Regained 30 pounds, back at it, and not ashamed

2026-10-07 15:50

Posting this mostly to say it out loud somewhere. I lost around 60 over sixteen months, held most of it for almost a year, then a stretch of job stuff, a cross-state move, and my mom's surgery undid maybe 30 of that.

I kept telling myself I'd get back to it once things calmed down, which is a lie I'm very good at telling.

I didn't wait for January this time. Restarted in late winter mostly because January felt like too much pressure. Down 19 since then. Slow, not dramatic. Some mornings the old thoughts show up, the ones insisting round one was luck and round two is just a countdown to undoing it again.

What's different: I'm not treating this as punishment for the regain. Breakfast happens. I lift twice a week even when the numbers are ugly. I logged 47 of the last 58 days, which isn't perfect and I've stopped needing it to be.

The regain was real and it stung. I'd still take the first round again for the energy and the stairs and the labs alone.

Anyone else on their second lap? Did the mental side get easier for you, or just familiar?

2026-10-09 19:03

Tbh hey, welcome back—no shame in it. Life happens, and 30 regained after losing 60 isn’t starting from zero; it’s a detour.

I live in a small town where everybody knows your business at the pharmacy counter, so I get the weird feelings. One thing that helped me: I put a cheap calendar on the fridge and only tracked two things—morning water and a 10-minute walk after supper.

No big overhaul until that stuck for two weeks. What’s the one habit you’re starting with this time?

Asking because I need ideas for when the wheels come off again.

2026-10-13 16:05

The "once things calm down" line — I've got a PhD in that one. A cross-state move alone would wreck me: new kitchen, new grocery stores, no routine, nothing where it used to be.

What helped me after my own backslide was embarrassingly small. I wrote down five meals I can make half-asleep and ate those on repeat for a few weeks. No decisions, no big tracking, just removing one thing to think about until I had bandwidth for the rest.

What are you bringing back first — the tracking, the walks, or the meal prep? Every time I try all three at once I flame out by day ten.

2026-10-16 16:52

Sorry to hijack — I’m brand new (week one) and still figuring out how to log meals when the day goes sideways. Do you track loosely or just aim for protein and water?

Anyway, OP, your mom’s surgery plus the job stuff sounds like a lot at once. When you restarted, did you pick one tiny anchor—like a 10-minute walk or prepping one lunch—instead of overhauling everything?

I’m trying to decide what my one thing should be.

2026-10-19 17:35

Welcome back. Contrarian take from my own spreadsheet: the 30 isn’t one lump. Mine came in two phases — first +8 over 20 weeks, basically invisible because I was weighing sporadically.

Then +14 in 9 weeks once I stopped pre-logging lunches. The trendline makes it obvious in hindsight. If you’re back at it, I’d track weekly median weight plus one behavior (steps, protein, whatever) for two weeks before changing anything. What’s your first metric?

Also curious: did your maintenance range have a hard upper limit, like +5, or was it more of a vibe? Mine was a vibe, and that was the problem.

2026-10-27 13:11

The move/surgery combo is a real logistical and emotional perfect storm. One thing that helped me after a similar stretch: I didn’t restart at my old calorie target.

I restarted the walk after dinner and logging before the first bite, then let the scale be noisy for two weeks. What’s the one keystone habit you’re starting with this time?

2026-10-29 00:48

There was a thread here last spring about “re-entry weeks” that stuck with me — the idea that restarting is its own skill, not just the old plan with more grit. Last time I came back after a chaotic stretch, I tracked only weekdays for two weeks and kept one non-negotiable: a 10-minute walk after lunch.

Not impressive, but it stopped the slide and gave me data. Curious what survived the move/surgery chaos for you — is there one habit or anchor that’s still intact, even in a smaller form?