I feel like Ive ruined my diet. How can I recover after gaining weight and inches?
 

So, im a 15 year old girl, (im 5'8-5'9) Ive been trying to lose weight since February 2012. For a while I was doing great. I had lost over 50 Pounds. I started at 251, and was down to around 200. I felt great and my self confidence was getting a little better. Then, starting Christmas, it all went downhill. I couldn't go work out a lot because of the winter weather, and I had an ankle injury. Also, because of all the holidays, I was eating a lot. And after Easter, I was hit with a lot of stress, and I couldn't stop eating. Today I restarted my diet, and now I am also more serious because of the inches ive gained.
(I worked out today and burnt over 600 calories, but was a little bit over my 1550 calorie limit)
Because of these reasons, I have gained around 20 pounds. I am now around 215-220.
Ive gained a lot of inches around my waist, hips and bust.
My waist went from around 34inches to 38.
My hips went from around (I think) a 41 or 42, to 44.
And my Bust went from like 40 or 39 inches, to 42 or 43.

How can I recover from all this? Its seriously hard on me? Any advice?

ShelbyJo I am definitely not an expert as I just started here this month....but at 15 and already in this path you are AWESOME and I am totally jealous! You might have gained some but you are still closer than when you started your journey. I wouldn't look at it as what you gained but its more like a fresh start if you lost 50 pounds before you already know you can do it, not much you can do about the fast but you can work towards your future and just take better decisions from now on and remember how good it felt and maybe that will motivate you?!

Your experience is EXTREMELY common. Losing weight is hard. You reacted to the deprivation by letting go and overeating -- totally normal. I myself have yo-yoed 6 or 7 times in my life. The challenge for all of us is to find a way of eating we can live with for the long haul. It's not easy, but definitely doable. That's what I'd focus on if I were you. As you continue to experiment with different eating plans, keep asking yourself: Can I eat this way long-term without feeling too deprived? Use the answer as your guide.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Freelance

You're very young. You haven't "ruined" anything--you're just struggling with a difficult health challenge.

Just like falling off a bike or a horse--the only thing to do is climb back on and keep trying. You can do it! We believe in you!

Listen to Freelance, she knows! I was going to type almost the exact same thing. Find what works for you! Part of your previous eating/exercise plan worked for you! Now figure out what part that was. Keep that part, and the parts that didn't work, tweak!

In the past 2 1/2 years, I have tweaked my diet 8-9 times to meet the medical challenges I have, the changing weight, and changing the types of exercise I was doing. Some changes were amazingly successful, others failed miserably. But eventually, you will get it!

I wish I would have started when I was 15. I would have saved myself a lot of weight loss (at 15 I was only 200 pounds instead of 350), and a lot of mental work from things I did to myself in my 20's. Good for you! :carrot::carrot:

Look at the glass half full instead of half empty. If you think about it you have already lost about 30 pounds from your original starting weight. Good for you for stopping the regain NOW! Be proud of yourself and just power on. I wish I had done it when I was your age.

I agree with freelance and ikesgirl. There are going to be many times throughout life that you have to start over on something, and not just weight loss. I would encourage you to view it as a lesson learned, garner what information you can about what worked and what didn't from your past experience, and start again. There is no shame in it, not at all. Too many of us feel that way and it keeps us from trying again. This is hard, but it can also be rewarding.

FYI - I started at 269, got down to around 190, and shot back up to 255. I feel your pain, and it is very difficult, but you CAN do this, and if you follow the advice of others here and ask yourself 'Is this sustainable?' then it can be a lifelong change.

*hugs*