How To STOP Gaining the Weight Back That You Worked So Hard To Lose
Warning: Adult language
Please do not read any further if you are offended by adult language.
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Are you gaining the weight back that you busted your ass to lose? Are you feeling angry and ashamed of yourself because you're starting to pull your fat clothes back out again?
Don't worry! We're going to talk about how to stop the gaining and take back control of the situation. It's okay, I promise!
Even though this article is geared for those of you who have lost weight and are now gaining it back again, these solution steps will help anyone! They would be perfect for someone who is just starting their weight loss journey!
Let me just say I am the Queen of Yo-Yo Dieting. I have a lot of experience with this. Over the course of my life, I've gone up and down in weight so violently that I think at one point, I had every size from 4 to 26 in my closet. It was a tortuous cycle not only physically but mentally as well. I finally got my shit together eight years ago and lost all of my extra weight, over 120 pounds, and I have kept it off. Well let me rephrase that. I've maintained my weight overall with mini setbacks almost every year. But I get right back on the horse and stop it before it goes too far! That is the key!
I consider a minor setback to be gaining 15-30 pounds. Now I know some of you would not consider gaining 30 pounds a minor setback but for me and my history of such morbid obesity, 30 ain't nothin', baby. My relapses have all happened over the winter. No shocker there. I normally don't gain more than 10-15 pounds over the winter but I've gained 30 a few times. It sucks and you want to punch your own face in, but you just have to get over it and set a plan into action to deal with it.
So what the hell do you do to stop the madness and take back control?
FIRST AND FOREMOST, you MUST stop feeling guilty! This is an absolutely useless emotion and will only serve as a ball and chain. It will immobilize your plan of action and cause you to wallow. And if you're anything like me... when you wallow, you eat more. Guilt is a nasty whore of an emotion that strips you of your confidence. It will paralyze you and keep you from doing something to solve the problem.
Listen, if you did this shit before you can do it again. So what if you gained weight back? It's done. It happened. Move on. Life is hard, food is yummy, Netflix is more fun than burpees, and shit happens. So what if you messed up? We all do. Grab ahold of the wheel and steer yourself onto the road of redemption. You just gotta get back up on the horse, man.
How Do I Get Back On The Horse?
THE PHYSICAL PART
1. Go through your fridge, cabinets, and pantry and gather up every single piece of shit food.
All of it.
My preferred action is to throw all of it in the garbage. But you can give it away to someone if you prefer. I just hate handing over a bunch of slop to someone. But either way, just get rid of it.
When I do this, my husband will usually grab his favorite treats and hide them. Hey whatever, just make sure I can't ever find them because if I do I'm going to eat all of it and then I'm coming to find you and bitchslap your ass into next week.
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2. Make a healthy list and go to the grocery store. Like now.
If you have healthy food available, you'll eat healthy food. If you have junk food in your face, then you'll eat junk food. It really is that simple.
You don't have to count calories or be super strict with your eating. Just switch to a whole food diet so you can cleanse yourself from all the gunk you have built up in your system from all of the processed foods and sugar.
If you want to up your game in a few weeks that's fine, but for the next 14 days you just need to worry about eating healthy foods. For right now, please don't worry about logging everything or obsessing about calories. You don't ever have to do any of that if you don't want to. But if you're a super organized and regimented person and feel the need to do all of that, DON'T. At least for the next few weeks. Just stop eating like shit and put wholesome foods into your body. This two week transition back into health and wellness is supposed to be calm and simple. You can add the bells and whistles later, if you want.
{For tons of my healthy recipes, go HERE! I have breakfasts, lunches, dinners, side dishes, snacks, and desserts! All of my recipes are sugar-free and are made with wholesome and healthy superfoods and best of all... they are delicious!}
If you're struggling with what foods you should be buying and stocking up on, here are a few articles that can help you.
My most popular article, REAL WEIGHT LOSS TIPS: From Someone Who ACTUALLY Lost the Weight, will also give you lots of ways to make your weight loss easier!
3. Take Epsom salt baths to help your body detox and get rid of the toxins and chemicals from all of that crap food you've been eating.
You should be drinking lots of water anyway, but especially if you're taking Epsom salt baths. It will help flush everything out. It's very important!
4. Start walking 30 minutes a day.
Don't worry about working out yet. For the first week or two, spend time getting a handle on your food stuff. Walking everyday will keep you active and get your body primed for the workouts to come. You don't have to speed walk either, just go move your ass.
