Hey guys. Back in January I decided it was finally time to ditch some of this excess weight so I started to hit the gym and the dieting pretty hard. Over 4 months I lost 31 lbs and I was down to 259 lbs. 259 lbs! I hadn't had been that low in 2 years at least. I was so happy, I was feeling so much smaller. My clothes were too big, I was fitting into some of my old clothes again. I was into a XL in Old Navy again. I was feeling pretty good about myself.

I don't know what really happened, but I stopped counting calories. I couldn't afford my gym membership. I realize now I could have done other things instead, but the motivation really wasn't there. I started gaining it back, but I sat at around 270 for a few months. Well I just weighed myself again and I'm back at 290 lbs. I am so down. I'm do depressed. My XL's don't fit anymore. I'm not fitting into my old jeans. I feel bigger now than I did the first time around.

I'm working towards getting a gym membership back but I'm just wondering what everyone else did when they slipped. How did you start back up again?

Oh, I know what you mean. I lost a lot a while ago, then lost my job and moved across the country to a town I don't love where I ate my boredom, and voila! I'm finally about where I was when I joined this site the first time! Frustrating.

I think what you have to do is just see it as a fresh start. I mean, yes, you have a ways to go, but you are going to get there, and you know you can because you HAVE. AND you know how easy it is to lose sight of healthy choices and fall into bad habits, do this time instead of wandering the wilderness, you have already blazed a trail! So just get back on it and this time don't take the wrong turns that got you back here. I know it's easier said than done--believe me I do--but this feeling you have right now? It's a good teacher. Use it to get yourself to where you don't have to do this again.

Also, I've been lurking on the maintenance boards here and elsewhere even though that's a long way away, and I think it's both motivating and comforting to plan how I'll handle that and what pitfalls to avoid. That's an area I've done a bad job of mapping for myself, but there are guides.

I know it's hard, most of us have been there. i had been yo-yo dieting for a few years and when I was successful at loosing a bit of weight, I would gain it shortly after. It took quite a while for me to realise a lot of it had to do with the fact that I need to be in the right mind set. For me I had to find the right program and be mentally ready if that makes any sense. You have done it once before you can do it again, I know it's easier said than done but you just need to believe in yourself

I have done that so many times. I think that there are a lot of people who can relate to you.

Please try to not be hard on yourself. I have to tell myself that all of the time.

My weight has affected my ability to walk. I had to cancel two trips this year. I also had a brother who died from obesity. I decided that I must lose weight. Having all of the excess weight has really impacted my life.

I wish you the very best.

Awww, kendraBear -- so sorry to read this... Like those above me said, so many of us can relate.

What did I do when I regained all the weight and then some? I started over again with what I already knew worked for me -- healthy food, portion control, and exercise. Not glamorous, but for me, that's the recipe that works. Oh, and of course -- checking in here every day.

Best of luck to you; you can do this!

Been there, done that -- many times (unfortunately). The good news is -- you know you can lose the weight -- you KNOW you can because you've done it!

When it happens to me I start over with the same plan of attack that Newleaf uses: healthy food, portion control, and exercise. Lots of attitude adjustment, too. I stop giving in to my inner child who isn't as focused on long-term goals and health as the grown up me has to be.

Aw hon, so many of us have been there. In my personal experience, I was extremely proud to have once lost 30 pounds, only to backslide horribly and ended up packing on not only the 30 pounds I'd originally lost, but an additional 100 on top of it! I've had to have several talks with myself on my journey back down, and it usually involves a lot of writing and planning.

First of all, make lists in order to figure out exactly why you want to lose weight. It can be for any reason of course, but the most important aspect is doing it strictly for yourself. From there, list out ideas of how you can put a plan into motion in order to make it happen. You already know what works for you, so you've already got a great base to start with! Review these lists every day. If you can, keep them in a place where you'll revisit them over and over, like the fridge door, the bathroom mirror, even wallpaper on your PC or the lock screen of your phone. Or like me, keep a food/fitness journal; I use mine to track everything, as well as keeping lists of inspirations and ideas in order to keep doing my best every single day.

You can do this! Good luck to you.

Hugs KendraBear! We've all been through it, and we all know how hard it is to get going again. That first day back on a diet is tough ... luckily the second day is easier ... and the third day easier still.

I tried and tried to restart and each time I would fail. Finally, I got a diagnosis of pre-diabetes and realized that my weight would never stop going up. It got to the point where gastric bypass became a viable solution. To satisfy my insurance though, I would need to diet for at least a year to prove there was no alternative.

So I did something drastic, and signed up for a diet class for a diet that had worked for me before. Actually, I had my husband sign me up, because I knew I would be too embarrassed to 'waste' his money. My competitive nature meant that I would want to be the 'best': lose the most weight, stay on the strictest plan. That gave me the support I needed to get going again, and once I was back on plan it's been pretty easy to keep it up.

