was more cardio than I was used to and I ate more. Then I completed the triathlon and all that cardio stopped...I didn't stop eating. This time will be different!
  • duckiec
    duckiec Posts: 241 Member
    I'm in the same boat and so frustrated/sad/mad. Lost around 50, but have put 20 back on. I ate pretty much the same way, but stopped tracking as I started working out more, and was trying to respond to hunger cues not numbers. Well clearly that doesn't work as I gained 10+ lbs as I trained for my marathon. I ran it, then brought the mileage back down, also made a point to eat less/better (even though I wasn't tracking) but bam, an extra 5-7lbs anyway. Clearly the problem is food here, but I've been back on track there since the new year and have barely stayed the same, if not gained?! It is soooooo much harder, more depressing, and frustrating this time around!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    carrieEL wrote: »
    Hi Guys, I lost around 127 lbs over a 3 yr period but have been putting it back on very quickly, I have around 22 back on..I'm so frustrated and desperate ...I feel my old self coming back with bad habits and I know it's only me who can change and do this...just struggling right now and so I start here today along with a print out on my fridge with a pic of me weighing 309 lbs and a sign that says NO EXCUSES!!! Anyone in my boat? and how did you get back at it?

    Congrats on your weight loss! So, you've realized you know how to lose weight, but not how to do maintenance. (I have the same issue after I've lost weight.) You're back on track by making yourself accountable again.

    @rabbitjb what rules do you have for yourself in maintenance?
  • carrieEL
    carrieEL Posts: 16 Member
    So we all agree maintenance is key plus we are all frustrated ...I think we have a really good group of people on this board and we should try to keep helping each other. I was wondering if anybody knows if sticking to the same meals over and over is a good or bad idea...I have a few meals I love when it comes to healthy eating and prob a hundred more I'm not so in love with and this tends to drive me over the edge towards bad high fat high carb foods. I do love Greek yogurt, protein, veges and berries so I add them in my meals a lot even when I'm not watching what I eat or should I say tracking/ journaling. I also love mac and cheese, crackers, cookies, pizza and fried food..yup I could run to the fridge as I type :pensive:
    Also is there a way to make a group on here if we all wanted to keep in touch?
  • Ogopogo
    Ogopogo Posts: 58 Member
    edited January 2016
    carrieEL wrote: »
    Hi Guys, I lost around 127 lbs over a 3 yr period but have been putting it back on very quickly, I have around 22 back on..I'm so frustrated and desperate ...I feel my old self coming back with bad habits and I know it's only me who can change and do this...just struggling right now and so I start here today along with a print out on my fridge with a pic of me weighing 309 lbs and a sign that says NO EXCUSES!!! Anyone in my boat? and how did you get back at it?

    The thing I find is, you have to develop permanent habits. Having a diet/lifestyle that helps you lose weight but is not sustainable is not going to work. That show - the Biggest Loser - that lifestyle is not sustainable, you cannot maintain that forever.

    So, create some permanent habits. In the evenings, rather than snacking on chips and other crap, I eat broccoli, apples or protein bars. I now go to bed earlier because I was a notorious late night binge snacker.

    I no longer buy my lunch when at work because it is so easy to buy crap. I take a chicken wrap (with spicy mustard because you need some flavor) or something else that is reasonably healthy. I also bring apples, bananas and protein bars - if I have to eat, I want something more healthy than chocolate bars etc.

    Develop a habit of exercise even three times per week as well. Habits you can maintain forever is the key, IMO. I lost 35 pounds a year ago and gained back 30. :-( I am starting again now and down 9 already since Christmas!

  • sgalea333
    sgalea333 Posts: 1 Member
    I used to be 200lbs in 2008 but lost 50lbs and was 150 by 210. Because I got careless I gained all of the weight back plus 15 over 5 years. so far I lost 15lbs and I am back at 200. We can lose it all again if we put the effort in! Don't give up!
  • eskimum
    eskimum Posts: 9 Member
    i feel your pain I lost 110 lbs over the course of 9 months, got too thin then tried to put a few lbs back on using sugar (ice cream and buttertarts). I discovered how much i loved it and this christmas I had gained 80lbs back(2 years) i am back on track now but kicking myself for letting myself go this long. I turned 50 this year so definitely more difficult to take it off
  • VickiLogan11
    VickiLogan11 Posts: 99 Member
    I too lost & have started to gain now. It's only when I think enough is enough & find my willpower I had 1st time round that I am able to do something about it. When I kid myself I'm no different I just carry on eating rubbish
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    carrieEL wrote: »
    Hi Guys, I lost around 127 lbs over a 3 yr period but have been putting it back on very quickly, I have around 22 back on..I'm so frustrated and desperate ...I feel my old self coming back with bad habits and I know it's only me who can change and do this...just struggling right now and so I start here today along with a print out on my fridge with a pic of me weighing 309 lbs and a sign that says NO EXCUSES!!! Anyone in my boat? and how did you get back at it?

    Congrats on your weight loss! So, you've realized you know how to lose weight, but not how to do maintenance. (I have the same issue after I've lost weight.) You're back on track by making yourself accountable again.

    @rabbitjb what rules do you have for yourself in maintenance?

    I yo-yoed for decades, this time I actually felt myself able to do this and even get to my eventual goal weight area but as I got closer I changed my mindset to how am I going to live like this..and I reduced my cut to 250 so that I had a better guess on what it would be like for life

    And like Dory in Nemo I just keep logging, I keep doing all the things I was doing to lose weight...I weigh and log, I move more and I workout ..and it seems to be working to maintain...I slowly increased my goal calories and found that I still kept losing so increased and increased ...finally seemed to stabilise at a rate that is 1500-2000 calories per week over what MFP plus fitbit plus HRM seems to estimate

    I monitor my weight over rolling 6 - 8 weeks cycles using trendweight.com to check I'm remaining within my weight range and adjust

    Maintenance isn't, to me, going back to "normal" ...it's continuing doing what I did to lose ...but it's not onerous, it just is

    Hope that helps someone
  • zombiemomjo
    zombiemomjo Posts: 494 Member
    I'm right there with you! I went all the way back to the year of my successful weight loss and re-read all of my diaries. What did I eat, how many calories did I burn? And I'm trying to recreate that as well as I can. Also, getting an accountability partner that you check in with every single day helps. My best friends help me, and we set mini-goals for ourselves. We both log in every day for so many weeks? Then we get a day of bargain shopping together! We lose that first 10 lbs, we go out dancing! It worked so well the first time. I love food, too, so I have to have a plan that lets me eat those foods. I burn it to earn it! If I want popcorn tonight at the movies, I do more exercise to account for it. It works! I just have to live it now and in maintenance mode. If you don't like exercise, you have to find something that you do love. Rockin' Body was THE program that got me moving. Love Shaun T!
  • Billy323
    Billy323 Posts: 182 Member
    Same boat. Working my way back down now. I have my original spreadsheet with weekly weights, measurements and some notes that I have been using to tweak my diet to be a little more effective. I did 70 pounds in 5 months and am already far ahead of that clip because of the changes I made.

    Basically I found it to be easier the second time around. I am also giving serious thought to what led me to regain and how I plan on fixing that.