'YDA' Yo-yo Dieters Anonymous

SuzieA1991

I know it's not really anonymous but hey, I thought it was pretty funny. ;D

I guess the purpose of this post is to share my story of yo-yo dieting, the countless 'diets' that I have tried, and for other people to share their stories as well.

So I know that many of us have been there. We get on myfitnesspal for a while, lose some weight, and then get off the bandwagon for some reason. It's like a never ending cycle, that honestly gets very tiring. We (well at least I did) end up gaining back what we lost, plus another 10+ pounds, and after seeing that number on the scale, it makes me even less motivated to want to lose it again (I know, it would make sense, you see yourself so much bigger than before that you would want to lose the weight for good. Not my case.)

I started myfitnesspal a little over 2 years ago. I was newly married and I wanted to get more in shape. Everything was going great. I was counting my calories, exercising (if you even want to call Just Dance and Zumba on the Wii exercising. It was just fun!) So I ended up losing close to 30 pounds and was only 20 pounds to the weight I was actually supposed to be at. Well things weren't going well in paradise and I ended up separating from my husband. After moving in with my best friend (who I love to eat with, especially sweets XD) I gained the weight back, in a short few months, plus some added interest. So then starts the lovely yo-yo dieting. I tried the military diet (Effective, but I'm sure unhealthy, and left me hungry), Adkins (Best diet that worked for me, but once you start eating carbs again, the weight comes back quick, and I mean within like a 2 week period. It's also not good if you don't follow the diet "correctly" which I have read a lot of people don't do because it can lead to intestinal problems for the people who eat mainly the fats and meats, which sent me to the hospital at one point. Not a pretty subject.) I was also on the Adkins at two different points in the past 2 years. Even a few months ago, I got on a health kick; not counting calories, just eating a lot of healthy foods and we all know that even healthy foods in excess can lead to weight gain. I was even running on top of that and still gained a good bit of weight.

So here I am, at the end of my yo-yo dieting, not doing anything, just eating what I want; and then it clicked for me the other day. I'm 80 pounds overweight (although I don't want to lose quite that much, my goal is to lose 60) and have been on all these "diets" with nothing to show for it. Counting calories and exercising has always been the way to go! It's the most effective and healthiest way to lose the weight. And I will be honest with myself and with all of you that are asking, "Well why haven't you been doing that all along then?" Well it's simple. I have just been lazy.

So today, I prepared a meal plan for the week based on how many calories I am allowed to consume in a day.

So here's to me breaking out of my nasty yo-yo dieting habits and getting off my lazy butt.

Dhemeyer

I've been there! After my first baby, I spent a good year trying to figure out how to lose weight. Once I figured it out how to eat right, what sort of exercise I loved, and how to stay accountable and consistent the weight fell away! It sounds like you've learned a lot in 2 years, good for you! Now that you have a plan, just stick to it. You're going to do great
Best wishes!

Wookinpanub

I was a regular yo you dieter. I can't tell you how many diets I started on a Monday and by Tuesday lunch I was back to my eating habits.

I got lucky and switch went off this time and I have been losing weight since March 5.

yesmikan

I just got back on MFP yesterday after a year's absence. I lost around 85 pounds last year, which was a great success, but then I got lazy. I haven't gained ALL of that back, thankfully, and I'm actually feeling very confident and motivated knowing that I had success last year and that I know for certain I can lose again.

I clicked on this topic since the phrase "yo yo diet" has been swimming around in my head since yesterday, and maybe not for the best of reasons. But I'm confident that I'm at least headed back in the right direction again.

Eleanora84

OMG I feel like I just read my dieting biography! ... My MFP says 0lbs lost because I lose & gain, lose & gain, lose & gain! I hate it... to top it off, I have been engaged for a year with a month to the wedding now and woke up the other day and was like "W T F are you doing??? get off that yo-yo, start eating healthy foods and get on a bike or treadmill!"

Anyways, congrats to you! I really hope you succeed and get where you want to be... as for me... hopefully I can stick with traditional healthy eating & working out (instead of crazy diets) and actually loose those 40lbs I've been staring at in the mirror for the last 2 years...

SuzieA1991

Nice replies guys Glad to see I'm not the only one alone in this.

PINKinquisition1908

This is the story of my life for the last 8 years. I was actually thinking about starting a thread like this, but didn't have the courage. Thanks for the taking the leap OP.

kimberlymarie30

Yo-Yo dieter here also. I've lost 75 lbs since I had my daughter, but this last 30-40 lbs is just sticking around! I go down and then back up all the time. Not to mention this has been going on for almost 2 years now! I want to get off this roller coaster now. I was doing great until we went on vacation a week ago. You can do this. You know what you need to do. It's all about consistency and not letting ANYTHING and I mean anything sway you from your path.

tabbyrose727

I could have written this post. I have been on & off MFP so many times I can't count. I've tried every crazy diet in the book. BUT that doesn't mean that we can't stop that cycle and get back on the right track!

desyreme1

This is so much like my story. Ask me about virtually ANY diet, I have tried it at one point in my life! Wish I could say I have found something that I can stick to forever.

SuzieA1991

But when you think about it, it is actually really easy to stick to counting calories. I mean even if you don't exercise (which i didn't do at one point) you can still lose weight, maybe not as fast but still. I mean especially if you eat sort of the same foods for a while (which I do as well) it's easy just to put it in. You don't really have to change, drastically, what you eat. You just have to make sure that by the end of the day, you don't go over your calories. This is the only "diet" if you want to even call it that, that does not deprive you of any of the food groups, as long as you keep it within your calorie range.

Lizzy622

I finally stopped yo-yo dieting when I took away the finish line. There is none. I have to watch what I eat and exercise for me and for the rest of my life if I want to be healthy. Welcome to the rest of your life and living it healthy.