Any suggestions how to quit yo-yo-ing??
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kommodevaran wrote: »
MFP is the best, but it's not perfect - this is a big flaw, unfortunately. It lets you set your weight loss goal to 2 pounds per week no matter if it's possible or not. If you don't have a lot to lose, you can't lose 2 pounds per week. And the lowest MFP will go, is 1200.
Hmmm. I'm technically only a few pounds overweight, so is 2 pounds unreasonable? Should it be 1, or 1.5 instead? I suppose I'm just impatient!!
Yeah, for people without much weight to loose, 2 pounds isn't a realistic goal. If you choose something more reasonable, you'll get more calories each day. This might be easier for you to stick to -- so it will actually be faster than trying to lose 2 pounds a week but yo-yoing because you go off plan too much.1 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
MFP is the best, but it's not perfect - this is a big flaw, unfortunately. It lets you set your weight loss goal to 2 pounds per week no matter if it's possible or not. If you don't have a lot to lose, you can't lose 2 pounds per week. And the lowest MFP will go, is 1200.
Hmmm. I'm technically only a few pounds overweight, so is 2 pounds unreasonable? Should it be 1, or 1.5 instead? I suppose I'm just impatient!!
The thing is, which is faster? Consistently losing half a pound a week and keeping it off, or starving yourself until you freak out and eat all the food and never losing the weight?
Any rate of speed is faster than never.
All or nothing cannot work. You can't "be on a diet" and then stop being on a diet and keep the weight off. You will return to your previous habits and regain the weight unless you make permanent changes in how you relate to food.6 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
If you've only got a few pounds to lose, .5 a week is probably your best bet, and you can expect that it's going to take a while (even if you tried to stick to 1200 it probably wouldn't be enough to get you two pounds a week). I've been doing almost exactly what @cwolfman13 described above, I'm just earlier in the process than him, and it absolutely 100% works. Yo-yo-ing happens when you treat your diet as something to get over and done with as quickly as possible. Instead, try and think of your diet as literally just the food you eat every day. Don't make any changes you can't live with. It might feel like you're not going anywhere at all, especially if you don't have much to lose, so try and find other goals to focus on - maybe something fitness related, maybe cutting back on a bad habit, whatever makes sense to you. But don't let losing weight become a break from your life - this IS your life, you only get the one, and you should enjoy it.
This is wonderful advice. Thanks so much for your reply!1 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
Yeah, if you're only a few pounds overweight, trying to lose it any faster than .5 a pound a week is a recipe for going off the rails. Speaking from experience here.
Cut back you rate of loss and EAT, but be accurate about your tracking. If you feel that your tracking isn't accurate, then go ahead and set the app to 1 pound a week, but eat back exercise calories, or at least a portion of them.
Yeah? Okay that's good to know, thank you! I would like to lose more, but technically I only have to lose 6 or 8 pounds to be back in tbe "normal" BMI range.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Yeah, for people without much weight to loose, 2 pounds isn't a realistic goal. If you choose something more reasonable, you'll get more calories each day. This might be easier for you to stick to -- so it will actually be faster than trying to lose 2 pounds a week but yo-yoing because you go off plan too much.
That actually makes so much sense!! Thank you for this.
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rheddmobile wrote: »
The thing is, which is faster? Consistently losing half a pound a week and keeping it off, or starving yourself until you freak out and eat all the food and never losing the weight?
Any rate of speed is faster than never.
All or nothing cannot work. You can't "be on a diet" and then stop being on a diet and keep the weight off. You will return to your previous habits and regain the weight unless you make permanent changes in how you relate to food.
You're 100% right. I need to adjust this mindset. Thank you for your wisdom! I'll work to remember it.
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Tacklewasher wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »When I started exercising, I didn't just jump off the couch and start doing all of the exercise...I started walking...after a couple of months I did a C25K program to run a 5K...a couple more months and I joined the gym to start lifting weights...a year later I was training for a sprint triathlon and almost 5 years later I'm an avid cycling enthusiast and rock climbing enthusiast...
Huh.
I started walking, did C25K, ran some 5K Park runs, joined a gym after 10 months, planning a 10K in Oct and a sprint tri in Aug 2018.
So am I going to cycle everywhere and rock climb in 4 more years?
Could happen...my sprint tri training is when I fell in love with my bike. I actually hated running, but I did it because that's what everyone who is fit does right?
I actually never did the sprint...nasty injury about 2 weeks before the race.
The rock climbing thing is fairly new...several months ago my wife thought it would be a fun thing to do as a date...we were immediately hooked...we got top rope certified in June so we could get off the auto belays and I have my first outside climb coming up in October in Red Rocks in Colorado Springs. Our kiddos love it too...my oldest in particular has a lot of potential and zero fear...3 -
I think you need to change your mindset. I say this because I've been there. It's not a "diet". It's a lifestyle. I've recently told myself this and I feel like I"m on the path to success. You can do it.1
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I agree it sounds as if your plan might be too restrictive.
