Kevin I went down the Quora rabbit hole some weeks back, and while I was on my fair staycation, I got to thinking about what I saw the last time I even had the time to check out what was new there. It’s pretty easy to get caught up in Quora-ville and lose track of time. It’s happened even before I bit the bullet and actually signed up to join it, haha.
Anyway, there’s been a post that’s stuck with me ever since then, and it was a post where someone had talked about wanting to give up on even trying after having gained a lot of weight in recent months. To be fair, the original poster didn’t mention anything that’s changed since they started gaining the weight, like any medications they started, or any new developments in terms of their health that could have an impact in this area.
At least one of the responses were quite harsh in the wording, in spite of them mentioning the mechanics of losing the weight. Now if it were me, and I read that when I was going through something similar, I’m not sure how I’d have reacted. It probably wouldn’t have been great, that’s for damn sure.
I’m no stranger to unsuccessful weight loss attempts, just like the OP over on Quora. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned around here that I lost some weight back in the early years of my college studies, only to gain it all back and then some. But in case I haven’t, here it is. I gained whatever I did manage to lose back due to a medication I never needed (or should have even been considered for) in the first place. I have no idea how much I lost the first time around, but if I had to hazard a guess, it was probably about 50 pounds, based on the stuff I was able to fit back then, and fit again when I reached a similar point this time around.
So yes, I’ve been down this road before of gaining back the weight and wanting to throw in the towel as a result. In fact, I did for several years after the fact after multiple attempts. Some of these included those lame quick fixes that don’t do jack shyt. Other times, it was in the tiniest fits and starts, only for some people in my life at the time to give me clapback and throw up roadblocks for me every chance they got.
That road of gaining back the weight and feeling like the path of least resistance of giving up is the only option was one of the worst places I can think of for someone to be. It was a terrible place for me emotionally. I mean, all that hard work I put into losing whatever I managed to lose was all for nothing, and I can’t even begin to describe the anger and the devastation I felt. It left me with stuff I’d wanted to fit for so long, and had come close to in the month leading up to that whole mess, and after it all went down, it didn’t even come close to fitting anymore.
If that person who asked on Quora whether or not they should give up trying to lose weight after some hiccups in their weight loss mission, or if you’re in a similar situation, here’s what I’d say to them and to you:
I’m not saying no, don’t give up. I’m saying HELL NO!
Don’t give up. You’ve lost this weight for a reason, so don’t for one instant think about throwing in the towel, no matter what people in your life may have to say or do about it. Don’t let them win, because throwing in the towel is more or less telling them they’ve won, imo.
Instead of thinking about it as weight you’ve gained back, instead think of it as a temporary setback. I’ve had my own share of setbacks even this time around, so you’re not alone.
Remember where you were at when you started. It’s still a loss in the scheme of things, and weight loss isn’t a linear process, like I’ve mentioned before. The silver lining is that you noticed it before you ended up back where you started, so this is still a win as far as I’m concerned.
On the other hand, if you’ve gained back all of whatever weight you’ve lost, then there’s still hope. You now know what didn’t work for you last time, so this time may be the charm.
This time around, there was a time I did end up regaining some weight, so you’re not alone by any means. The good news is, you now know what to look for, and what you can do to turn things around.
You’ve come so far. You can meet your goals and get to where you’d like to be in terms of your weight. If it takes outside help, then so be it. No judgment from me, only encouragement from the other side of the keyboard and computer screen.
Over to you, readers. Have you ever been in a similar situation before? If not, either way, let’s talk.
