[swells]

I've read many stories on here of those who have lost quite a bit, then gained some back and gone on to lose the rest and keep it off. I've recently managed to pack back on some of the pounds. This wasn't a short while and during part of the gain, I was trying to get back to losing. At this point, I am back to losing and happy that I've gotten back here. However, my excitement is nothing like it was. I used to get so excited for every pound lost, heck even just being able to wear a shirt that looked frumpy on me before was a major score. This time though, I'm not excited when the scale drops... It's like until I get back to where I was, it's not a happy thing anymore.
Has this happened to anyone else? Does it get better or was it not until you got to where you had been that the happiness comes back?

[Eliana]

Honestly, that "happy" feeling you're referring to didn't happen for me until I did get back to where I was. But it did come back!

What worked for me was switching my focus from weight to fitness as much as I could! It's a hard mental shift to make, but it's awesome if you can do it. I started focusing on fitness goals. I wanted to be able to run a 5K and I focused a lot of energy on that and celebrated each day I ran whatever goal I set for myself. I signed up for a spin class and set little goals for myself about getting through the class or putting on more resistance than I had before. I focused on a number of sit ups, a number of push ups, a weight increase when lifting, a rep increase, etc. I focused on how wonderful it felt to be able to go sledding with the kids and run up the hill more times than they did!

I also took numbers I hadn't paid attention to in previous attempts. I measured my waist, recorded my blood pressure, recorded my resting heart rate. I watched my heart rate on machines and thrilled every time it peaked in a lower decade despite equal perceived exertion.

Those kinds of things really helped to get my mind back where it needed to be. And I think it has helped make this a long term thing for me. It's good to get your mind off the scale.