Weight relapse (gained 20+ pounds)

Aliaatreides04
Aliaatreides04 Posts: 3 Member
edited March 2022 in Health and Weight Loss
I was on a consistent healthy diet and exercised 4 days a week and lost 18 pounds in 6 months, but then earlier this year I had enormous stresses in my life which cause me to stress-eat and gain everything back and more. Felt like giving up, but downloaded MFP to try and restart my weight loss journey. Any tips on how I can stop losing hope and lose these pounds instead? It feels so much harder to do than before, I'm losing way lesser pounds per 2 weeks than I did before and I don't know why, I'm doing what I did earlier, which was cutting out junk food (I did have some cheat days though) and walking. But I switched walking with biking now. Is that slowing me down somehow?

edit: I used to walk 30 minutes earlier in a day, now switched to 20 minutes of MTB biking.
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Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    "But I switched walking with biking now. Is that slowing me down somehow?"
    Highly unlikely but both activities have a huge range of duration and therefore calorie burns.
    Without detail nobody can do anything but guess, your diaries are private so there's no clues.

    Question for you....
    Which is more important for your weight loss - direction or speed?

    And a follow up would be which is more stressful - fast weight loss or steady weight loss?
  • Aliaatreides04
    Aliaatreides04 Posts: 3 Member
    sijomal, thank you for your reply! I would say direction. I'm not interested in fast weight loss, I'm interested in a sustainable gradual weight loss.

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    "edit: I used to walk 30 minutes earlier in a day, now switched to 20 minutes of MTB biking."

    That's not going to have any significant impact on your weight loss but if a novel exercise causes soreness/inflammation you might have a short term temporary water weight spike.

    If you think of weight loss as a game of thousands of calories (3,500cals per pound of fat) short duration exercise really has very little bearing on things.
    Which is fine as exercise is really for health/fitness/enjoyment.

    If you are prone to stress eating then minimising stress makes sense, if that means losing slowly that really is OK. Look a few years into the future and the speed of loss won't matter - getting to goal and staying there will though. Be kind to yourself. :flowerforyou:
  • _Hannahlouise_
    _Hannahlouise_ Posts: 16 Member
    Hey as others have said I doubt the switch from walking to biking has impacted. It can feel more difficult the second time around or so our head tells us. Stress can impact on weight loss take it easy and a day at a time
  • starryeyedsnoozer
    starryeyedsnoozer Posts: 89 Member
    Me too. I gained over 2 stone during the pandemic and had a lot of stress and turned to food. Starting again this last week but I’m so upset with myself for losing my way.
  • BarbMessimer
    BarbMessimer Posts: 362 Member
    Why not try just eating 2 wholesome meals a day and no snacking. It will give your body a chance to digest your food better and detoxify. I've lost 42 pounds in the past year that way and am keeping them off. Feel really good too... lots of energy.
  • pridesabtch
    pridesabtch Posts: 2,464 Member
    starryeyedsnoozer wrote: »
    Me too. I gained over 2 stone during the pandemic and had a lot of stress and turned to food. Starting again this last week but I’m so upset with myself for losing my way.

    No need to beat yourself up. The past is gone. You, like me have started over. Have you done well today? Great job! Make it a habit. If you have an off day, don't let it turn into multiple days, and you'll be fine. Cut yourself some slack. That was a hard lesson for me...

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