One thing that happens to almost everyone at one point or another that ever achieved getting fat is they have a turn of events in their life and at least to some degree, return to their old ways that got them in trouble in the first place. For a lot of people, this is a very crucial point in the fitness game and it is a true test of whether or not you have what it takes to keep the healthy part of your life as part of your life. Sadly, more often than not this actually results in failure and a return to the heavy state they were in before and in many instances they gain back even more than they were before.
You can put a stop to this if you detect it early.
I don't know if you know the story of "Mama June" from Here comes Honey Boo Boo but she was a beast of a human and was one of those people that was so fat that it was difficult for her to move around. For some reason though, people really took to her sense of humor and she became famous... Ok, that sounds mean, you can still be famous and likeable if you are fat but what I am trying to say is that it was her attitude and not her looks, that made her a sensation.
After the show was finished she went through a dramatic weight loss that was just astounding. Now this sort of thing isn't going to be achievable for most people unless they are super-dedicated and disciplined. Mama June also had the assistance of millions of dollars, personal trainers and dieticians, and lot of things that your average normie doesn't have.
However, after time she had lost a tremendous amount of weight and she also had surgery to assist her with that. I'm not gonna discuss that part of things because I don't know anything about it. I do know that there are many people that have experienced great success with these surgeries and if that works for you and you have the money for it, go for it. However, once again this isn't really an option for most of us.
The point here is that lately, Mama June has put 50 lbs back on, as is shown in the first photo and I don't know exactly what her situation is, but it seems as though she may have jumped ship on her program a bit and I'll admit that this has happened to me as well. It was particularly easy to fall into this trap during covid lockdowns, where exercise was foolishly discouraged by local authorities and at one point in time it was actually disallowed.
I found myself back at the bars day drinking with pals and this lead to no exercise and bad diet. The next day it was really easy to fall back into that same trap and on and on it goes. If this is happening to you I don't think it is a good job to cut of your friends and become and exercise recluse for the sake of being fit, social aspects of life are fun as well, but you gotta identify when this is happening and "nip it in the bud."
If you want to day drink or go to a pizza party or whatever your poison happens to be then I say do it but you gotta put in a bit of penance for doing so. Maybe something along the lines of "i'll meet up with you guys but i gotta go on a run / jog / walk first" then go do 30 minutes of exercise. This isn't much to ask but for most people it is a lot more likely you will do the exercise before you do something unhealthy than it is that you are going to do it afterwards.
Also, if you have elevated your exercise regimen to a high level, the prospect of rejoining this level of activity might psychologically seem too daunting to the point where you decide to just not do it at all. Therefore, on my hangover days I just head out and plan to do something very light, just a walk for an hour with a bottle of water to clear my head and hopefully hydrate. Normally, when I do this I find that I actually do have it in me to do more but it was just my mind that was preventing me from doing it.
Like I have said many times before: The hardest part of any workout it putting your shoes on and walking out the door.
In these crucial stages of when you start to slip from your program, it is important to first recognize that there is a potential problem, and put a stop to it before it has a chance to spiral out of control and eventually land you back where you were when you began.
The sad reality is that especially when you get older, it is much easier to gain all the weight back that you had before than it is to have gained it in the first place. It seems to happen almost overnight. I know that at one point I gained back 10 lbs of the 60 or so that I had lost in just 10 days. That was just crazy to me, but I know it it possible because I did it.
We all know what our bad habits are and you have to find a way to sidestep them if you ever want to see lasting results. Go to that party, but maybe don't drink 200 calories drinks. Go have that pizza! but don't do it every day and get some exercise in, even if it is weak. When you maintain balance like this and have at least something going for you that is healthy.
Most of all, during your hopefully temporary spiral back into your bad habits, take note of your weight and also do some bathroom mirror selfies so that you can see the damage you are doing after a week of this - it will likely shock you enough to get you back on track.
This is ok every now and then, but it is important to recognize the issue and not let the bad habit sneak back into your life