Is this yo-yoing?

Christine_72
Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
edited November 17 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I have noticed a distinct pattern over the last few years.. Every winter i gain around 6lbs, and lose it again by mid summer. Is this yo-yo dieting?

It will be winter again here in a couple of months, and this year I'm going to make a concerted effort to stay in my maintenance range. I would just like to complete one full year of NOT having to diet/eat in a deficit.

Replies

  • subcounter
    subcounter Posts: 2,382 Member
    I wouldn't worry so much about 6 lb's, as long as you're happy with what you see in the mirror. My weight changes up to 10 lb's in just two days depending on my carb & sodium intake :smile:

  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    I do the same as I feel the cold terrible.

    Plus we just move less over the winter. I walk the dog for only half an hour a time compared to 2 hours in spring/summer.
    I'm a little less vain as I can wear an extra layer. Lot's of reasons but yes it has been my norm for many years now.
  • davelfc49
    davelfc49 Posts: 29 Member
    edited March 2017
    21m58a0.jpg

    I noticed I had weight gain at around the same time each year, give or take a month. Even working on the issue it's been hard breaking that cycle but I feel I'm getting there. The myfitnesspal app has made a big difference in me seeing just what I am eating and helping me to apply portion control.

    I don't think I'll ever stop the cycle from happening but I can reduce it as you can see. As I am 6'2" I can carry a decent amount of weight without it being too much of an issue, I don't have a protruding belly for instance. As I get older that becomes more of a concern hence my efforts to reduce it and stay reduced.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,224 Member
    I think that's just maintanance with some ups and downs, really. Yo-yoing to me is where you set out to lose weight, lose it, then pile it back on again by reverting back to old habits or developing new ones. I think a few pounds over winter is just developing insulation for hiberation.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Thanks guys.

    I really like the developing insulation for winter theory :lol:
  • davelfc49
    davelfc49 Posts: 29 Member
    Some it can of course be down to boredom and lack of outdoor activity caused by having to stay in because of bad weather. People are more inclined to use public transport/taxis than walk when it's cold and wet. Nothing like a nice hot meal when it's cold too instead of a salad.



  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I'm very similar and tend to be 5lbs heavier post Christmas and New Year.
    In winter my cycling distance falls from about 500 miles a month in summer to about 200 indoor training, I walk less, indoors and sedentary as opposed to outdoors and active, I do more strength training (low burn) than cardio (high burn).

    On the other side of the energy balance I enjoy a lot of social events involving eating and drinking. :smile:

    I could restrict more in winter to prevent the gain but instead just restrict for a while in Spring instead so don't really see the difference.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I have noticed a distinct pattern over the last few years.. Every winter i gain around 6lbs, and lose it again by mid summer. Is this yo-yo dieting?

    It will be winter again here in a couple of months, and this year I'm going to make a concerted effort to stay in my maintenance range. I would just like to complete one full year of NOT having to diet/eat in a deficit.

    I do this every year as well - I think it's due to my winter hibernation (lack of activity.) I wouldn't call it yo-yoing. I'd say it's more like a slight seasonal fluctuation. In small amounts, it's harmless. My extra 4-6 goes away every spring when I emerge from the den and get back out on the trails. It's the people who go from extreme to extreme repeatedly that I would consider to be yo-yo dieting.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Seasonal changes, in synch with normal life, celebrations, being indoors and eating more in winter, being more active and outdoors in summer. Normal. Good. Problems arise when you go up in winter, and then not down in summer. 6 pounds is my maintanance range.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
    Same. I've been up a few pounds this winter and for the life of me I can't seem to keep it off. But I know I'm way less active. I HATE being cold, and Minnesota is miserable in the winter so I am indoors a lot. I exercise still but definitely burning fewer calories overall and my lifestyle has been much more sedentary. My clothes still fit though so I am not too bothered by it. With spring coming, I've been going for walks on warmer days and playing at the park with my kids so my activity level has been picking up. This happened to me last year as well and I'm ok with it. It's not like I gain so much that I'm overweight again.

    I agree with previous comment that I see yoyo dieting as more extreme patterns of gaining and loss, not trends within the year.
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,246 Member
    I did exactly the same (seems to be a pattern here). Maybe it's more genetically driven then we realize?

    I've always called myself a yo-yo dieter. To me that means losing and gaining the same 25-30 lbs over and over again, but at the high end of the weight gain it sticks around for awhile as the "new normal". I'm trying to make my new normal at the lower end of the spectrum with an occasional (winter time or vacation) spike.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    I've read that a lot of professional athletes gain a few pounds in the winter and then lose them during spring training. There's no reason why people have to gain weight in the winter, but inactivity tends to lead to that. I doubt the winter five really hurts anyone as long as they get rid of it after winter. The problem with yo-yo dieting is that you are constantly putting your body under stress either because you are overweight or because you are eating at a deficit.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I have noticed a distinct pattern over the last few years.. Every winter i gain around 6lbs, and lose it again by mid summer. Is this yo-yo dieting?

