u/WrongBodyy

Hey… I don’t really know how to start this, but I guess I just need to get it out somewhere.

I had weight loss surgery on January 5, 2023.

My highest weight was 355 lbs.

By the end of December 2025, I got down to 172. That took everything in me. Strict diet, fasting, consistency… I built my entire life around making sure I didn’t fall back into who I used to be.

In October 2024, I had a breast reduction. Recovery didn’t go the way it was supposed to, and I couldn’t lift weights like I needed to. That was a big deal for me because I didn’t just want to be smaller—I wanted to be strong.

My doctor put me on Zepbound to help maintain my weight while I couldn’t train. I didn’t really want to take it, but I trusted her. I kept doing cardio, working on my legs, stretching… doing everything I could do.

At one point I tried to lift too soon and ended up with a really bad keloid and a lot of pain. After that, I stopped lifting completely. I didn’t touch weights again for the rest of 2024.

In October 2025, I had revision surgery. I stayed on Zepbound, and they told me we’d check around April/May to see if I could start lifting again. I was still losing weight, so I thought things were okay… but mentally it wasn’t the same. Not being able to strength train really messed with me.

Then at the end of November 2025, I lost my insurance. By December, I couldn’t take Zepbound anymore.

That’s when things started to go downhill fast.

My diet didn’t change. At all. I still fast 72 hours a week, I still have structure, I still do everything the same—but I started gaining weight rapidly. Like… really fast. My face changed, my body changed, and I didn’t understand why.

I was told that stopping Zepbound can cause regain if you haven’t been on it long enough. Then a new doctor told me that without proper strength training, it can also lead to muscle loss.

So basically… for almost two years, I couldn’t train the way I needed to, and the thing I trusted to help me maintain ended up hurting me.

And then on top of all of that… this year I got stabbed. Twice.

Once in the stomach, once in the face.

Since then, my head hasn’t been right at all.

I’m now three years post-op, and I’ve regained over 100 lbs. My body feels weak, like I’ve never worked out before, and mentally I feel worse than I have in a long time.

What’s messing with me the most is that I didn’t “fall off.” I didn’t stop trying. I didn’t go back to old habits. I did everything the way I was supposed to.

And it still happened.

I don’t really have a support system. I work and then I isolate. That’s kind of how I’ve always dealt with things. Even before surgery, when I realized how big I had gotten, I just shut myself off from people.

So now it’s just me, work… and my cats.

And honestly… I feel like I failed. Like I wasted an opportunity that someone else would’ve handled better than me.

There are days where I just want to give up completely.

But at the same time… I don’t want to.

The gym—especially strength training—that was the only thing that ever made me feel grounded. It helped me stay mentally stable. It made me feel in control.

So right now I’m just waiting for my doctor to clear me to lift again.

I don’t even know what I’m asking for by posting this. Advice, maybe. Or just… someone who understands.

If you’ve gone through regain, or something like this, how do you even start again mentally? How do you not feel like you completely failed yourself?

I did make this Reddit just to eventually reach out. Hah. Hopefully it doesn’t go against anything. Thanks for reading.

Pictures are where I was by the end of December 2025, with the last one being me now.