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?

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.