How To Stay Positive If Your a Yo-Yo Dieter???? How Do I break the Yo-Yo??

mshunt1986

Okay help me I am trying to keep my eating on track. I have done this before lost over 50 pounds and gained it back obviously! So Now I need all of the tips preferably from a previous yo-yo dieter so I can know how you broke the yo-yo. I love food but I have to get back in cropt ops by summer please Help!!!

TMLPatrick

I'm having the exact same problem.... I did really well and lost it all twice.... now I'm having a really hard time motivating myself for a 3rd time....

rand486

Look at how you use the word "diet". It is a noun, not a verb.

You do not "go on a diet". You have a diet, good or bad. If you stop using MyFitnessPal, you are still "on a diet", it just might be a bad one, or one where you are eating in surplus.

Don't look to lose weight quickly, learn to eat sustainably. You shouldn't be denying yourself, you should be planning ahead, and eating what you want in acceptable portion sizes.

Until you learn what the above means, you will re-gain the weight every time, because you aren't learning how to eat correctly until you can find a way to be at your goal weight and eat what you love.

mshunt1986

Yes I feel your pain @TMLPatrick‌

mshunt1986

Ok thats a great point @rand486‌

mshunt1986

Any suggestions on how to eat sustainably and not deny myself and stay on track? Also how to be aware of portion controls?

trinatrina1984

rand486 wrote: »

Look at how you use the word "diet". It is a noun, not a verb.

You do not "go on a diet". You have a diet, good or bad. If you stop using MyFitnessPal, you are still "on a diet", it just might be a bad one, or one where you are eating in surplus.

Don't look to lose weight quickly, learn to eat sustainably. You shouldn't be denying yourself, you should be planning ahead, and eating what you want in acceptable portion sizes.

Until you learn what the above means, you will re-gain the weight every time, because you aren't learning how to eat correctly until you can find a way to be at your goal weight and eat what you love.

Yep, I agree with this. The problem with "diets" is that you generally have to restrict yourself in a way that is completely unrealistic to do long term. I have been steadily losing weight for 9 months by eating whatever I want - at a sensible calorie deficit. Its not that hard to stick to as I haven't changed anything too drastically - i'm just eating less of it.

Also knowledge is power - read the stickied posts.

rand486

Sorry if I came off as rude/blunt - I have a bit of a forward manner of typing, but I mean well

I'd suggest you start off by sitting down on MFP one day, and planning out an entire day before it even happens. For example, set aside one hour this evening, and pre-log all of Friday. Stick to it.

If that works out, pre-plan all of Saturday & Sunday. Keep doing it and adjusting until you can build out a meal plan for the whole week. Now you have a grocery list, and a bunch of meals you know fit your diet and tastes, and you can rotate through them for variety!

These days, I pre-prep meals every Sunday for the whole week, and freeze them. It makes life super easy, and I allow myself some spontaneity by leaving some flexibility for the evenings in case I get snack-y.

Hope this helps - best of luck!

nannersp61

Its difficult to be completely patient with your body when it doesn't perform as you wish. In my case, I have only begun (Jan 1, 2015 was my start date) and in my perfectionistic way I have done everything perfectly in order to have good results. But my body as usual refuses to budge. Oh, it may tease me with a 4 lb loss one day, then it goes up .4, down .8, up . 6, down . 4 and then up 2 lbs in one day with no reason. Today, it was back down 2 lbs again. It is very frustrating. I just want to have progress where progress is deserved or warranted. I have a long way to go, and this yo-yo crap is hard to deal with.

rand486

nannersp61 wrote: »

Its difficult to be completely patient with your body when it doesn't perform as you wish. In my case, I have only begun (Jan 1, 2015 was my start date) and in my perfectionistic way I have done everything perfectly in order to have good results. But my body as usual refuses to budge. Oh, it may tease me with a 4 lb loss one day, then it goes up .4, down .8, up . 6, down . 4 and then up 2 lbs in one day with no reason. Today, it was back down 2 lbs again. It is very frustrating. I just want to have progress where progress is deserved or warranted. I have a long way to go, and this yo-yo crap is hard to deal with.

It's been one week. You wouldn't have lost enough weight to be noticeable beyond water weight variance. Do yourself a favour, stick to the MFP calorie suggestions, and stay away from the scale for a month.

Your daily fluctuations will drive you insane. Don't let them skew your perspective. Keep on the good mission

noelkm67

Portion control: measure and/or weigh your food. For me, eating sustainably mean picking whole food that keep me full longer while allowing for some treats. I have been wanting mac and cheese lately, so today I had a Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese with a big salad. I will have instant hot cocoa for a chocolate treat sometimes. It's ok to have some treats, just work them into your day around a basically whole food diet as much as possible.

mshunt1986

Thank you @rand486 you didnt come off rude at all actually very helpful

dcavazos

@rand486‌ I am experiencing the same issue. And YoYoing is so harmful for you. I have read so much about how it is much worse to yoyo in weight than it is to just stay at your weight even if it is overweight/obese.

I'm trying to find the answer to this as well. I have tried MFP, WW, low carb etc. But I really think its a mental thing and I need to break through it. Good luck to us both!