So good luck! Try something that worked for you before and really give it your all. Recruit your family and friends as a support network (so important with the holidays coming up). Don't worry about a gym membership just yet: start the diet ... for me, the healthy eating ended up saving me more than enough to pay for a rec center pass.

Hugs Kendrabear! I'm sorry for your gain. I have lost and gained again myself but never lost that much and then gained it again. I hope that this won't break you. What am I saying? Of course it won't break you. I've only been here for a day and I already know that people here are some of the toughest ones in the world.

I don't have an advice for you, being so new here, but know that you are not alone. We are here for you, and I'm sure that you'll lose some again soon. Hugs again!

That has happened to me more times that I can remember, I know how frustrating that is, it's depressing and feels awful to throw away all your hard work.

How does that happen? I think we have no memory of what it feels like to be overweight, along with we believe it won't happen to us again. After all, a cookie won't get me fat, right? WRONG!!!! A cookie does get me fat, and I need to remember!!! It's insanity!!! Life gets in the way and we forget to take care of ourselves.

I think accountability is key. If you stop counting calories then that doesn't really work for you, so you need to use another method to catch yourself in the slip.

This time around I am using the scale, as in I weight myself daily no matter how hard it is or if I binge the night before. I need to be responsible for myself and it has worked so far, as I caught myself and prevented a catastrophe. And yes slips do qualify as catastrophe to me. When I don't weigh daily, I am blissfully in denial of the weight I am putting on. Of course that blissfulness come back to bite my in my behind!!!

Anyway, back on the horse, you can do this, you did it once and you can do it again!!! The first days are the hardest, after day 3 it gets easier!!!

Kendrabear, your post is such a wake-up call for me. I have been "lurking" here for a while, but this is my first post. My weights are EXACTLY what yours were. Starting weight 290; lost 31, and now I'm hovering up and down by 2 pounds for the last couple weeks.

DH lost some weight quickly, but he's sliding back into his old habits (not gaining, just not trying to lose more), which makes it harder for me to stay on track. I know I can't blame him, and I have to make my own choices. I feel better and look better, and I really want to lose 60-70 more. But it would be sooo easy to let that weight creep back on. I've done it before, so I definitely know where you're coming from. I could be writing that same post in another couple months, if I don't get myself back in gear fast!

Start over by making good choices, just for today. Then deal with tomorrow when it gets here. You know you can do it, because you've done it before!

I'm in the same boat as you-- just recently gained it all back through depression and laziness...

i am back at it, thinking that i can't think about where i've been but where i'm going to be. there's no point in beating myself over the past, as long as I use it as motivation for the present. Also, I have all these clothes that I can't fit anymore and am determined to get in them...

Regarding exercise I would not focus on a gym membership. There are literally a TON of exercises you can do in and around your house for free. For instance squats. Just squatting down is an incredible exercise and also very hard (don't overdue it). You can run/walk around the neighborhood. Even running in place inside is worth it.

Get your heart rate up 30 mins a day and there will be amazing changes. And for me trying to cut back on carbs really helped. It helped brake my eating too much. It reset my cravings for sugar. It was wonderful. I think those are the one two punch of starting out successfully, lowering carbs (first few weeks will be hard) and moving more.

If you can't get good running shoes now I would focus on walking and at most a very very slow jog. But it will help tremendously.

Been there, done that. The worst was a few years ago when I lost 60 and gained 70. In fact I am back on today because I just gained back 15 lbs. of my most recent 36 lb. loss. I was doing pretty well all spring, summer came and I started slacking, then I stopped following my plan at all. Then I got into the "I'll start next Monday, so I better have all my favorites this weekend to say goodbye". Hello 15 lbs, half of what I had lost since March. But I am stopping now instead of heading back up to the top weight again.

The big change, I started weighing before the clothes didn't fit. I confronted the number and decided to stop here! I tend to just avoid the scale and reach for the loose clothes when I am fooling myself into thinking one more treat won't count. This time I hope to practice awareness and keep journaling and weighing. My hope is that I will be too ashamed to watch those numbers increase daily.

How did I start back up? I confronted the numbers, I restarted the program that worked best for me in the past, and I made a commitment to log in here everyday.

Then the most painful thing, I adjusted my signature to show the gain
Just trying to face the truth and move on. You have taken the first step by asking for support.

Sorry this is so long, I think I am talking to myself here. Hope something I said helps.

Yup, add me to the list.......lost 70 gained back 80. For a time I wallowed in it. Just no motivation to start again. I found that there is a lot of good advice on these types of sites and started counting calories. So far it's sticking with me.
Good luck to you, starting again is hard but you can do it!