Don't tell me you can't find 30 minutes to walk because you can. I tried that excuse for 10 years. You probably spend more than 30 minutes a day on social media. And if you have a treadmill, you can surf the net while you're walking and listening to your music. It makes time whiz by! However, if you'll be walking around your neighborhood, I would discourage you from having your head in your phone so that you don't end up getting run over by a car! But it would be a perfect opportunity to call up a loved one that you haven't spoken to in a while. You can multi-task while you get your activity in!
As a matter of fact, I am writing this right now as I'm walking on my treadmill! I've had a weird and stressful day so I thought I'd clear my head by walking AND getting this article done at the same time. See, you can kill two birds with one stone! I only planned on walking for 30 minutes and I ended up walking for over an hour! I've been so engrossed in writing this article, I didn't even realize how much time passed by.
A light yoga regimen or stretching would also be helpful, but not necessary, to gear up for more intense fitness in the weeks to come.
THE MENTAL PART
1. Forgive yourself for this weight gain.
Life is too short to be beating yourself up for eating too many brownies. I know you think it's a big deal, but it's not. It's just weight. It has no bearing on who you are and what you contribute to your loved ones and the world around you. And most importantly... YOU CAN CHANGE IT!
Never dampen your spirit and degrade yourself for something that can be reversed and changed. You are wasting all of your soul's energy on these negative feelings. You would exert less energy on actually fixing the problem. Because believe me, the exertion you'll put forth dealing with emotional pain will far surpass physical exertion any day of the week.
You have control over what you put in your body. Stop whining and wallowing and start fixing it! I know, tough love comin' atcha. But trust me, I know from experience. I whined to myself like a little bitch for over 10 years about being fat. It took me two years to lose it all. If I would've just STFU and started taking action over something I had complete control over, I would've never had to live morbidly obese for over a decade.
2. Start meditating.
Meditation changed the game for me. It has brought so much peace and serenity into my life. I am naturally a very anxious person and I'm always worrying about everything. Since I was a kid my mind would race at night, some nights would be maddening. Meditation has taught me so much! It calms my mind enough to see things differently, more positively. I meditate every single day, even if only for a few minutes.
It's not hard. Google it or go to a class. Honestly, you don't need to sit like a statue for hours each day. Even five minutes here and there a few times a day will CHANGE YOUR LIFE! The most important time to meditate is in the morning before you even get out of bed. Clear your mind and settle your heart before you start your day.
If you absolutely can't get a handle on it by yourself, go to one class. One class should be enough for you to get the gist. Then you could either continue at home or if you loved the class of course you could keep going. I truly think you'd be fine just by doing some google searches, though. Just read a little on how to do it, it's much easier than you think!
3. Tell yourself OUTLOUD every morning and throughout the day that you can do this.
It's such a simple thing, but it helps! You need to be your own cheerleader. What you tell yourself will become what you believe. Our inner dialogs with ourselves are more powerful and persuasive than anything somebody else can say to us. Start treating yourself with kindness and respect and start telling yourself that you can do this! Because you absolutely, positively, and 100% can! Go on with your badass self!
THE SPIRITUAL PART
I am not talking about religion here. I'm talking about your soul. Now by all means if you're a religious person, you can and should look to your particular faith for guidance and strength. But I want to talk about your soul for a moment.
We humans wrestle constantly between what's in our heads and hearts, but we hardly ever listen to what our soul is trying to tell us. We cannot be healthy by only tending to our minds and bodies. We must also care for our soul.
How Do You Make Sure Your Soul Is Healthy?
1. Take time to do things that reset you.
Do you like to read, paint, or crochet? Sit in a sauna? Take a walk in the forest? Or maybe it's as simple as getting extra rest or finding some time alone in a quiet space.
For me it's spending time in nature, the more trees and green the better. I also need to immerse myself in water. Whether that be in a hot bath at home or spending time in lakes or the sea. Even being immersed in swimming pools helps me feel soothed. I also need time alone in these places. I need to be alone with my thoughts and reflections with no one else around. Meditation is also a big one for me. It centers me and gives me an entirely different perspective, one that's soul-based rather than head-based. My soul knows which direction I need to go in order to reach my goals and dreams. It knows where my true passion lies. My head just bombards me with all the shit everyone else wants me to do.
2. Do something 100% selfless at least once a month.
Make a point of doing something meaningful for someone else. It doesn't have to cost anything. Sometimes the biggest gift you can give someone is your time. Visit a lonely relative, make a habit of giving complete strangers compliments, and be more kind. Make a list of things you'd like to do for others. Make sure it's selfless and you're not getting anything out of it (except for all the good feels from doing it, of course).