FunSkittles

Fellow yo-yo'er here! I find the sustainable longer term success that works for me is when I allow myself a day to have all those treats that I have been denying myself all week. I normally choose a Friday or Saturday for this. I also don't track that day. Or if I do track, I don't beat myself up for going WAAAAY over my calorie intake for the day. I find these one off days are good for the mind and soul. I use them to motivate me to eat good for 'just one more day' and then I can get to the snacky day... Also this is a way of life, not a diet. eating healthy, moving our bodies etc. Feel free to add me and we can help get off the yo-yo together!

mshunt1986

@nannersp61‌ yea the scale will do that to you. I weight myself on day one and then leave the scale alone for at least a week but longer if I stick to my correct calories. B/c it is so discouraging to see a gain when you doing everything right, but it can just be muscle but it is still frustrating.

Need2Exerc1se

Hopefully you can find something that clicks with you in the reponses here. But honestly if any one of these answers worked for everyone it's unlikely that weight loss maintenance would have the high rate of failure that it does.

I disagree that yo-yoing is always harmful though, and do not believe statistics back that up. That also is very individual and depends partly on your lifestyle while losing/gaining and how much you lose/gain.

farfromthetree

I echo all @rand486 said. I will add to that and say do some research as to what a good calorie deficit is for you. A number where you are eating less calories than you are burning, yet you are not super hungry or depriving yourself. It may take some time in the beginning to find that number. When you get that number(say it is 1500 cals/day) stick to that number for a week or two. If the scale shows a loss, you are good. If the scale shows no loss, you may need to lower it or double check the accuracy of your weighing/logging food. I guess what I am saying, is it is not an exact science and it may take some time to figure it out. It is a learning process...be patient!!

Actually to answer your initial question, I come on MFP daily.When I read the forums and success stories it keeps me motivated!!

mshunt1986

Thank you, I'm definitely going to come on MFP daily b/c this is already helping me! I am definitely going to keep at it until I find what works. Thank you @farfromthetree‌

mshunt1986

That it is a great idea!! I Love it! Definitely will be doing a cheat day like that b/c it gives me something to look forward to. @FunSkittles‌

mshunt1986

@noelkm67‌ true Im going to try that too! Thanks!

nannersp61

Thank you for the helpful comments

jpaulie

rand486 wrote: »

Look at how you use the word "diet". It is a noun, not a verb.

You do not "go on a diet". You have a diet, good or bad. If you stop using MyFitnessPal, you are still "on a diet", it just might be a bad one, or one where you are eating in surplus.

Don't look to lose weight quickly, learn to eat sustainably. You shouldn't be denying yourself, you should be planning ahead, and eating what you want in acceptable portion sizes.

Until you learn what the above means, you will re-gain the weight every time, because you aren't learning how to eat correctly until you can find a way to be at your goal weight and eat what you love.

well said,
also this might suck but it is probably healthier to be some overweight and constant than yo-yo between the two. Body and brain does not like that. you have to choose one and stay there IMHO

talieb90

Hi, I'm a yo yo dieter too. I eat healthy and exercise for a whole and then it mostly all goes out the window. I've now changed my mindset to remind myself it's not about a healthy diet it's about a healthy lifestyle. Keeps me focused!!

leggup

mshunt1986 wrote: »

Any suggestions on how to eat sustainably and not deny myself and stay on track? Also how to be aware of portion controls?

The biggest thing that has helped me with portion controls is using a food scale and logging my food. I'm finally getting the hang of what 1 oz of cheese really is, for example.

As for eating sustainable without denying yourself, I find I do best when I only eat 1 thing a day that's "a treat/high calorie." Right now in my house I have chips, cookies, donut holes, reeces bars, marshmallows, chocolate bars, and loaded buttery popcorn. If I had just 1 serving of 2-3 of those items, I would have eaten all my dinner calories in un-filling food. Instead, I eat 100-300 calories of treats each day (and sometimes work out extra to "afford" 300-500 calories of wine, yum). I often pre-log my day's calories to see if I can fit in treats. I've also become more discerning about treats. Bland grocery store cookies left in the break room at work are just not worth it when I know I have lindt truffles at home.

It's also helpful to keep your fridge and pantry stocked with low calorie food that you like. I always have baby carrots, individual guacamole packs, my favorite canned soups, cottage cheese, craisins, nuts, apples, tofu, and frozen broccoli on hand. I also try to keep a stash of grab-n-go foods so that I can have a snack without being tempted to pick up fast food. My grab-n-go bin in the pantry includes fiber one brownies, kashi almond sea salt chocolate granola bars, popchips 'chips' (made from popcorn), rice rollers (they're like rice cakes), wheat thins, and annie's bunnies snacks.

Another hint that someone once told me- if you've yo-yo'd a lot in the past, you will eventually have to address why. Only you can answer that question. For some people, they yo-yo when life becomes stressful and they stress-medicate with food. For others, they're treating some unhappiness/unjustice with alcohol. Some switch dietary tendencies with new partners and end up eating whatever their partner eats, which could be too much. Some develop overly intense exercise regimes to out-run high calorie diets and burn out. Some do quick fixes that are short lived and restrictive.