Hi, just wondering what is other peoples go to for inspiration and encouragement when trying to lose regain.I am four years out - I lost alot of weight, felt fantastic, exercised every day and actually enjoyed it, tracked all my food was loving life then over a year mostly due to alot of stress I regained about 12 kilos and I am struggling so hard to lose it and get back to what i was. I hate the way my body feels I hate that none of my clothes fit, I feel self conscious over how I look but I find I am fighting myself everyday to get back into it. I start each day right, I start out determined but I can't seem to keep it up. I've seen a dietitian, I've tried counselling but nothing is working. I suffer from depression and anxiety and it has been really bad the last few months so that definitely doesnt help. I am wondering if there is anything that other people do daily to inspire themselves and encourage themselves to keep on going, what do other people do to get themselves out exercising (I find I talk myself out of it all the time even though once I start I enjoy it) What do you do to stop yourself snacking on the wrong foods. I would be really grateful for any ideas and advise. Thanks

Have fat and thin pics next to the biscuit barrel?

Can you try a clean out or major purge of your pantry/kitchen/refrigerator and commit to never replacing the foods that are causing issues? Then finding alternatives you like and being careful about what you eat. That shift will cause some kgs to drop right away. It's basically the preop lifestyle change you start when you were excited about surgery in the first place.

Let us know how everything goes ❤

8 hours ago, Books said:

I am wondering if there is anything that other people do daily to inspire themselves and encourage themselves to keep on going, what do other people do to get themselves out exercising (I find I talk myself out of it all the time even though once I start I enjoy it) What do you do to stop yourself snacking on the wrong foods. I would be really grateful for any ideas and advise. Thanks

I have lost a regain. We can get a bit complacent years out. Motivation/inspiration is personal. What works for me may not work for you. To put your mind in a more positive frame listen to the video below.

It starts today. giving in, procrastination and excuses won't burn calories and help you lose weight

Some basics:

Make a goal and set a plan.

Adding carbs and sugars make you crave them more. Get all temptation out of the house. Buy healthy food with healthy sweet and salty options for cravings.

Log your food on an app. stay within your calories and macros for each day.

Join a weight loss challenge

https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/421742-❤-january-2019-challenge-❤/

I wish you the best of luck on your journey! This thread is full of great ideas. I may need to mark it for when i am that far out!

You did this once and can again. It was you not the WLS that lost it first. You can return. Clean the fridge out. Cut out any booze Nd take one day or hour or minute at a time.

I keep pics handy......nothing like a good before and after shot

I had some major regain too and struggled with it for about 18 months. I literally was doing online searches to try and figure out 'how' to lose the regain. I was to the point of desperation. BUT, I was also eating and drinking everything- just in small amounts because, HEY, after all, my sleeve would control the amount I eat right???

After about 40 lbs of regain I got a serious reality check by a doctor who gave me some really sobering health news after having some invasive health tests done.

It was THE MOMENT of truth for me. I had to just get OUT of my own head. I KNEW how to do this. I knew what to do. I had to STOP all the nonsense and just get back to what I knew would work. For me, I went strict keto well over 17 months ago and successfully lost all of my regain. I also reversed the health issue. For me, this is what worked. I remain eating <20 carbs a day and will probably do so indefinitely. NOT necessarily because I don't think I can keep my weight down, but more so because of the health issue which responded beautifully (and research supports nutritional ketosis for the problem).

Make a vision board! Put some people up there who have a similar body to the one you aspire to have.

Ooh I do like that idea- there have been some who posted- they look fibe, they look happy and someday I shall join them and somebody will put me up on Their Vision Board!

It's a deeper issue than knowing how to stay motivated.

The only way to lose it is to find the lifelong plan that works for you and follow it - that is the easy part.

The hard part is that you hate yourself, and are self punishing. Somewhere in there you have committed to being that person, defining yourself in a negative way. I would guess that you have internal dialogues constantly running in your head keeping you stuck, berating yourself as a failure.

I know this because I am working on this very issue myself. I found a great analyst online and about to order his books. The website is https://whywesuffer.com

We come into life a blank slate
What bruising we receive
What scars we sustain
What hurts we sustain
They mean we tried, we participated, and we kept moving on. towards our goals. We truly lived and not merely existed.

How is it going on the inspiration quest?