5 Lessons Learned from Gaining Back Lost Weight

Derailed…But Beginning Again

To ‘fall off the wagon’, according to the Urban Dictionary, is to resume an addictive/compulsive behavior one is trying to control. Some synonyms are: to get derailed, to backslide, to have a relapse.

I allowed myself to get derailed. It happened while I was distracted with stress and traveling. Those aren’t excuses, just the honest situation. It didn’t ‘just happen.’ I allowed it to happen because I wasn’t careful and I got lazy. It’s not just about looks for me, although I do feel better about myself when I am thinner and can wear cute clothes! It is also about my health; how I feel. I have fewer aches and pains when I am not carrying extra pounds and I have a lot more energy as well. I enjoy life more when I am healthy. It really all comes down to that.

So, it’s frustrating and can really leave me feeling completely defeated to be almost back where I started a couple years ago. But because I really detest the word defeat, and I refuse to fail, I will get back up, brush myself off, learn from my mistakes and begin again. This train is back on track, baby!

I know what I need to do to get the weight off. Now I am learning what I need to do to maintain my new weight, so as to not waste all the hard work and effort I put into losing it. I don’t claim to have all the answers or to have achieved all my goals at this point. I only know what I am learning in my present situation, and that I am willing to work hard to put those things into practice. I know what direction I need to head and what things I need to change for me to meet my goals. Maybe someone else will find these “6 Lessons Learned” a valuable place to restart their journey as well.

Six Lessons I’ve Learned:

1)      The slide happens quickly, and it can happen to anyone.

I can’t lie…the feeling of people saying I looked great felt so good! It really motivated me to keep on going. In addition to the compliments, I felt so much better I couldn’t imagine ever going back to carrying that additional 50 lbs. In fact, when I would use two 25 lb dumbbells for my squats, I would remind myself that this was how much weight I used to carry around every minute of every day. My chiropractor visits went from about one every 4-6 weeks down to just a few visits a year. I remember him saying what a difference the weight loss had made, and he hoped I would maintain it. I replied that there was NO WAY I was going to ever go back. Well, here I am, far too close to where I started.

It happened quickly; in far less time than it took me to lose it, and with no effort at all! I got distracted. ADD a couple stressors to my life, throw in some traveling here and there, and SUBTRACT my exercise routine, the discipline of tracking my food and watching my portion sizes and…

BAM! Here I am!

2)      Clean eating and physical fitness work hand in hand.

In the beginning, exercise was the first thing to fade away. I went on a trip to visit family, and let my workouts slide, and I continued to procrastinate even after I got back home. I was still eating fairly clean foods and I hadn’t gone crazy with my portion sizes yet, but with the lack of exercise I saw the scale beginning to climb, slowly but surely. I have always loved exercise, but the stress seemed to sap my energy and left me finding every excuse to not workout that day.

And one day led to the next.

And the next.

Here I am, a year later, still not exercising, and nursing a knee injury that most likely could have been avoided had I continued my strength training routines.

3)      Portion control matters. A lot.

I was surprised at how quickly I was gaining weight even when, for the most part, I was eating clean foods. But clean foods contain calories just like every other food, and they add up when your caloric intake exceeds your energy output! I had stopped logging my foods into my online nutritional counter, and when I’m not keeping track, I just don’t notice how much I am consuming. It is when I am stressed out and have less time in my schedule that I really NEED to take the time to log my foods and get in the habit of noticing what I am eating throughout the day. It can never be said enough…

Portion control matters.

A lot.

4)      Self-discipline doesn’t come naturally to me; I need accountability.

I don’t like to admit this, but I have to work at being self-disciplined. I am easily distracted and tend to start things but not finish them. I have great ideas that I’m all excited to start on, but then I either get lost in trying to make it ‘perfect’ or I get another project going, and spend all my time on that.

I need to purpose to be self-disciplined and have an accountability plan firmly in place. This means I need to schedule things in and make it a priority every day to do them. I also must have a check-in system I am accountable to. I tend to thrive when I am being pushed to go the extra mile, to continue to carry on. But my lists and logs can inspire and challenge me only to a point. They don’t have skin on them, and they don’t push back. For that I need a friend…an accountability partner. I need someone checking up on me. Everyone who reads and follows this blog is an incredible accountability to me.

Hold my feet to the fire with high expectations. I will jump to meet them.

…and I’ll do the same for you.

5)      I must remain diligent in my efforts and persevere.

Diligence and perseverance are worthy character traits, and I need them both if I am going to make my health and nutrition a lifestyle rather than a fad. Diligence demands that I am attentive to the choices I am making, and being intentional about staying on track. Persistence pushes me to remain stubbornly firm in my resolutions in spite of difficulties in doing so, or changes in my circumstances.

I need to get out my check-off lists and food/exercise logs, grab a friend who can be an accountability partner, and just make it happen!

Because after all, It’s Never Too Late!

 

P.S.

I’m guessing that many people have a list of lessons learned while trying to maintain health and fitness goals, maybe even including some of the above. What about you? How are you going to grab hold of your goals and not give compromise an opportunity to sabotage you?

What is our action plan for accountability in the areas of your weaknesses?

Share them in the comments if you are feeling brave!