Gained it all back ...

You’re human and I’m in the same spot as you - but I can tell you that you’re going to be ok! The hardest part is not losing it but maintaining it while life happens. Take it one day at a time!

While I totally agree with the advice to "take one day at a time," I would add that you should give your old routine - working out (try at home for now!), meal prepping/planning, and accurately logging on MFP a short, doable period of time: say 30 days. Set that goal for yourself and do everything you can to stick to it. You won't get back in one month to where you were 2 years ago, but, after 30 days, I bet you'll feel better and, MORE IMPORTANTLY, will feel motivated again to be disciplined to keep at it. It will be amazing for you to feel that positive bit of difference! And, in the meanwhile, be forgiving of yourself as we have all been there. Best of luck!

I am in the same boat. I lost 32lbs then gave up smoking and lost motivation ate everything in sight and gained back 28lbs I also gained Osteoarthritis so exercising went out the window.

However I started slowly just with logging and trying to stay within my calorie goal and hey presto I have lost 17lbs it has taken me 18 months though. But I am back on track now with my eating habits.

But losing that weight has motivated me to keep going. The Arthritis has improved with the weight loss so the next step is to get back to the gym. I don't care what people think. This is not about them.

I have looked back at my food logs to remind myself what I was eating while I was losing and I remember how great I felt when I was lifting up heavy things.

You can do this, just one step at a time. Be kind to yourself, crap happens in our lives, we all have set backs at times.

I felt the same as you. I lost 70 pounds on nutrisystem and as soon as I quit nutrisystem i resumed my old eating habits. I didnt learn a thing from that experience even though i should have. Then I tried it a second time and didnt fail per se but didnt succeed either. I lost 30 pounds that time. 3 weeks ago i was the heaviest I have ever been weighing in at 324 pounds. It is very very difficult to get into healthy eating habits when its more pleasurable to eat a big greasy cheeseburger with bacon and onions and tomatoes... and jalapeños than to have sex. Hahaha. Sad but true at least for me.

So instead of telling myself I’m destined to be fat or I can’t get motivated I found a picture of me 20 years ago when I was just shy of 215lbs and took a current picture before I got in the shower - currently 324 pounds and taped them to the mirror in my bathroom so it was the first thing I see everyday.

Thats my suggestion to you. Find a old picture of you when were thinner and take a picture now before you get the shower or something... just something so you can see all of you and not just your face or body covered up with baggy clothes. Tape those to the mirror and look at them everyday. The mind is an expert at rationalizing behavior and visual reminders are excellent sources of motivation

Keep your head up, there's no shame it starting over, but there is shame in giving up entirely. Also, other people in the gym are paying far less attention than you think, don't let that bother you. Another alternative is to create your calorie deficit solely through nutrition and not to focus on exercise, it all depends on the type of goals you want to achieve.

Take this as an opportunity to examine and improve your mindset; what can you learn from having to start over?Rather than just trying to get yourself motivated to execute the plan you used before, build up positive habits that support your path when your motivation doesn't cut it and breaking the negative habits that got you back at this weight. When healthy behavior is supported by habit over motivation it will make your routine more resistant to gaining weight back in the future when trying to maintain. Make the path you want to follow the one of least resistance, that way you'll be more likely to stay on track even when you don't feel like it. This looks different for everyone and will be something you'll need to discover for yourself with some measure of trial and error.

Strategies I use:
- pre-plan/log as much food as possible every day
- I prefer to work out in the morning to keep other things from getting in the way in the afternoon/evening, though this might not fit your schedule; I've found it's what works best for me.
- prepare my preworkout drink and layout my workout clothes with my work clothes every night, this makes it easier to roll out of bed when my alarm goes off at 5am
- stay accountable when grocery shopping. My wife and I often grocery shop together; one of us is usually enough of an adult to tell the other not to put any variety of unhealthy indulgences into our cart.

Rather than just try to grind out the plan you used in the past, really think about what will get you where you want to be/feel/weigh, and what your lifestyle requisite to maintaining at that weight looks like. The reality for some is that there needs to be some measure of calorie/macro logging to maintain weight effectively. For others there are certain foods to avoid because they feel they can't control themselves around those items. Defining this more clearly for yourself will only continue to support a long-lasting successful plan this time.

Dont get me wrong @88olds I still love a cheeseburger with all the fixings... but eating a slider which what I do now is far from my past which have been the 1/2 pound monstrosity from Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Haha

Almost similar story as mine. Last year I gained about 50 pounds (went from 200 to 247) and I was too embarrassed to pretty much go anywhere.

So I started my journey with Insanity Max:30 so I could be in the comfort of my own home and not let others see me. I’m regaining that confidence to soon be able to get back into the gym. I’ve dropped 12 pounds in the first month with this program! Ive also done a 5 day water fast after Christmas which detoxed my body which helped me lose weight as well. So since Christmas I’ve lost 26 pounds and now weigh 221. I’d like to get back to 200.

Don’t give up hope! I know it’s not easy. It’s hard to keep the motivation. I start everyday pulling up motivational videos on YouTube to get my day started.

“It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take and keep going. That’s what winners do”

Best of luck on your journey Kelsey,

Cullen Calderon

Me too! I felt like I was reading this about myself!
We can do it girl! Find an accountability partner that will actually hold you accountable. I find that helps me stay motivated.