This might sound stupid but for me, one of the things that helped me stop yo-yoing is sort of setting restrictions on when I eat and less so on what I eat. I used to have a problem more so with snacking after dinner, so I told myself no more eating after 8pm, as I realized it had become habitual rather than an actual desire to eat.
Same with me, I was a bad late night snacker. I would evenwake out of sleep to go eat! I try not to eat after 6:30 or 7. But especially never after 8. But im in bed by 9:30. It definitely helps.1 -
I'm so glad I read this. You are all so inspiring!2
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Try not being tooo restricted on what you eat. I was also on 1200. Then i went up to 1390 when i started walking to school. When you workout you get more calories to eat too. You can eat halg. I try not to include in my diary my Walks that are usually 3 or 4 or more miles. That way it leaves room for error. But you should allow yourself something you love to eat everyday. And eat it in your calorie allowance.2
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Nykkismommy21 wrote: »Try not being tooo restricted on what you eat. I was also on 1200. Then i went up to 1390 when i started walking to school. When you workout you get more calories to eat too. You can eat halg. I try not to include in my diary my Walks that are usually 3 or 4 or more miles. That way it leaves room for error. But you should allow yourself something you love to eat everyday. And eat it in your calorie allowance.
Thank you!! Good advice.1 -
magster4isu wrote: »On the days you are going "out of control" is it because you are eating a high volume or are you eating "bad" foods? If it is the later, find a way to fit the foods you love into your calorie goals. If it is a volume thing, why do you feel that you need to eat that much? Are you hungry, bored, emotionally eating?
Kind of both, but mostly just overeating in a stressed out way.
Maybe you need to figure out what triggers your stress. If you are able to identify it, you can build a plan on how to deal with it without turning to food.2 -
I am almost down to my goal weight (GW 120, CW 130, SW 195) and my biggest help has been finding ways to eat as much whole foods as possible, with processed foods added in minimally (e.g. natural peanut butter in my oats, raw cashew "cheese" on my potatoes) and keeping heavily processed foods out of the kitchen (e.g. water or veg stock saute instead of oil, salsa/guac instead of salad dressing.) Also, I personally limit my pasta and bread, but that is a personal preference, I'd rather have a big ol' potato than bread... Once you start incorporating more whole foods in, the bad stuff is easier to resist because you feel so much better.
I have a compulsive eating problem, especially around processed foods. I used to yo-yo every year at my job, because my work offers us snacks and lunches galore. I could never lose it and keep it off. Then I started researching into the sciences of what a natural diet should be like, and it has helped me immensely. I still have my cookies now and again, but its way, way, way easier to just continue on and not fall off the healthy lifestyle completely. And I enjoy that cookie, guilt-free. I concentrate on whats going into my body, not so much what extra exercise I get in aside from my 10K steps, and I have managed to lose weight, eat a LOT and feel satiated.
This is what has helped me, everyone is different though, so don't think I am trying to say going WFPB is what you HAVE to do, its just what I have done, it has helped me regain control of my eating disorder/dysthymia and sanity, and look/feel fabulous in my own body.
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carissalounsbury wrote: »I am almost down to my goal weight (GW 120, CW 130, SW 195) and my biggest help has been finding ways to eat as much whole foods as possible, with processed foods added in minimally (e.g. natural peanut butter in my oats, raw cashew "cheese" on my potatoes) and keeping heavily processed foods out of the kitchen (e.g. water or veg stock saute instead of oil, salsa/guac instead of salad dressing.) Also, I personally limit my pasta and bread, but that is a personal preference, I'd rather have a big ol' potato than bread... Once you start incorporating more whole foods in, the bad stuff is easier to resist because you feel so much better.
I have a compulsive eating problem, especially around processed foods. I used to yo-yo every year at my job, because my work offers us snacks and lunches galore. I could never lose it and keep it off. Then I started researching into the sciences of what a natural diet should be like, and it has helped me immensely. I still have my cookies now and again, but its way, way, way easier to just continue on and not fall off the healthy lifestyle completely. And I enjoy that cookie, guilt-free. I concentrate on whats going into my body, not so much what extra exercise I get in aside from my 10K steps, and I have managed to lose weight, eat a LOT and feel satiated.
This is what has helped me, everyone is different though, so don't think I am trying to say going WFPB is what you HAVE to do, its just what I have done, it has helped me regain control of my eating disorder/dysthymia and sanity, and look/feel fabulous in my own body.
Thank you so much for your reply! There's a lot of really good suggestions here. And congrats on your success!!0
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