How do you get out of the cycle?

ajadorsey

Hi Everyone,

For the past 2+ years now I have been losing the same 5-10 lbs over and over and gaining it back again. In the number of times that I've done this I probably could have lost 100 lbs. My goal is to lose 20 lbs total, but every time I get to about 5 lbs weight loss its like I just let myself go, give into bad foods, not exercising etc. and go right back up.

In the times that I have lost weight I've done it the "right" way, tracking calories, exercising, and I start off really motivated, but its something about getting to that 5-10 lb. weight loss point that I just seem to slide back into the same old bad habits. I know that the short answer is that I need to just keep going. But I really need some tips on how to get past that initial weight loss. Has anyone else experienced this small yo-yo dieting and how did you break out of that cycle mentally and physically? I feel like I've been doing it for so long that I really don't know what I need to do to stop myself!

I would appreciate any help.

bluebird321

When I was starting out, I was really strict on the food, but light on the exercise (just walking for an hour every day) I didn't want to get tired, hungry and I figured that sticking to a diet was hard enough. After adjusting to the new lifestyle, I slowly moved back into other exercise activities. I think the bottom line is not to take on too much at once. Good luck, i'm sure you will read about a lot of other opinions and experiences on this forum.

NotGoddess

Make small changes that you can live with the rest of your life. Eating better, exercise or being aware of how much calories are in the food you are eating. Don't go full-tilt strict and ban yourself from things you enjoy-figure out how to incorporate them into your new lifestyle.

Don't tell yourself "It's just until I lose the weight" - that means you'll stop eventually, and if you are going to stop anyway, why not now, or 10lb from now? Better to make small changes over time that add up to a healthier, fitter you in the long run.

gbelltx

First thing is that you continue to make changes which is a good thing. I would look at changing your goals to clothes size and not lbs. As you begin working toward changing your clothes size incorporate just living healthy. Go get your blood pressure, an all your vitals to see if you can add different types of goals. Challenge yourself to do a marathon or something that requires you to prepare where it’s not about the lbs but about training. Last but not least this is a great place to get support!! Take advantage of all the support here. Make it happen!!

george_ie_girl

I agree with Bluebird - take it slowly. Remember it will take time, and effort. But it's worth it. Everyday you WILL get better! So don't give up after a bad couple of days!

Keep your goals in the back of your mind, have fun with it and enjoy being healthy. Enjoy the opportunities that it brings! When you feel like crap - envision yourself being successful and healthy - to get there you have to want it! Try and keep a positive attitude - if you can lose 10lbs you can lose 100lbs! Don't give up!

splackk

I know making these changes is for a lifetime, but sometimes it is easy to fall back on old bad habits in the beginning and un-do everything you've done. I'm not sure how long it usually takes for you to lose that 5-10 pounds and head back to your bad habits, but perhaps try a time goal first and focus on that rather than the pounds only.

When I started this time I told myself I had to eat healthy for one month. I knew from experience if I let myself have the bad stuff at the beginning it'd be my downfall again- I needed to detox! I had to clean out my body and get away from the crap for as long as it took until the daily, hourly cravings for salt and fatty foods stopped. By telling myself I had to stick with it for just 30 days I kept the motivation to at least finish that month, all healthy eating. By the end of the month I wasn't feeling the need to get an ice cream every day or stop at McDonalds 5 times a week or more and from there it's been much easier.

You've got to make healthy eating and exercising your new habit to replace the bad ones, I think. Once it's ingrained to your body that "this is how we do things" suddenly sticking with healthy eating isn't so bad.

ajadorsey

How long it takes me to lose the weight usually depends on how I'm losing it. If I focus on mainly food, and less exercise, I interestingly enough will lose weight much more quickly- 5 pounds within maybe 2 weeks. When I exercise more I know I tend to slack off a little more when it comes to eating right, so it may take me about a month to lose about 5 lbs.

ajadorsey

Thanks all. I know I can get really gung ho in the beginning and take on a lot, but I also know that sometimes if I feel like progress is going too slow, I get less motivated, so I guess its about finding that balance, which I have yet to do.

gbelltx

Losing weight is a marathon and not a sprint it’s not about how fast you get out of the blocks but how consistent you are over the long haul. Stay positive set small goals, plan to get over hurdles and make a plan for when you reach your goals so you won’t go back.

Thad81

What worked the best for me with real weight loss was strict compliance with both my diet and exercise. When I say diet I dont mean eating only meat and no carbs or anything like that. My diet consists primarily of protein, fruits and vegetables in every meal. I do stay away from potatos entirely and only eat certain types of bread. I have lost 85 pounds following this diet and now that I am near my ideal weight I am finding it harder to maintain weight loss, so now I have to be more conscious of the number of calories I consume daily. Since starting to really do this I have lost another eight pounds. But the primary thing that I have found is that I can not return to junk foods as a primary food source or I will lose weight, so it does require changing the way you eat. Fast food and sweets are useless foods and should be a rare treat.

adross3

First question you should alsways ask when dieting is.....What is my try BMR. Basal Metabolic Rate This is the amount of calories you burn sitting on your behind in a 24 hr period. Then how active are you. My calculation algorithim is always off. The calculation gives me a 1600 BMR. My true BMR is 2100. This is because of my muscle mass. Finding your true BMR allows you to judge more accurately. I was loosing 2lbs per week not knowing why. I then checked my BMR and found out.

Fat is approx 3,500 cals per 1lb. The energy you eat as food is stored as fat or stored energy. Don't eat 3,500 cals and you loose 1lb of fat. Eat 3,500 cals and you gain 1lb of fat. That simple. If you want to loose 1lb of fat a week then spread it out at minus 500 cals per day. You will lose 1lb of fat a week. Knock of 1,000 cals a day and you will loose 2lbs per week.

Eating your exercise cals does two things. It supplies your muscles and brain with the proper nutrition it needs to grow and burn fat. Starving yourself in certain points of the day makes your body preserve its fat stores and you get sluggish. Knowing how many cals you burn in a day and what time of the day you go past your BMR's cal burn will enable you to eat to fuel up thru the day. Break your day down into sections before you eat 6X a day. Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner and Snack. This keeps the body burning and never in starvation mode. How active are you during these sections. Eat according to the amount of physical movement in each section.

You will go thru a plateau. Your eating habits has a predermined amount of weight loss. Your metabulism will increase thru exercise. Cleaning up your eating habits at this plateau will trigger more fat loss. Your physical body will be changing when exerciseing. Your weight will seem to have stopped, but your bones amd muscles will increase in mass. This will add weight to your structure. Don't worry, it's what you want. At this time you will need to clean up your eating. "CLEAN EATING". The fat will fall off you and your physical structure will increase. You will look better and feel empowered.

Invest in your future. Invest in yourself.