Good luck

I was so nervous and self conscious to go to the gym that it took me a month to actually set foot in there after I got my membership. What I learned is: No one was looking at me. No one even noticed me until I started saying "Good morning" to people. I still get self conscious some days, but I think that everyone is cheering for everyone else in their heads. And that's what I do, when I feel weak or like people can see things jiggling on me- I start to mentally cheer for everyone else in the gym. One by one. Then I mentally cheer for myself. Sounds dumb, but distracting yourself with positive thoughts can help.

you havent been to that gym in 6 months ??? .... people wont remember you from 6 months ago. Without meaning to make you sound insignificant, but you are just one face in thousands that people see every day of there lives so unless 6 months ago you did an improptu gangnam style dance in the squat rack, I dont think anyone will (1) notice you (2) remember you (3) remember what you looked like before if they remember you at all

Its all in your head ... be brave !

I've been a yo-yo dieter for a lot of years and everytime I lose I gain it back with a few extra pounds. I'm back again to try this. I lost 40 lbs 2 years ago (my goal for my birthday that year) by going to the gym and watching calories. I see someone was surprised you gained it back so fast, but I did too. I gained all 40lbs back and more in 4 mths. (I thinks that's due to my all or nothing additude (which I have to get rid of) I can't afford to go to the gym this time so I'm going to start walking and hopefully lose again and keep it off for good. I wish I could give you an answer, but I'm looking for answers too, especially on how to keep it off.

Kelsey_Marge wrote: »

... i'm ashamed too. I feel like everyone will notice that I put the weight back on and judge me. ... I just feel so lazy and unmotivated. ... I just feel so crappy that all I want to do is eat junk to make me feel better...

What we think about food, eating, and our weight is the deciding factor between success and failure. It's a cognitive problem, in other words - not just a matter of physics. I suggest getting a copy of Beck Diet Solution or using the resources on the sites here:

http://diet.beckinstitute.org
https://beckdietsolution.wordpress.com

This is a cognitive behavioral approach to weight management. You still have to manage your input, but CBT will help you manage the thoughts that are sabotaging your efforts.

By the way, you don't need to exercise to lose weight.

lucerorojo wrote: »

^^ I am also shocked that you and the OP gained so much weight in just a few months. Did you and/or the OP lose the initial weight very quickly? You would have to eat a lot of extra calories every day to gain 10 lbs. in a month. I could see if someone had a very agressive deficit (more than 2lbs. per week) and eating under 1200 calories, that this could happen. One could lose 40 lbs. in 4 months but the hormones would hit back as soon as you were unable to control the eating. (which happens in times of stress) I'm no expert, but I would recommend that you start with a small deficit of no larger than 500 calories, meaning if your TDEE, is 2000, that you eat no less than 1500 calories, (or set up on MFP to lose .5-1 lb. per week) and take it slowly.

I've lost 43 lbs. since July 2017, and I can't imagine that I would regain them in 4 months. I plan to track for the rest of my life, but even if I couldn't, I now mentally think about how much I'm supposed to be eating in terms of calories and make decisions from that. I did not do this before tracking on MFP--. It is much easier for me to just track on MFP, but I think I would be able to hold back (unless something truly traumatic happened in my life) because I have learned something over the last 8 months that I've been dieting.

It took me about 4 1/2 mths to lose the 40lbs I exercised and tried to keep my net calories around 1200 -1400. I met my goal for Aug. (my birthday) and around Thanksgiving I started my old eating habits and by March gained it all back plus some. I am a junk food junky and don't eat most veggies and keeping a healthy diet is really hard for me.

Ilovecookies2001 wrote: »

lucerorojo wrote: »

^^ I am also shocked that you and the OP gained so much weight in just a few months. Did you and/or the OP lose the initial weight very quickly? You would have to eat a lot of extra calories every day to gain 10 lbs. in a month. I could see if someone had a very agressive deficit (more than 2lbs. per week) and eating under 1200 calories, that this could happen. One could lose 40 lbs. in 4 months but the hormones would hit back as soon as you were unable to control the eating. (which happens in times of stress) I'm no expert, but I would recommend that you start with a small deficit of no larger than 500 calories, meaning if your TDEE, is 2000, that you eat no less than 1500 calories, (or set up on MFP to lose .5-1 lb. per week) and take it slowly.

I've lost 43 lbs. since July 2017, and I can't imagine that I would regain them in 4 months. I plan to track for the rest of my life, but even if I couldn't, I now mentally think about how much I'm supposed to be eating in terms of calories and make decisions from that. I did not do this before tracking on MFP--. It is much easier for me to just track on MFP, but I think I would be able to hold back (unless something truly traumatic happened in my life) because I have learned something over the last 8 months that I've been dieting.

It took me about 4 1/2 mths to lose the 40lbs I exercised and tried to keep my net calories around 1200 -1400. I met my goal for Aug. (my birthday) and around Thanksgiving I started my old eating habits and by March gained it all back plus some. I am a junk food junky and don't eat most veggies and keeping a healthy diet is really hard for me.

That's really fast. You lost about 10 lbs. per month, or 2lbs. per week. Are you going to try again? As people say on MFP, you don't have to eat healthy to lose, you just have to eat in a deficit. When you maintain you need to know how many calories you have and don't go over. (Easier said than done of course).