The Embarrassment of Regaining Weight

Many people find themselve stuck in a cycle of gaining and losing weight over and over again. The trouble is it can be much easier to lose weight than to keep the weight off. When you're trying to lose weight, you have a definite goal in mind and so it makes it easier to make the right food choices, especially as you can tell that your actions are having an impact on your figure. When you step on the scales you can see that the numbers are coming down, whilst your clothes may become looser, and you may be on the receiving end of compliments about your weight loss. All of this spurs you on to keep going, but what happens when you've reached your goal and the compliments stop?

For a lot of people, the end of their 'diet' means that they can go back to the way they ate before. Although they might try to eat healthier for awhile, bad habits can soon come creeping in. It might be that they start reaching for junk food, rather than healthier alternatives; that they begin filling their plate instead of watching their portion sizes; and that they stop doing as much exercise as when they were trying to lose weight. It is usually worse if you lost the weight by going on a crash diet or following a fad diet where what you can eat is restricted, because you won't have got used to following healthy eating habits, just ones that are bad for you in a different way!

It can be rather depressing to watch yourself regaining weight and to watch all your good work being undone. Of course, you're the only one who can stop it, but the trouble is you often feel powerless to, especially if you are the type of person who turns to food for comfort. After receiving compliments about how slim you're looking and how much better you look after losing weight, it can be somewhat embarrassing to regain weight. You find yourself digging out old clothes which you put away once you reached your weight-loss goal, because your smaller clothes no longer fit. You can end up feeling ashamed that you lost so much weight, but were unable to keep it off and as though you are a failure.

However, you're not the only one struggling with your weight. There will always be at least one insensitive soul who feels the need to pass comment on the fact you've put on weight, but there are many more who know what a struggle controlling your weight can be. What you don't want to do is let the fact you've regained some weight make you feel so bad about yourself that you keep on eating and regain all the weight you lost. It is surely better to try to stop piling on the pounds before you end up as heavy as you were to begin with, although some people do find themselves in that situation, and it's obviously an issue you will have to address at some point. It might be embarrassing to regain weight, but only you have the power to change the situation and reassert control over your eating habits.