I gained it all back :(
 

in april i was around 208, (down from my highest 255 the year before) and then i broke my ankle, fracture the top of my foot, and ripped 3 tendons. it was a long and painful recovery and its still not totally over. its hard to walk on my ankle and i still don't have full movement and functionality back.

as soon as i got the cast on i was bed bound for a while. my doc said if i moved or stressed the foot anymore, the tendons would rip all the way through and i would need surgery and 8 month recovery so i listened and stayed off it. well, i started gaining weight immediately and got depressed about it and when i'm depressed i eat.

so long story short, here i am. last week i weighed in at the doc office, mid day after eating and fully clothed: 253. when i saw that number i wanted to die.

but these last few days i've been working out a bit (can only do like 10-15 minutes on the treadmill before my ankle hurts too much. and i tried swimming but it hurts really bad... something about the way i'm swimming makes my ankle scream with pain.
and i'm trying to diet again. its so hard when i have very little money again but i'm calorie counting again (calorie counting worked well for me before)...

but i just feel so depressed to know that year i lost 50lb was for nothing.
i can't believe i gained it all back.

i know there are some people here who have lost a significant amount of weight and gained it back and are now having to lose it again...

i would really appreciate some support and advice...

thanks

So sorry you are experiencing this. I have been in your shoes. Twice. I have lost lots of weight two different times only to gain it all back and then some.

I gave up on myself for a few years, just feeling depressed and feeling like a total failure. But I am back at it now. I'm older now, so it isn't so much about looks (although that admittedly is part of it) but about my health. I was on a path to death before 50. Or serious illness, incapacity and misery. I decided I didn't want to die as some helpless blob. I wanted to take control.

So here I am, trying to take it all off again and keep it off. I have a different attitude now. I know I cannot allow myself to gain it all back. Is this process difficult? Heck yeah. You know that. But I'm pushing forward the best way I know how.

Don't be like me and give up on yourself. Take control back now. It is hard but up you can do it. You lost 50 before so you know you have the ability to lose weight, so now you just have to bite the bullet and get started.

From one regainer to another, go for it! I'm pullin' for ya.

:)

Liz, welcome back to the good fight! First, take care of that ankle & injury. Sorry all of that happened, sounds pretty serious. And horrible. How did you injure it?

If it hurts, stay off the treadmill! Let it heal or it will be just another setback.
Can you lift instead in the meantime? Are you getting any PT for it?

Hope you are feeling better soon. :hug:

We have an entire thread/support group devoted to this over at the 100 lb. forum; feel free to come join us! I gained back nearly 70 pounds over two years, and I'm really struggling to get it back off again, with some health setbacks thrown in this summer just for good measure, so I feel your pain.

The silver lining is that weight loss is mostly about diet, and at least we know we've done it before, so we *can* do it again.

I was carrying a bunch of heavy 30" x 40" (bigger than they sound, these things are almost as big as me!) sketch pads down a small stairwell (only 5 stairs!) and I couldn't exactly see my feet. i stepped down more than one stair the wrong way and my ankle crunched out from underneath me. also sprained my wrist in the process, so it is still quite hard to lift dumbells.

yes i can do some lifting, i really got out of shape though. i had worked up to be able to lift roughly 50lb on the weight machines such as shoulder press, chest press, incline press, etc. but now am set back between 10 and 20 on them :(

i can do some of the leg machines but if they engage my ankle i cant.

pt is not covered by my insurance so i can't afford to do it.

i've looked up the exercises online and try to do those as much as I can.

Awwwww.... :hug:

I've traveled that road so many times... currently trying to get the extra SEVEN pounds off so I can at least hopefully reach my goal. This is the first time I've ever "not reached goal" - I have lost at least 30 lb 7 times in my adult life. ~sigh~

The good news is that YOU CAN lose weight without exercise, but I know how difficult it is when you're injured or sick; somehow exercise helps keep us focused, and if we can't exercise, we lose that focus and then that "depressed eating" thing seems to kick you when you're down. Just keep going. It may not be the best advice ever, but it's the strongest.

NEVER. GIVE. UP!

I'm so sorry that you're dealing with that. I have ankle tendon issues so I can totally sympathize there. There is a book called "Get git while you sit"that that is helpful. It is so sad that PT isn't covered. When I was first injured I did not have health insurance but was lucky enough to find a PT Company that would make payment arrangements. PT definitely helps. As for the regain, I understand how easy it is to gain weight when you cannot walk. I gained almost 40 pounds after my ankle injury and I still struggle with exercise because of the ankle limitations, which makes me depressed and I end up overeating. Just pick a diet plan and stick to it. You can do this!

I broke my ankle really badly a couple years ago. I was playing rugby and got tackled the wrong way. My foot twisted 180 degrees so that my toes were pointing to the back instead of the front. I broke my fibula in 3 places, my tibia in 1 place, and tore ligaments as well. I can totally relate to the terrible recovery and the difficulty of working out again once I was allowed. The best cardio machine for me was the stationary bike (not the recumbent one). You have to make sure to try to keep your foot at a 90 degree angle from your shin, so that you aren't using your ankle in the movement. I was able to lose a lot of weight that way (I have gained in back in the last couple years, but losing it again). I still struggle with my ankle at times - I am trying to convince it that running isn't that bad. I know it will be a life long injury, but you can work around it and lose weight with the injury. I lost around 30 lbs in the 4-5 months my injury.