YO YO (my story)

i think sometimes its important to look at why we reach to the wrong foods and or upsize our portions. Are you a comfort /emotional eater?. Often we need to address why we stray back to old ways. Also look at your day and plan ahead .. many of us dont do this, for example if you know you are going to be doing long commuting journeys pack suitable snacks so you dont get hungry and stop at fastfood places or eat unsuitable high calorific foods. Finding balance is another important factor when many of us have such busy lives. Try to always make time for yourself and if you miss one of our excercise days then do it the following ..
When you reach target check your weight on weekly basis to keep close check on those small gains so they dont get out of hand

on a more positive note, welcome back and dont feel too bad, many of us have made these mistakes but we can learn by them and by reaching out like you have for support and a better understanding of why this happens for us as individuals.
good luck in your new journey, i have every faith in you as you have done this before and you know you can do it again.
merry christmas and good luck in the new year

Sup, yoyo

Welp, for starters, kudos for being willing! I think you're in the right place. You asked about advice/tips/etc.? Well...for me...one big key was just patience re: learning to trust the system. To help myself be patient, I set my goals a long way out, e.g., instead of thinking day to day and week to week, I try to think month to month and year to year. What that does is help me focus more on the process and less in the fluctuating day-to-day results. It's helped me avoid frustration with the day to day fluctuation and focus more on perfecting my process. I don't know if that works for everyone...but it worked, and is working, for me.

Whatever you do, good luck to you!

That sounds about right.
I have Yo-Yo'ed up and down in weight much like you, but add another 17 years to it and about 25 more lbs. and heart attacks and heart surgery and you have my story.
I have lost 40 lbs. in a four month period, adding it back before the end of the calendar year.
My low (or high) was hitting 320.4 lbs. on the scale and knowing what is down the road for me.
I do not want the diabetes to compound my heart disease, which is what you get when you are in the condition I am and hit the lucky jackpot of having what is called Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome is a pretty new diagnosis which is the result of being too fat and too lazy and facing the myriad of health issues to include Type II Diabetes, heart attack, stroke, swelling, joint pains, etc. etc.
What I am doing DIFFERENTLY this time is this:
I came back with the idea of a two to three-year plan to reach my ultimate goal weight. I am not doing South Beach, or Atkins or Weight Watchers or Mediterranean or any "diet." I am changing the way I eat and moving away from processed foods, fast foods and restaurant foods. We are cooking more at home and trying to do less to the food in the process.
I avoid fried foods, but will eat it when I literally dying for some fried chicken! I might indulge that once a month or once every two months, but not on the almost weekly basis I had been doing. Same with chips, ice cream, etc.
I try to choose whole grains and healthy fats and carbs.
I avoid canned foods and so-called "Lite" or "Lo-Fat" foods. Those are traps for me because they typically make up for the fat with sugar and/or salt.
I found one person to meet on a regular basis for workouts. He is one of my best friends in life and is great for me. When 5:40 rolls around, I find that I am getting up instead of hitting the snooze button for the umpteenth time. I have carved out a special time for exercise. For me, because of meetings and sports events that I have to cover in my job as a newspaperman, that time is early in the morning. I joined a gym and the $35/month is the best investment I can make. I was happy to write the gym a check for $500+ so that my wife and I can have access to equipment that we cannot buy or keep in our house.
That is what works for me.
The important thing is to CARVE OUT whatever works for you and protect it from other influences.
I realize that if my health does not come first, I will not be alive to work or volunteer or be a Dad/Granddad. Period. End of statement. I had a heart attack in 2006 and bypass surgery on Jan. 5 2007 (at age 40). Those were shocking and kicked me into gear for a while.
But 2013, I had an epiphany. This is it. This is a LIFE CHANGE. Not a diet. Not a quick fix. This is me choosing the best life I can for my future, however many years of it I may have left.
I look forward to the day that I can hike, swim, and (this is way down the road and will be a Major Victory for me) climb rocks. Those are things I want to do with my wife, kids, friends and the like.
Only I can get me there.

I am agreeing with the others on here regarding realistic long term goals, not short term quick weight loss.

