Has anyone here been yo-yo dieting theire whole life?

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I was just curious. I know I have. And If you did what did you do to fix it?

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  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
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    Oh yeah, for as long as I can remember, even as a kid. My mom was into thinness (not healthyness) and wanted to make me skinny no matter what. As a teen I did slim fast, herbal life, xenadrine, etc. tried tons of other diets as I got older but it was a never ending cycle. At 33 I've finally decided that 20+ years of dieting is enough, and here I am - making a lifestyle change and hoping it sticks for good. Trying to change my mindset about it and focus on being healthy!
  • dartaaa
    dartaaa Posts: 35
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    I have. Ever since I was in hospital and put on hormone therapy, my metabolism was destroyed. I find that doing body cleanse once every 6 months helps a lot, also take a multivitamin pill every morning, those help to give the missing nutrients, therefore avoid weight fluctuating and now I've just committed to healthy lifestyle rather than dieting. Remember, that the only person in your way is you, stop cheating, think about what you want more and go ahead. Good luck!
  • 22workout
    22workout Posts: 36
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    Very motivational. Its the same for me. I did the skinny girl diet, took diet pills that only made me more fatter. So what stopped me was one day I was looking at some article and on the side there was a workout quote. It said Do you want to be covered in sweat at the gym or covered in clothes at the beach? I think we all might know the answer to that one.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    Yes. I'm 52 and I ain't fixed yet.
  • wysdom2013
    wysdom2013 Posts: 1
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    2005 - I threw out my fry daddy!
    I bake/grill all meats, I stopped calling it dieting and started calling it a "life change". Diets come and go but I figure if I adapted myself to a new way of eating healthier this would be considered a life change. My goal was to make this a permanent change. I kept weight off for 5 years, I slacked now it's haunting me lol.
  • LittleSmurfX
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    Have been for a good few years, still trying to figure out what's best for my body so it can stop
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
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    The way I fixed it was to join this site.
  • esme1983
    esme1983 Posts: 60
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    Yes, from the age of 12 to 30 which is what I am now. Each failure piles on top of all the others and makes it all seem more and more hopeless to think I'll ever be free of it.
    My step daughter is 14 and is showing signs of binge/ emotional eating. She has poor self esteem and it makes me so sad because I know her whole life is mapped out for her, one miserable diet after another :(
  • AA1ex
    AA1ex Posts: 223 Member
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    Ever since I was 12 I have been going up and down. I'm afraid once I hit my goal I'm going to get prego or some other major life change is going to happen and I'm going to blow up again... Just trying to do the best I can...
  • Amym26
    Amym26 Posts: 83 Member
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    I have for most of my life starting when I was about 13 when I began starving myself because I had no idea how to eat healthy or what that even was. Since then I have been up and down weight with the last few years I was the biggest I ever was at about 205 pounds. I started Weight Watchers which helped me learn some parts of healthy eating - that you have to always eat healthy you don't do it for a while and than stop. And that it's "normal" to eat fruits, veggies, and whole grains and not processed foods. I then stumbled on Myfitnesspal and read a lot of these message boards. Here I learned that you can actually EAT and not starve yourself. You can eat more calories and it's even okay. But the catch is it needs to continue to be healthy calories. Protein, whole grains, and fruits and veggies. The Book The New Rules of Lifting for Women also helped me start to grasp this. I am much fuller now and feel much better now that I really try to limit processed foods. Probably because now my body is actually getting the nutrients it needs! Please feel free to add me as a friend if you would like.
  • esme1983
    esme1983 Posts: 60
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    I would love to know if anyone has broken the cycle for good... I think it's like any addiction, I feel like no matter what I will always be fighting.
  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
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    *raises hand*

