Well, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm new to this site, but not to weight loss. Last year I lost 68 pounds by calorie counting, healthier eating and exercising. Then, only 2.5 pounds from my goal I stopped. Stupid, I know. I had hit a plateau and had hardly moved in two months and I just got burnt out.

My intention was to eat at a maintenance level for a few weeks to get past the holidays and see if I could kick start the weight loss again. But that turned into a year of eating what I wanted when I wanted and here I am, one year and 40 pounds later. *sigh*

So, right now I'm at ~193 pounds and my biggest goal is to get below 150. That would put me within a healthy BMI range and my plan then is to see where I want to be. Oh, I suppose I should also add that I'm 31, female and about 5'5".

I'm married and have an 8 year old daughter. Both my husband and child are very supportive of my weight loss, but I'm finding it so much harder this time. Last time I was proud of every pound gone and glad that I was finally doing something. This time I only feel ashamed that I put the weight back on.

I was a member of another forum last time I did this and found it immensely helpful. The accountability and the support of people who know what it's like helped so, so much. But now I find that forum is sort of dying. So many of the people I used to know on there are gone and while I'd be perfectly willing to get to know the new bunch, there just doesn't seem to be much posting there. So, I thought I would give this site a try. ^_^

Hi Mizzie. I'd say you came to the right place! This forum is very active and if you look around you will see there is something for everybody here. I look forward to getting to know you.

MIZZIE ~ this is a great place for support; and continuously active like Misti mentioned -- we've been here for some time as you can see. We have all been at the same place you are now; and you have learned that you need to pace yourself a little better. Plateaus and stalls happen, but you can also aim for other NSV's (non-scale victories like inches, sizes, and mini-goals) as you tweak your plan for the long-term this time.

Mizzie ~ You pretty much just told my story. I'm in the same boat with you. You're not alone. I started Jan. 2, 2011 and lost over 50 lbs by mid May. I thought I had a grip on things and told myself it would be ok to eat at the new Mexican cafe that just opened up on May 12...then get right back on plan. That didn't happen. I went totally out of control. Gained it all back. Finally, started back on plan Nov 6, and have been sticking with it...haven't weighed myself yet...hopefully I'm back to losing. It's very depressing to be in this situation. I was just a few lbs away from goal when I blew it. Seems harder this time. I keep telling myself that I won't let that happen again...that I've learned my lesson...but at the same time, I still think about all the yummy food that I miss...Hope I can do this. Good luck! Just wanted you to know that you're not alone. All the best to you.

you're not alone. i lost tons. i regained. i'm back. i'm hopeful. we can only keep going forward. don't look back. all that matters is you are still moving forward.

Thanks for the kind welcomes everyone! While I don't like to think that other people have had problems, it's also nice to know that I'm not alone.

It's just frustrating because I had thought I had made a life time change in my eating habits and activity level. It's really amazing how easy it is to revert back to old ways. Well, if anything it's been a learning experience and hopefully I can take that and not make the same mistake again.