1.  You’ve gained a few pounds and haven’t been able to lose them again (+/- 5 pounds)

This is one of the first danger signs.  Most ‘dieters’ finally hit their “goal weight,” which is usually an exact number on the scale, and then they will realize maintenance involves daily fluctuations around that number.  So then the newly christened ‘maintainer’ creates a “goal weight range” on the scale that they define to themselves that will still mean each day they are at “goal.”  

The first sign that you are headed down the path to regain is that you first hit the upper range of your goal weight range, and then finally go over it.  Sometimes it’s popcorn at the movies, or a big special dinner, or sometimes it’s difficult to avoid extra treat seasons like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.  Maybe the maintainer cuts the extras for a few days and loses the extra pounds.  They breathe a sigh of relief and think disaster has been averted.

The problem really lies in averting that disaster once, or even a few times.  When the world does NOT end and all their new favorite smaller size clothes still fit, it gets easier to keep allowing the numbers on the scale to go over the “goal weight range.”

Eventually, however, the numbers may go over and it’s not so easy to get them to come back down.  Then you are in danger of staying at a higher number and thus having no leeway at all for the next slip.

2.  You compromise and reset your goal weight range higher (+/- 10 pounds from original goal)

This is the second danger sign that you are headed down the path to regaining the weight you worked so hard to lose.  You have fluctuated so often out of your goal weight range that you rationalize to yourself that you are happy being at that slightly higher number.

You tell yourself stuff like maybe you weren’t meant to be that thin.  Maybe you were trying to keep your body at too low a weight to successfully maintain it for life, and that’s why you can’t get back to that weight.  You tell yourself no, it’s not because of the extra snacking, no, it couldn’t be the snacking.  And people have been calling you “skinny,” for crying out loud.  You want to be healthy, not “skinny.”  You reset your goal weight range to include the new weight you’ve found yourself stuck at, and you convince yourself that you are trying to preserve your positive outlook lest you get depressed about the  numbers on the scale and start binging over your depression.

3.  You start binging because you do not really believe the lies you’ve been telling yourself (+/- 15 pounds more than original goal)

If you have reset your goal weight range higher, some of your ‘skinny’ clothes are probably a little tight.  As many times as you tell yourself everything is all okay in one or two above, your tighter skinny jeans tell you another story.  Your body remembers when they were just a little bit looser, and let’s face it, you long to be back there.  You’ve reset your goal weight range, but you still remember those heady days at “goal” and how it felt.  Even if it’s just a few pounds, part of you ‘feels’ fatter not at that number, especially if some of your clothes are tighter.

On a particularly difficult day, your boss criticizes you, your friend says something snide (because let’s face it, she may just be dealing with her own life crap and didn’t filter well), and you just don’t have the mental resources anymore to keep saying no to the calorie dense foods your family indulges in occasionally.  You forget all the months of self denial, and you eat too much.  The next morning, you can’t zip up your skinny jeans, and you are in full fledged panic mode.  You aren’t just worried about regaining weight someday, that day is here.

You do the math, you are now 15 pounds more than the lowest weight you saw on the scale, and you have no idea who the heck you are to have let this happen.

And there you have it.  You may immediately go into diet mode, but the emotional damage is hard to overcome.

I’ve been there.

1.  Forgive yourself.  

I’m pretty sure I’ve been there 10 times or so in my adult life.  The exact numbers on the scale change, but the pattern is the same.  Forgive yourself the screw up and move on.  Learn the pattern so you can do better next time.

2.  Stop snacking and get the weight back off.  Now.

Stop giving yourself permission to ‘slip.’  Remember your dedication getting the weight off before, and go back to that.  Period.  You are a “weight reduced individual” and always will be.  You’ve probably over eaten for the very last time in your life, and you have to stop comparing yourself to what others eat.  You will NEVER be able to overeat and not suffer ill effects.  Think of it as a chronic condition.  And don’t feel sorry for yourself.  I will take the chronic condition of “weight reduced individual” over “diabetic” any day.  And heck, it is also better than “obese.”

3.  Rethink your clothes

Yes, you can have clothes that fit you like a glove, but also have a few things in your wardrobe to alternate to.  When you are at war with your emotions about your weight, the last thing you need is not feel good about how you look.  Even ‘skinny’ people have days they feel ‘fat’ from water retention.  Make sure your wardrobe includes looser clothes you love that you feel skinny in even if the scale is up a bit.  Feeling ‘skinny’ is the first step to making the choices in your food plan to get you there, or back there.  Wear only those ‘skinny’ clothes until you get back to where you need to be on the scale.  Once there, celebrate with the skinny jeans.  Do NOT wear tight clothes and think that will be a deterrent.  The only thing it will deter is your self esteem.