I too am a yo yo and in my 40's. This is it for me, I have been so lucky so far in that other than high cholesterol (which I have had since childhood even when stick skinny) my health is excellent - FOR NOW. If I keep going at this pace, I am a diabetes ticking time bomb, as well as a heart disease ticking time bomb. Not only do I not want these preventable diseases, I want to walk and climb a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing. I don't want to be that person that walks in the street (I live in NYC) and has everyone else passing them because I am going too slowly.

I set realistic long term goals, and somehow I am more motivated than ever. Just after three days of healthier eating I noticed that I felt better. Now two full weeks of better eating I feel SO MUCH BETTER. I am not stepping on the scale until after the 1st of January, and then my goal is to step on only once a month. I have monthly goals that are very realistic (3 - 4lbs per month).

Nothing is off limits, just in serious moderation.

The MAJOR thing here is to stop beating yourself up. You are human, humans aren't perfect. Giving up is NOT what makes us better, trying again is what makes us stronger.

Finding that motivating again is like a drug to me. Seriously, in just two weeks I am so happy and I feel so much better. No, no one has noticed anything, even me. I have not dropped a size. I feel way less bloated. Getting in control and feeling like I am reaching those realistic goals has been putting a big time smile on my face.

Small baby steps lead to huge accomplishments.

I'll keep going if you want me too, but I'm starting to get a little ridiculous, LOL.

Well, I wish I had done this in my 30's!

Seriously, one of the hardest things to do is to not overthink things, I believe a lot of us do this and it can make things so much harder than they need to be.

You did it once, then life happened. You wrote out your timeline and I am sure in hindsight you can see areas where you could have done better with minimal changes - that's a life worth living one where we are constantly learning and improving.

Do not beat yourself up, be proud that you succeeded albet for a short time and know that you can do this again, your motives are on point - don't think that it will get easier but also admit to yourself that you may not be ready at this moment but expect that moment to come.

Trust me, no one who knows me would have EVER thought I would not only join a gym, let alone go and become a gym-bunny! I did it my way - at my time!

Good luck.

Haha. You can go on as much as you like. I agree with you that January is gonna be my starting point and start setting realistic goals for myself. I've never done a New Years resolution but I think it's time.

I've got to do this, I will do this!!

Don't think of it as a New Year's resolution, but a New LIFE resolution. In your original post you comment that you lost weight, unhealthily eating only 1000 cals. My time line is very similar to yours. Except I started in my early 20's, and am nearing 50 now. I know how to lose weight, exercise..the whole mechanics of weight loss. My most recent loss of 40 lbs was from May 2012 > Feb 2013. Didn't log anything but exercise. Ate mostly healthy, clean foods and my favorites in moderation. Jogging 3 miles 4-5 times a week, completed JM Shred, lifting weights....I felt amazing. Then, boom. Depression set in. I was diagnosed with binge eating that spring. I have gained everything back. I learned that my relationship with food was entirely emotional....even so when I was eating healthy, during my loss. I didn't restrict calories, I restricted **certain foods**. I was failing before I ever succeeded. I learned that if I never faced my binge eating issues (psychological/mental issues) I would never be successful at losing weight AND never maintain it. That is my current struggle. Facing past issues hasn't been easy...and it's mostly from my childhood. I've been in and out of counseling for more than 15 yrs. I've also been on and off meds for those years. Be an observer. Take a good look at yourself and completely understand WHY you eat, or binge. Google binge eating and see if it is helpful. It is something that is over looked for many. Get help if necessary. There are reasons people yo-yo over and over and over. Never forget that you matter and being healthy matters MORE. Good luck, it's in you to succeed!

My story is very similar to yours, down to the years! In 2008 I was at my happiest and healthiest weight ever, and then started experiencing anxiety while exercising (I'm sure it had nothing at all to do with the exercise itself, just the fact that I had several gigantic life changes simultaneously). I fell back into emotional eating, and the weight just piled back on. And fast!

I was on the boards here for several months last year...lost nearly 30 pounds, and then, again, dropped out od sight for awhile. I'm back now, and feeling good about making healthy changes. I'm 46 - can't keep this yo-yoing going forever! Feel free to add me as well, and best of luck to you!

PS - I also had some tight pants going on while dressing for a special event. Ugh.