I always keep a 20 dollar bill in a special compartment of my wallet. It's only for a selfless act. Anytime there's an opportunity to use it for good, it's there. Last month I was in the grocery line and the very old man in front of me didn't have enough money for his items. He was terribly upset and when I looked at the conveyor belt, I noticed he had some basics like milk, bread, and pet food but he mostly had medicines. He was 18 dollars short and visibly very worked up. I was so excited to give the cashier my special 20 dollar bill! The old man hugged me and teared up and thanked me over and over again. The best part about it was that my two little girls were with me. They got such a kick out of seeing the old man so happy and they kept telling me that it was very cool that I did that for him. It made me feel so good inside. My soul definitely shone a little brighter that day!
These things will do more for you and your soul in the end than they ever will for your do-good recipients. Trust me on this one.
3. Be grateful.
It's amazing how you start to see changes, some subtle and some glaring, when you simply take time to fill your heart with gratitude for your blessings. The universe takes kindly to those who project positivity out into the world.
When something bad or stressful happens, force yourself to see some kind of a positive angle. For example, yesterday morning I woke up to a flat tire. I had to change my plans and miss an appointment I had waited months for. Then I had to wait two hours for Triple A to come and put my spare on. I had to cancel the rest of my day so that I could get my tire repaired (it had a nail in it). It was definitely NOT the day I had planned, but what if that tire would've blown while I was driving my two little girls somewhere? We could've gotten very hurt or hurt someone else on the road. The huge inconvenience of my day could've actually saved our lives. In most cases, there is a hidden blessing and positive message. Try harder to find them. It makes a difference and it heals your soul.
So there you go... some clear cut ways to break your unhealthy and negative cycle that you've been stuck on. I promise it's gonna be okay. Life is a series of cycles, ebbs and flows. If we are mindful and learn from past mistakes, our negative cycles will continue to get shorter and our positive cycles will last longer and longer each time. No matter what, you'll always have obstacles show up. Some barriers will be out of your control and some will be completely your fault.
Eating like shit, being lazy, and gaining weight is your fault, no one else's. That's an important fact to accept. Once you accept it, it's much easier to start taking action to right your wrong. It's 100% in your control. That's a really great thing! Most problems in life are not in your control. This is all you, baby. You got yourself into this and you can get yourself out of it!
YOU ARE THE SOLUTION.
Final Words
If you implement these Physical, Mental, and Spiritual changes, you will most definitely get out of your slump!
Take the steps above and practice them consistently for TWO WEEKS. You will be refreshed and reset and ready to take on your goals. You can start adding more intense workouts and buckle down even more on your nutrition if you still need to make further changes after this 14 day transition. But this two week plan will get you headed in the right direction and will have you feeling good... mind, body, AND soul!
Remember that losing weight isn't a race. You want to lose your weight in a healthy way so that it stays off. If you are starving yourself to cut calories, you aren't really losing fat. You're losing muscle mass and water weight. You will gain that almost immediately after you start eating normal again.
You lost this weight once (or if you're like me maybe many times before). You can lose it again! And this time you have knowledge and experience you can use to your advantage. With each weight loss cycle we go through, we get wiser. Until one day, it just all clicks. The light bulb goes on and BAM you adopt the lifestyle. Sometimes it takes a while. But you can make this time be when your light bulb moment happens!
I'd bet a good amount that the last time you lost weight, you only concentrated on eating and exercising. I bet you didn't nurture and care for your soul. You probably didn't spend too much time making sure you were mentally taken care of either.
That will be the difference this time!
In order to be healthy, you must tend to all aspects of your being. And when you do, it's such an amazing experience. You learn so much about yourself, you become happier, and you start to find clarity in what your life goals are, not just your weight goals.
Losing weight doesn't have to be a total pain in the ass. It can be a time of personal and spiritual growth. You are worth the time and investment. Your body deserves to be treated with respect by nourishing it with wholesome foods and keeping it active, allowing all those parts of yours to stay oiled and running smoothly. Your soul deserves to be listened to, to be cherished. Your soul is who you are, it's your true voice. So start letting it speak to you.
I'm pullin' for you! Go forth and be amazing!
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*The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content in this article is for general information purposes only. I am not a doctor, nor am I a dietitian. Talk to your physician before making any changes in your diet or exercise regimen. The information found in this article is from various sources which include, but are not limited to, the sites listed above. I encourage you to do your own research and talk with your physician before making any changes in diet or exercise. What has worked for me may not work for you. This information in this article or on this website should never replace or serve as medical advice.
NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR HAVE ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEB SITE.