    I don't know if I will be yoyo-ing again, but I can tell you that I have been able to remain eating healthier and exercising with mfp a lot longer than any diet. I now weigh the least I have weighed since about primary school, so that's good :).
    I always used to yoyo between 78 and 105 kilos. I now weigh 75 :). I lost the weight really slowly, but I think that's better than any "fast diet" I have ever done before, because I feel better and feel like I can keep this type of eating and exercise up forever.
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
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    yeah my whole life...FIXING it was a relevation..I started eating everything I loved and having fun and feeling great and stopped ALL DIETING!!!!! quick fixes etc. NO MORE YOYOING
  • dejalo
    dejalo Posts: 8
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    I've yo-yo dieted my whole life too and it will be a lifelong battle to not fall into old habits. Right now I'm losing grad school weight, running, and working out. I've been trying to lose 50 pounds since January 2012 and I think that the biggest battle is losing weight SLOWLY; so patience has really worked wonders as far as fixing my yo yo problem. I now treat my goal as a lifetime endeavor rather than a temporary means to hit a certain goal.
  • aarar
    aarar Posts: 684 Member
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    I've been there many times. I've lost and then gained 50-60lbs at least 5 times in my life (in addition to other failed attempts with 20-30lb losses). Looking back now I can see why I failed. Weight loss was always about the number on the scale and eating as little as possible to lose as quickly as possible. Nothing I ever did in the past was sustainable for long periods of time. I once lost 85lbs eating 500 calories a day. Not too shocking that i gained 10lbs the first day I ate normally and then proceeded to gain it all back within 8 months.

    This time around I've taken the focus off weight loss and instead I'm trying to be healthy and fit. I'm working to change bad habits which can only come wih time and can't be rushed. Ive realized that eating enough food (as well as food that i enjoy) every single day is just as important as not binge eating which I used to really struggle with. It seems to be working and although I have a long way to go I know this time I'm actually making choices that I can easily live with.
  • putrisoe
    putrisoe Posts: 1
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    Hi, newbie here. I've been yoyo dieting for as long as i can remember. I know i'm only 21, but this makes me kinda worried. I mean, all my friends in college are losing weight and starting to have those skinny legs, and me? Only getting fatter as i couldn't stop my cravings! But now i'm willing to change slowly. I hope MFP will help me succeed.
  • GKoz004
    GKoz004 Posts: 87
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    Oh man, you name it, I've tried it haha.
    I started at ~200lbs starving myself, eating an apple and 2-3 cookies a day and working out with an hour of cardio, that was super effective and I lost around 5-6lbs a week. I also lost my hair and my period. Then I fixed myself, went to a nutritionist, and got my life back together. I increased to 1500-a600 cals a day and decreased cardio to 30mins/day. Lost some more weight. I maintained for a while, then started "gaining" (it was probably water). Then the weightloss stopped, so I lowered it to 13-1400 calories a day. Then I started binging. Then I gained weight again. During this time, I've tried various cleanses, fat burner pills, and elimination diets like gluten free, paleo, etc. Fast forward to now, I was gaining weight on 1400 calories in February, went to a dietitian in April after gaining from 120 to 140 in 3 months, increased my intake to 1700, started lifting weights, and I am currently 147.

    I am currently in the process of trying to repair my body. I have upped my calories from 1300-1700/1750 calories a day, and gaining a lot of weight, which I suspect (hope) is mostly water. I suppose it is all a process and I am trying my best to stick to this. It's not easy, I don't feel my best, but I'm trying to take it a day at a time.
  • WVmom24
    WVmom24 Posts: 266 Member
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    Only every last one of us, lol. I have always been one extreme or the other. I am either eating healthy low-cal plant-based foods and exercising every day, or I'm totally pigging out on fast food every day and lazing around. It really sucks! I haven't quite gotten over it, per say, but avoiding fast food is key for me to stay on track because I usually shop pretty well, but then when I'm driving (which is a LOT), I stop at fast food places and get tons of JUNK. Now I try not to carry any money on me when I go out so I CAN"T buy it.
  • slenderbysummer
    slenderbysummer Posts: 4 Member
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    I have been yo-yo dieting Since I had my son 17 years ago. I have tried pills, weigh watches, atkins, you name it and I have tried it. What has really changed for me is I realize my kids are almost grown and I want to be able to do thins with them that i currently am not able to do because I am so out of shape. No one else can fix my weight problem, it is up to me to fix it.
  • 22workout
    22workout Posts: 36
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    Wow I thought I was the only one. And I know what you mean. When a commercial says "lose 50 pounds fast"
    you cant help but try.