Are exercise DVD's a fast track to yo-yo dieting?

I think it represents a great way for people to get on the right track... Shows the way TO get fit. A lot of people are intimidated by going to the gym, so learning a routine in the comfort of their own home can be a great way to start. I'm not sure setting the expectation of working out every day is realisitic.... you have to make it work for you!

You don't have to work out every day. Lift weights 2-3x per week with a full body routine comprised mostly of compound exercises and eat an amount of calories that keeps you at the same weight.

For people like me, I'm going to have to work out at the very least 5 days a week for the rest of my life. It's just how my body is made. Any slight alteration in food or exercise makes me gain weight instantly. I also pick workouts that I enjoy doing and that make me feel good. Some people can workout for 60 minutes (or more) every day. I can't do that. I have, at best, 20 minutes that I can eek out at 5 am. So I do a workout in that time frame. I have a TON of different things to choose from (I have a bunch of beachbody workouts that I use), and they work for me. By not "committing" to one thing in particular I not only don't get bored but I get all areas of my body worked out.

I should also add that I'm a stay at home mom, so I can pretty much make my own schedule. My husband works a lot, and for him, he loses weight just by moving more and eating better. We switch his junk food for better versions and he drops lbs. My best advice for your lifestyle would be to add in another basketball game during the week and do some sort of hiking or trail walking on one of your off days. That way you're being active at the very least 3 days a week. Or go for a bike ride. If you add in something that you enjoy, you're more likely to stick with it.

When you first start working out, you reason with yourself all the time why you shouldn't have to do this.. kind of like when you had to get up for school.
But, once you start doing it for 4 + months.. you kind of fall into a routine of exercising. It has become part of your daily life and you wont resist it so much anymore.
Buy some new colorful pretty work out clothes.. then look forward to wearing them each time you exercise.
With time, if you keep up your willpower, you mind will soon work less against you, and more for you.
Be WARDEN of your own body!

I used it as a warm up. It proved to me that I could stick to something for several weeks (I did 25 workouts, then got sick, then went on vacation). Now I'm working out for about 40min each day (Monday - Friday) at the gym near my work. It also gave me the opportunity to have my pathetic initial exercise moments at home (almost puking because I ate too much pre-workout, almost passing out because I ate too little, falling over in a most ungraceful way when I tried to jump to switch legs on the lunges, etc). It is what you make of it.

My experience with it.....

I always hated exercise, if the purpose was to exercise. If it was just something fun I wanted to do and it was not called exercise, then fine. So to do a workout DVD for the purpose of, you know, exercise, was completely not what I ever wanted to do.

I started 30 DS. It was hard. I didn't do it every day, but I was doing at least 3 to 5 days a week. I was doing it because I was going on vacation and I didn't want to look like a total blob. I went on vacation, and it was good and when I got back I didn't really have much motivation to keep at it.

So, April, May, June, July..... didn't do much exercise and all the progress I made before was gone. I can't get away with not exercising any more. At my age, I'm not going to magically start looking like I did 20 years ago, no matter how much I watch what I eat. I recommitted to exercising, and I started adding in other DVDs, and I at least walk for 30 minutes every day if I don't do the DVD. And now, 2.5 months later, I am really starting to see my body changing. And I feel great. I have never felt so good before in my life, just general mood, feeling better in my skin, feeling better about myself overall. And now I WANT to exercise every day.

The DVD did not cause me to Yo-Yo on my diet, I was still logging every day even when I was not exercising. But to get the results I want, I do need the exercise, and in committing to doing it, that made me want to do it.

Nobody can make you do it. You have to get to a point yourself where you feel the necessity and do it.

It's just a name for a DVD, Jillian Michaels has been quoted saying that. First, you don't have to do it for 30 days straight. Do it 3 to 5 times a week. Second, as long as you are doing some kind of physical activity or exercise that you like AND eating the proper amount of calories for the rest of your life you will not yo-yo diet. You have to change your fitness and eating habits for the rest of your life, you can never "go back to normal."

