How did I get to this?

I feel you on this. So, so, so much. I have lost, regained, and lost weight repeatedly over the last several years. But, each time I regain less than I did the time before, and I'm able to maintain the healthy habits longer and longer. I have a lifetime (literally...I was forcefed to the point of abuse as an infant, even) of habits to manage, so I expect it to take several attempts and reboots. But over time, it is major progress both physically and mentally. My biggest turning point was about 5 years ago when I got angry. I took the sadness, despair, and disappointment in myself that you're feeling now, and I got MAD. Like, the kind of mad that doesn't go away. And since then I've lost, and regained, and re-lost, but the progress is still in the right direction.

Take the emotions you're having and use it to fuel your desire to be healthy. Focus on the healthy aspect. Accept that there will be ups and downs, but it's the long term "moving forward" that's important. One day doesn't matter. It's the big pile up of a whole lot of days that really counts. Make small changes and move slowly.

And I too, have the uncanny ability to gain very very fast. I have gained 20lbs in a month before, without blinking. That is 5 pounds a week, folks. That's such a short period of time your brain doesn't even have a chance to fully process exactly what is happening until it's already happened.

You can do this. You can change your life, and it does not happen in a day.

JessieCanDoThis wrote: »

Has anyone woken up and said “how did I really get to this?” Ever since I stood on the scale I can’t help but to think how fast I gained my weight. I’m now at my highest 273 lbs and I feel horrible about it. I want to be able to walk and not gasp for air, walk up stairs and be ok, jog, little things like get out the bed without feeling pain. I joined this app so hopefully I can get some friends for support. I’ve tried several times to lose weight and fell off. I want to be healthy and love the way I look. I just feel so fat and unattractive. My clothes don’t fit me. I don’t want to be sad about this but I can’t help to get in my moments.

was there one day, if you can't start,. at least stop your bad habits!

We didn't "get this way" over night. We can't fix it over night.

What worked for me was to restrict calories at my maintenance goal weight (for me that's between 1400 and 1500 calories because I am sedentary).

While not absolutely necessary because it's calories in and calories out (CICO), I try to eat as "clean" as I can and save the bulk of my calories for my evening snack / meal.

I weigh my food *all* of the time!

I try to stay at around 105 g carbs (and I try to get them from beans, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, winter squash, carrots, peas) and around 50 g sugar (mostly as they occur in milk, cheese, vegetables).

If I eat fruit or a grain I always have a protein with it.

I only eat half servings of rice or pasta and limit them to one or two each week at dinner. (The rest of the time I rely on the above listed vegetables).

I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs (2 for breakfast) with 100 g. of cold boiled white potatoes.

Lunch is 8 oz chopped veggie salad (I eat a lot of Trader Joe’s Healthy 8 Chopped Veggie Mix) with 3 oz of turkey breast. (chopped broccoli, carrots, green cabbage, red cabbage, jicama, green bell pepper, radish, and celery.)

My snack favorite is an EPIC bar (basically an exotic meat patty with flavoring) and hot tea or 1 oz of peanut butter and hot tea.

Dinners are very filling and vary a lot. I put together a shopping list based on a menu and sometimes do the recipes in advance of menu planning to make sure I can make them work with my nutrition goals.



I approach each day as a new day and if I was out of control the day before, I forgive myself and move on.