Slippery slope

I lose ~50 in 2014 - going from 180ish to 130ish. Then stayed around 130 for a while. 2019-2021 I kind of lived between 130 and 150. Once close to 150 my clothes would stop fitting so I'd tighten up, start logging and make efforts to move more. But this year, for the first time since 2014, I allowed myself to go back over 150.

I say I allowed it, because I knew what would happen if I continued to eat whatever (over maintenance most days) while being inactive. And this time when I got close to 150 and clothes got tight: I bought bigger clothes. Got serious again beginning of June, when the scales read 158.4. I guess you could say that from January-May of this year I knew I'd eventually need to hold myself accountable but I let myself go anyhow. There was not anything that triggered this latest restart, more like I was mentally ready perhaps.

For me, "the moment" was looking at the scale one day and realizing I'd crept up to my highest weight ever (at the very low end of obese--a real shock when I plugged my numbers into a BMI calculator, hadn't thought of myself as near obese)--January 2021, right in the middle of covid lockdown in Europe. That, and getting a cholesterol reading which, while not high enough to warrant medication, drew my attention to the need to stop and reverse course. Talked to a physician's assistant who told me about MFP. It truly was life-changing. Started planning what I'd eat the next day, adding up the calories, and sticking to it. One saving grace is that I always exercised, be it running, swimming, yoga, pilates. I just had to learn to think about what and how much I was eating. Lost 40 pounds by mid-2021 and have kept it off over a year, though I never feel like I'm "done." Cyndit1, I'm glad you had a moment and recognized it. That may be the hardest part.