Do you think gym memberships are a fast track to yo-yo dieting? I dont. I workout to dvd's and you shouldnt do the same workout for more thatn a month so you get more dvd's. I try to buy a new workout every other week to keep my routine changing and adding variety.

I work, have a very active teen and family. I commit to working out in the morning and have a schedule for the month to make it easier in myself.

Yo-yo dieting is not a result of dvd's or gym memberships. You start to yo-yo when you start thinking that just because you did a program that says 30,60,90 days that you are done. This is a LIFE journey yo have to commit to something everyday. You will never find the time you have to make the time.

If you tell yourself you have to do ANYTHING - a particular exercise routine, eat a particular food - for the rest of your life, THAT could lead to yo-yo dieting.

Exercise is meant to be fun, find something enjoy. You CAN stick with that one thing you love, or you can mix it up to fit your goals, increasing fitness and your mood.

And despite what the cover of 30DS says, you don't have to - indeed shouldn't, Jillian herself has confirmed - do it every day. During one or two rest days a week your body recovers, muscles grow and heart and lungs become stronger.

The problem here is that you see exercise and diet as a means to an end. And that is what leads to yo-yo dieting.

Yo-yo dieting is a function of a persons psychology, not a round shiny disk.....

....people have to find exercise that works for them - as in they can stick to it because they enjoy it. The more exercise you do and the more variety of exercise you do makes you more educated and sophisticated in how and how much you need to work out, eat, rest, etc. And like in all things, your taste in exercise can change as time goes by.

At the end of the day there's no magic involved..... just time, patience and hard-work. If you can't muster up these three things, then you'll ultimately end up living on your sofa, eating a family sized bag of crisps, watching crappy tv and *****ing about how you're not happy with yourself.

Whether you pop in a dvd, lace up a pair of running shoes or go to the gym and hit the weights is irrelevant. Only your attitude is relevant to whether you'll fail or not.

No, I don't think DVDs of any kind set you up for yo-yoing. The name "30-day Shred" simply implies that if you do the routine for 30 days straight, you should be able to see some sort of result. Marketing folks named it so that consumers would see it and say to themselves, "Oh! Here's what I can do to look like Jillian Michaels in a month!" and buy it. Like they say, actual results may vary. :laugh:

Anyway, I agree with what the bulk of the responders here have said: You need to find a rhythm for your workouts that meshes with your life. For me, I committed nine months ago to doing SOMETHING every day, whether it's walking for half an hour or hiking for half a day. I've got as busy a life as the next person, but I owe it to myself to give ME the time I require to keep healthy. Throwing in a DVD workout here and there works well when I want a quick, hard burn without leaving the house. Doing that only periodically doesn't cause me to yo-yo any more than a 10-mile hike once every few months would. For me (I'm 49), I find that regular, steady workouts (30-60 minutes daily) keep me both slim and happy. Since you're so young, you'll likely require less. And basketball? -- whoa! -- that's one KILLA game! If you're playing ball a few times a week, you're good to go, girlfriend.

The problem here is that you see exercise and diet as a means to an end. And that is what leads to yo-yo dieting.

This is very true. It was the way I always saw dieting and exercise. I hated them both and therefore never kept the weight off. I'm talking MANY attempts. Some pretty good losses too sometimes up to 40 odd pounds. Just to decide it was too hard and gain it all back and then some.

Not anymore. I am eating at a cal level that I can sustain for the rest of my life if need be. I don't really restrict what I eat, but have found that as I get healthier, I don't want junk anymore.

And exercise??? Never even barely tolerated it. Now, I have gone from doing nothing, to kickboxing, strength training and now lifting heavy. It's awesome. I LOVE doing these things and can't imagine not doing them even when I reach goal.

Find something you LOVE and do it.

in my opinion, something like 30 day shred should be something that gets your started and motivated. once you get results and see the difference in your endurance from doing the video, you should be more motivated to get out there and begin taking initiative of your own health and fitness.

its all about being realistic with yourself. if you start small, you will not feel overwhelmed and you won't quit.