@NovusDies Living vigilant is key.

I lost 80lbs, kept 60lbs off for 5-6 years. The 20-25lb regain is attributed to medical issues and a loosening of my vigilance because I was focused on the medical issues. But I consider myself a success for having kept off the 60 for so long. Despite the medical issues, I still managed to maintain the bulk of my initial weight loss.

Vigilance is key. I would also say that setting the correct expectation is key, as well. See, I didn't have the right expectations. I lost 80lbs and was flying high. I was losing a size every 10lbs. I was changing, rapidly. It felt good! It was awesome. I was booking at a solid 2lbs per week rate that makes my 2012 graph look positively amazing. Picture perfect.

But see, that's the easy part. Honestly, the easiest time to lose weight is when you have that extra fat. When I say 'easy', I definitely don't mean easy. I mean in perspective to what comes after that 2lb/week model. I started hitting the fluctuations. I hit the gravel trail after flying 110 down the freeway. Suddenly, it wasn't so quick. I floundered. I'd set incorrect expectations of myself and so I mismanaged my experience.

I landed, face first, in the dirt. So at 80lbs lost, I took a break to reconfigure my expectations. So 2013, I was all into heavy lifting. I'd discovered the forums here and was soaking in all the advice possible! I was trying EVERYTHING.

And inchworming my way to nowhere. Face in the dirt.

Then came the ups and downs in subsequent years with the medical issues, but, I learned valuable lessons. Vigilance is key, but so is managing your expectations. So is making sure that you're mentally prepared for when things slooooooooow doooooown. In 2018, after going through and managing (successfully) my health issues and dietary requirements and re-learning how to eat, I made a promise to myself: I would manage my expectations and find a path that works for me. That means soaking up advice and coming up with my own pathway through the hills. For me, it means gamifying this experience so I can make it fun. Finding things I like. Finding ways to make myself smile when I feel like I've slain another "game boss".

Sorry to derail this thread, but your post spoke to me. I'm terrified of maintenance, it is true. Because even with my general maintenance of at least 60lbs, I've not yet hit real maintenance. I floundered when I hit the overweight BMI category and started going slower. But this time, I was prepared, and I have not floundered when hitting the healthy BMI and now I feel like I'm swimming through viscious mud. I'm in the quicksand of my personal life adventure, but my previous experiences have taught me well.

This got long, hopefully not tl;dr long, but I will end with this: Vigilance, Managing your expectations, and not having "By X date I will be X weight!" goals were key (for me) in maintaining and in losing through this most difficult part of my weight loss determination.

I live off data, because things rarely change for me now. Inches don't drop off like water, they come off in them little bars between the inches on the tape measure that I always forget how to measure, so I flip the measuring tape over for the cms and mms. XD

@NovusDies Hug! That is quite a change! Having no expectations is a good start. You’ve got the tools, the data; when all else gets hard you know the process and how it works. That’s your strength! You’ve got this and we are all rooting for you!

I tell myself to remember this: 2lbs, 1lb, 0.5lb —> as long as it’s moving in the right direction, as long as I’m not giving up, then I’m effecting change and making the awesome happen.

Slow awesome is still awesome!