Not literally. Here is the deal. I started in January '06 and lost 76 pounds. It was easy. I counted calories and worked out, it's not rocket science, right? When I hit that 76 pounds, I also hit Wonderland...then I got complacent. I slowly stopped eating right and stopped working out. I maintained for a while, then everything started to creep back on. Then lately, with summer, I have been drinking way too much beer and that leads to eating way too much food at night....I do okay during the day. So now, I am up 25 pounds or so. I have gained back 1/3 of what I lost. And today I say no more. No, **** no, you are done. I am uncomfortable in my clothes and my own skin. I feel bloated all the time. My size 18 jeans are tight, if I gain anymore, they are not going to go on. I need to go to the doctor for my annual, but I won't make the appointment, because he will scold me. And he was so very proud of me. I have tried to get back on track since the first of the year (when I had not gained very much back), to no avail. I have actually tried 5-6 times and can't seem to get it together.

It is SO EASY to slip back into your old habits and old lazy ways. And I vowed I would NEVER do that. Well, I guess my word is not very good. Liar. Here you are. Now what are you going to do about it??

Here is what I am going to do starting today.
Track everything in Fitday again
Increase exercise
Keep busy.
Make better choices.
Lay off the beer and cocktails.
Quit beating myself up and move on.

Thanks everyone, I just needed to vent.

At least you recognized the problem and are taking steps to correct it. Better at 25 pounds than 50! Many people do manage to turn a blind eye to themselves if the weight comes back, so you're ahead of the game that way.

You are right about it being easy to slip into old ways, I'm constantly fighting that battle myself. I think I'm going to have to weigh myself at least once a week, for the rest of my life so that the old weight doesn't slip back on me.

Welcome back! Atleast you didn't gain it all back! Just gradually get back into the healthy habits that helped you loose weight...One thing at a time
You can do it!

I agree with Tealeaf - catching it at 25 lbs is sooo much better than catching it at 50 lbs or even 100 lbs.

You have found the toughest aspect of weight loss - sticking to it for a lifetime. You have a wonderful opportunity to analyze what happened and how you can manage it better in the future.

You will face this particular issue again and again. It never ends or goes away. Eating well doesn't happen by accident, it requires thought and care every day.

likeiwse, i started in 2006 and lost three stone, this year has been a bit off the rails and I gained one stone back. After a few tears and a lot of tight trousers I decided to push harder, so here I am lost that extra stone and down a half more! I have reached my original goal of 147 and now aiming towards the 140. Im still sure i wont be happy when I get there, i think the 128-133 range will be my new target - but hey Ill see how it goes and how i feel at 140.

I've read four posts in the past few minutes and the common denominator in all of them is complacency. It must be some disease that's going around because I have a case of it also! I think I'm on the mend, though--I planned a week of healthy eating and am getting rid of one bad habit and starting a good habit. Hopefully all those things combined will spur me on to get back into that losing mode! It sure is hard to overcome!!!

You've done a good job catching yourself. Sure, you fell off the wagon, but you're climbing back in! WTG! Stick around and keep us updated as you re-lose those pounds (I'm working on a 10 pound re-loss myself). Good luck!

well done for taking action! you stopped before you gained it all back plus more which was the big mistake i made a couple of years back. anyways since your finding it hard now the best advice i could gie you was just pretend you were dieting for the first time like wen you started in 06 and remember how confident you were to lose weight and how easy it was

best of luck xxx

Good thing you recognized this when you did! You are right, it's too easy to fall back into bad habits again. But you are doing the right thing and catching it before it's too late. If you could lose 76lbs, you can lose 25. You already know what to do. And you aren't starting all over, just nipping it in the bud before that happens. So good job! Keep up the good work and the right mentality. You can do this!

I did that last year too. I lost half my goal and then met my boyfriend and started eating out all the time. I gained 7 of those pounds back. So, i had to re-lose those 7 and start back on my journey to my goal weight of 130. Man!!! If i hadn't gained that 7 pounds and started losing weight again, i'd be that much closer to my goal. But we can't cry over , "if only's". We can only be glad we caught it and start back on track.

Yeah I met my current husband almost 3 years a go (we have been married for over a year), and yeah we ate out ALL the time, and then after an eating trip to Vermont I stepped on the scale and was like 17 pounds heavier!!

So what do I do now to try and keep tabs on it? I weigh myself everyday, even though I always don't like the number it keeps me accountable. So yeah, its good to catch it sooner. I may not always lose, but I am trying real hard to not gain, that's important too. We only eat out a couple times a week now.

That's great that you caught your slip before you gained all your weight back. And it sounds like you have a great plan to get back on track. Good luck, you can do it, you did it before!

You can do this, Cheryl!! Your goals of action sounds great, like the last sentence.. No Guilt, move on!! Much success to you!

Thanks for all the support ladies! I have to keep my butt on here too.

You know, you say, you know what to do, you did it before. It's almost like I am doing this for the first time again. Like I don't know anything. I have forgotten all I have learned...or have I? Did I just bury it, because I did not want to remember what I was supposed to do?

It's so hard. I'll get there. Baby steps. Let's start by changing one thing back to the way it is supposed to be. I can do this.

never give up. we can change . just do not ever give up. fight and push through.

I gained 25 lbs back this winter on pizza and alcohol, sitting around moping. Now I'm working it off. I'm going to the five pound rule after this - I'm going to watch the scale and if I get five pounds over, back to serious calorie counting and dieting I go... I can't believe how easy it is to be lazy, drink and gain weight. for me it was divorce issues and some depression, my ex isn't worth it anyways. So onward we go.. health and fitness needs to be for life, not just for so many months to lose weight.