    It will be winter again here in a couple of months, and this year I'm going to make a concerted effort to stay in my maintenance range. I would just like to complete one full year of NOT having to diet/eat in a deficit.

    I wouldn't consider that yo-yo dieting...I put on about 10 Lb every winter...not much changes from a dietary standpoint, my activity level just dips. It's cold and dark...and frankly, by that time I've spent about 9 months hitting it pretty hard on the bike and I'm usually a little burnt and don't really have any events to train for until summer rolls around again. To boot, my general activity dips...I'm more likely to be found on a Sunday afternoon in my living room watching football with a roaring fire going vs spring, summer, or fall when I'm likely to be at the zoo with my kiddos or playing football in the park, etc.

    We're approaching summer and my miles have been going up every week and my weight is dropping...I will predictably be back to my usual maintenance weight by June most likely. Next winter I'm going to make more of an effort than I have in the past...I probably still won't ride as much, but I do now have an indoor trainer, and I've been talking to my coach about doing the State power lifting meet next March...so I'll pick up that training right around the time cycling season comes to a close.

    When I think of a yo-yo dieter, I think of someone who loses quite a bit of weight and then just gains most, if not all of it back or more and then diets again...rinse, repeat. They never really maintain a healthy weight.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    I tend to be similar. I agree with pp's that to me that's a small enough range I wouldn't consider it yoyoing.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I have noticed a distinct pattern over the last few years.. Every winter i gain around 6lbs, and lose it again by mid summer. Is this yo-yo dieting?

    It will be winter again here in a couple of months, and this year I'm going to make a concerted effort to stay in my maintenance range. I would just like to complete one full year of NOT having to diet/eat in a deficit.

    I don't think so. My guess is you are less active in the winter, more active in the summer. It 'fixes' itself.

    Yoyoing would be going on a diet to lose weight, then going back to old habits which puts the weight back on.
  • rhiawiz57
    rhiawiz57 Posts: 906 Member
    edited March 2017
    THIS is yo-yoing. This is my personal weight log from the last 5.5 years. I've gone up and down 10-30 pounds over and over and over in this time. This is me going through cycles of pretending not to care about my weight, getting close to 200 lbs (my mental limit), and then being obsessed with some diet. That's what yo-yo-ing is. I haven't been able to find something that works, because most diets teach us how to lose weight, NOT keep it off long term. Yoyoing is not 6 lbs of winter weight gain that comes off every year. Now, i'm doing the Every Other Day diet and i believe it will work long term because it has a maintenance component to it that is actually something I can do, and i'm just now realizing I need something i feel like i can do forever so i can get out of this vicious cycle. Wish me luck as i head towards 155 lbs. 8tz69raiyrac.jpg
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I think its more like you get to the higher end of your maintenance range possibly because its winter and perhaps less active? then once the better weather comes, moving more leads to the 6lbs disappearing.

    I used to find the same increase in winter but for me, I was wanting to snack a little more because of the short days and I wasn't being as active - it took a lot of self control to deny myself comfort snacks and eventually the habit left me. This is the second winter where I haven't gained 4 or 5 lbs and I know its because I have been stricter with myself. For me less activity=less food in=stable weight.
  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,908 Member
    In ranching country that's called "wintering well" :)
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    My yo yo-ing has typically been in the 20-60 pound range, going up each time I gained as I got older. Finally, the string has broken on the yo yo and I'm where I want to be weight wise and have no intention of going back up where I was before. For me, I don't want those 6 extra pounds in the winter so I'll have to be very diligent about making sure I'm active and eating an appropriate amount of food.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    edited April 2017
    For me, yo yo-ing is 20-25 pounds lost and gained each year. That's what I'm working on. How to maintain in a 5# up and down range, not 25#.
  • ziesergirl_66
    ziesergirl_66 Posts: 1,016 Member
    fiddletime wrote: »
    For me, yo yo-ing is 20-25 pounds lost and gained each year. That's what I'm working on. How to maintain in a 5# up and down range, not 25#.

    this is me, but my range is 30-40 lbs. lost & gained each year.. doing so for over 20 years. I can lose it, just not maintain it. when I'm losing, I'm very healthy & active. when I'm gaining, I binge, pretty much every 2 hours/daily, which prevents me from being very active. :/
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