Three years ago I (25 year old male, 5’10) realized I was 305 pounds and knew I had to make a change. I exercised at least five days a week, I ate lean meats, vegetables, whole grains, etc. and really confronted my toxic relationship with food head on. I got all the way down to 190 pounds. To say I felt amazing would be an understatement. I was finally able to shop for clothes at the mall without worrying that everything wouldn’t fit me. People told me how proud they were of me. I got a lot more attention from other men (I’m gay). I finally felt like my struggles with my weight were completely behind me.
This past year, however, I got complacent. Being on lockdown, not seeing my friends and family, and working a really stressful job really made me turn back to food for fulfillment. I also stopped working out regularly and would just spend all my time being idle. I could slowly but surely feel and see myself getting bigger but would say to myself “I used to be over 300 pounds. As long as I’m not near that I’m good!” I know this was really stupid, but it’s what I told myself to rationalize my bad decisions.
In May of this year I realized practically all of my clothes were too small. I felt way more tired than I did last year. And I didn’t look nearly as lean/ healthy as I used too. I stepped on the scale and saw I was now 233. I remember being extremely angry with myself for letting my weight get out of control again. I sulked for a few weeks after that and then decided to get it back under control. As of today, I have lost 35 of the 43 pounds I regained and am now 198. I have gone back to eating foods that taste good but are also good for me. I now fit almost all of my old clothes again. Here are a few things I learned after regaining and losing this weight:
- The second you get to your goal weight, do EVERYTHING you can to stay there.
Eat clean 90% of the time. Exercise regularly. Monitor your weight every week or so. And don’t let yourself go more than 10 pounds over your goal weight. Losing just that much can be really difficult the second time around.
- Regaining weight will make your body dysmorphia even worse.
I am just 8 pounds away from my weight before the lockdown right now and I still feel like I’m just as big as I was when I started losing again in May. I can see that my clothes fit again and I still feel like I look fat in them. When you already have issues with how you perceive yourself, regaining and losing that weight again will add on to those issues.
- Doing something feels way better than doing nothing.
Producing gives you more satisfaction than consuming. There hasn’t been one time I left the gym wishing I had just stayed home and watched tv instead. I feel way better after eating a meal of grilled chicken and roasted carrots that I cooked then I do after eating Burger King. Exercising regularly, learning how to cook a new recipe, or just striving to achieve any kind of goal gives you a much better sense of accomplishment then doing absolutely nothing. The whole world practically shut down last year so I have given myself some grace on not being productive all the time. But I still take full responsibility for not continuing to exercise and cook my own meals instead of being lazy and creeping back into my old habits. I’m not saying don’t take breaks. Take a day or two each week to just relax. Have a cheat meal every now and then. Just don’t let it become your norm again.
- You can easily end up right back where you started.
Some of my family and friends told me “You only gained 43 pounds back when you lost 105? That’s nothing compared to where you used to be!”That’s exactly what I told myself as I was gaining the weight. And that’s exactly how people go right back to square one. You lose 60 pounds and gain 10 back and think “Well, that’s not that bad. I can get this back under control when I feel like it.” Then you wake up one day and realize you’ve gained those 60 pounds back and then some. That could have easily been me if I didn’t get a handle on this when I did.
Regaining and losing weight reminded me that there is no finish line to changing your life. You just get better habits and coping mechanisms to make sure the change is permanent. Good luck to all of you in this sub. Life is tough, but so are we!
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/q5lmru/finally_lost_35_of_the_43_pounds_i_regained_heres/
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