Last year I managed to lose over 40 pounds. Unfortunately I ended up getting sick and so for months was pretty much bedridden, in extreme pain. When I got better I was so out of my weight loss routine that I gained back over 20 pounds. I feel so disenchanted and like I can't get back whatever it was inside me that pushed me to lose all that weight. I keep trying and again and again keep slipping. I just want to get back into my routine and lose the weight I've regained, but the more I think about how far I've slipped, and the fact I have to now re-lose weight I worked damn hard to lose the first time round, the more depressed I become. Any advice from fellow regainers?

Ugh I hate that... I'm so sorry!!!

Just take it one day at a time. If you dwell on your slip you'll just make yourself frustrated. You did it before... you KNOW you can do it again!

You can do it. You did it before, you know how your body best loses the weight, and I'm sure you remember the routine you had before... you just have to strap in and start in on it. Discipline yourself to get back on track. I also lost weight and have since regained it... it seems slow going looking at the scale and seeing the weight I am now, and remembering how hard I worked before and then gained so much back.

You just have to do it. If being depressed about it is keeping you from starting in on the weight loss wagon again, just remember that every day you mope will be one more day that you could have re-started. A week later you could have lost a couple pounds, a few months later you could be back down to where you started before. Come join us on the 100 lb club!

I regained more than 50 lbs. in one year so I know how tough it is. I have chronic daily migraines and it's a daily struggle but I sure do feel worse when I"m heavier. I read something here that really resonated with me: If food is not the problem then food is not the solution. I try to remember that but it's hard because when I feel ill and can't workout, it gives me some temporary comfort.

Anyway, my advice is not to think too far in advance. It's amazing how much better I felt after I was on track for a month. My depression was lifted for the most part. Also, keep in mind that you didn't gain all of your weight back. You're twice as far as you were when you first started and you're so much wiser now!

The point is to love yourself and commit to it. Consistency is key. No matter what. If you do slip, jump right back on. Get back on track and stick to your commitment like glue. You absolutely can get back to where you were and it can be done without exercise, btw.

I just came back because of a similar situation. It can feel so discouraging. The others are right though--feeling depressed about it wont get us regainers anywhere. The only thing you can do is *do*, and keep doing. If you just do the right things, you'll get into the groove and find yourself feeling so much better for it. If you did it before, you can do it again. Look at it as a process to be enjoyed--getting healthy again! If you focus on feeling better and better every day, then you'll do so much better.

(Now if only I do this too. lol)

Thank you all so much for your great advice. I started back on track today and hope to just take it one day at a time until I'm back in a routine and seeing progress. I think once I lose even a little of what I've regained I'll start feeling better. You're right, luckymommy, that I haven't gained back all the weight I lost, which is a positive thing. I just want to get back on track now before I DO gain back all that weight and then some, which I'm sure is where I'm headed if I don't kick myself in the butt now! Thanks again.

I did the same thing. I lost 65 lbs then got injured and stopped working out as per doctor orders. Apparently that means eat whatever you want and drown your sorrows in food... 6 months later I gained it ALL back. I re started 2 weeks ago and am down 7 lbs already. yay me! (I realize much of this is water weight).

I hate that everyone around me looks at me if they have not seen me in a while and I can read their thought bubble "OMG she gained it all back! She looks horrible!" I try to focus on how it will feel to get there again and that each day is one step closer if I stay on track. I still am not back to pre-injury workouts by any stretch but my diet is under control and I do as much exercise as I can without pain (again doctors orders!)

We CAN do it again.

Weight management isn't a pass/fail course. It's just part of a self-care routine. If you weren't able to shower, brush your teeth, or comb your hair because you were sick, would you have difficulty returning to those good habits as soon as you were able? Would you decide "what's the use" and vow never to shower or brush your teeth ever again?

We treat weight issues differently, almost ritualistically. The culturally correct ritual to weight gain is to gain it all back (or more) before "starting over."


There is no starting over, just moving on, standing still, or falling backwards. You have a choice, and moving forward isn't any easier or harder than we choose to make it.

It's very difficult to break the ritualistic response. We've been culturally brainwashed to wait until we gain all the weight back before "starting over." Refuse to copy the "normal" pattern.

It's easier said than done, I know. I'm struggling with a health-related gain myself. The health issues are ongoing, so I'm fighting on several levels - dealing with meds and stress that contribute to appetite and weight gain, feeling like I don't have the time or energy to care for myself, feeling I deserve to entertain and comfort myself with food, "because I'm not feeling well..."

It's a never-ending battle against the weight-related rituals I absorbed simply by living in a culture where these rituals are commonplace. The rituals and traditions are so ingrained that they are my default setting, my autopilot. I can and do rebel, but to do so, I have to invest conscious effort. That's perhaps the hardest lesson to learn, because I want effective weight loss strategies to be my default. I want to have healthy habits without having to think about it, but that's not likely to happen, but it's really not that much different than personal hygiene. I'm not one of the people who brushes their teeth and showers while still half asleep. I have to talk to myself... "I want to stay in bed, but I have to get up now. Time to shower...".

Maybe one day my autopilot will be healthy habits, but for now at least, talking, coaching myself through it is the only effective option.

I'm really sorry to hear that.
I hope you find the strength to work out and lose the weight again.