Am I just never going to be a size 12 again?

[pancakeoarmams]

Since Covid I seem to be on a mission to put on as much weight as I can. I've been surprisingly good at it, Infact ive had the best results in this project than anything else I have undertaken.

Serious note.... I've just stood on the scales and I have put on 5, FIVE flipping stone !!!! I'm actually really ashamed of myself. I was flicking through photos of when I had my first daughter 13 years ago and I was so slim. I remember thinking I was huge after having my Baby but I can't believe the difference. My face is so slim and my jaw is so defined. How the heck have I gotten into this miserable state of grossness?

I don't really know what I'm doing that's making me massive, but I'm clearly doing something. I feel so depressed. I've tried keto, fasting, slimming wield, calorie counting but I can't seem to attain longevity !

Help

You will get a hundred different responses telling you the way something worked for them, most directly contradictory. I think most methods work, if you find what works for you..your body type, your metabolism, your level of willpower, your food preferences, your lifestyle, time available, requirements of fitting in with family meals or not and so on. You need to work some of that out and then decide what you can manage and what suits your temperament..slow and steady or short sharp shock etc.

I'm in the same boat since covid. Was a size 12 pre pandemic and now a 16 😢

I did give birth 6 months ago so that won't have helped.

I'm losing weight slowly now, and honestly I think if you just completely cut out any snacking you will lose. There's all the diets in the world, but they're mostly hard to maintain in the longterm. If you want to get slim and stay slim, you've gotta do something you can do forever. Im personally so sick if yo yo dieting.

Just have 3 normal, balanced meals. No snacks

I’ve recently lost 4 1/ stone.
Since having my children 15+ years ago, I’ve fluctuated between being 2-5 stone over weight.
I felt like I was constantly on a diet but not seeing significant, lasting changes.
For the last year I’ve really educated myself on calorie deficit and protein intake etc.
I started by limiting my calories to 1,600 a day (5ft10) which actually didn’t seem too hard.
Then fell into intermittent fasting, so I only consumed those calories between 11am-7pm. I weigh myself everyday (in a non obsessive way) it actually really helps, as you get to know your body and understand that you can weight 2 pound more one day, and the next you are likely to be pound down.
I made a conscious effort to walk a minimum of 15,00 steps a day.
The weight honestly dropped off.
As I started to shift it, I joined the gym.
I do 2 aerobic classes a week ( Zumba) and Pilates twice.
I’ve now been a steady, healthly weight for a year, I don’t actively count calories anymore and I do have wine a couple of times a week and I’m managing to maintain it, with hardly any thought.
It really did feel like bulb being switched in my head, and once I started and stuck to it, and I saw the pounds dropping, it was finally the motivation I needed to keep going.