Lost 100 pounds but gained 40 back! How do I get back on track?

I lost 100 pounds and I have been doing great for 4.5 years. I started to fall back into old habits and I gained 20 pounds over the years. I was working on getting the 20 pounds off but Covid hit and I was stuck in the home for 5 months. I gained another 20 pounds and my cholesterol shot up sky high. How do I get back on track? I went back to the weight loss clinic and I am scheduled to meet with a dietitian in a few weeks. Any advice you can offer me?

Mine was 6 years ago, I lost 100 and regained about 20 since getting married in 2018... my husband doesn't grasp my need to not eat carbs and whenever he cooks its pasta, garlic bread, rice, etc. I also fell into old habits with sugar & sodas after moving to Las Vegas and working as a rideshare driver. Too easy to grab & go from the wrong aisles at the gas station.

My daughter (12) has also gained about 30 lbs in the last 2 years and is now a bit larger than me. We're both around 160 at present, give or take a few on any given day. Granted, she is also the same height now so it isn't horrible but she has definitely developed a belly & is wearing larger clothes than I do. It's an interesting view of body styles vs clothing fit though.

Anyway, with the start of school we are both getting back into the protein habit... bought some vanilla Biochem and fruit Isopure today. Since she likes fruit & yogurt smoothies she can put a scoop or 2 in her smoothies. I also ordered some Unjury to add to everything else.

Her school is charging $6-7 per meal for lunch so that's a no-go... meal prep and packed lunches it will be so that will be a new habit for us also. No defaulting to school lunch. lol Fortunately they have a 4 day week. I use Tovala meal kits quite often too... one meal feeds me twice or both my daughter & I and I usually still have some side dish left.

One thing I learned was that as long as I was getting 80-90 g of protein each day I didn't really have to watch my calories... I just wasn't hungry.

I was on another board when I had my surgery and for a few years after - forget the name - but I often saw posters talk about a 3 day reset... basically back to clear liquids for 3 days and then following the steps of the post op diet from there... purees, softs, etc. I skipped the purees altogether after my surgery and was eating scrambled eggs & oatmeal 2-3 days after surgery. No dietician since my Dr was in Mexico and I paid cash so no insurance hoops to deal with. Because I had horrible reactions to alternative sweeteners (migraines) I couldn't do the sugar free route that most others did so it was paleo/keto/whole foods. I'm hoping I can tolerate the flavored proteins this time around... at least long enough to jump start.