Yo- Yo dieter - Cutting the string and rolling with it!

l0sing_it
l0sing_it Posts: 67
in Getting Started
Hi all! I am new here, and I would like to meet some people who are going through the same things that I am, or even just some support and motivations. I am in my early thirties, a wife and mother, and I have been battling with weight gain for the last 12 years. I am currenty over 250 lbs. I put on a lot of weight when I started college and I have not been able to get it under control since. When I graduated I was 80 lbs heavier than when I started.
I have done just about everything, pills, exercise programs, extreme diet fads, juicing, water fasting, all sorts of crazy stuff. Some worked, some didn't, but the bottom line is nothing stuck!
I have lost and gained back the same 70 lbs four times. I always do really good in the beginning, I get pumped up and start off strong, then something happens or I just get scared and I fall back into my old eating habits. I have found through trial and error, the best way to keep off weight, for me, is through just diet and of course, exercise.
But that's not my real problem. I like exercise. I love to run, I like moving around and playing with my kids. The real deal is that I know I am a food addict. I love food and I do not know when to quit. I have a long line of addiction in my family and I never did drugs, so mine was always food. So, I am here for support and motivation while I start working on myself again.
I have a history of starting off really good, but then I lose motivation and I lose the drive and slowly I find myself back to my old habits or going through the drive through because I am stressed out or I am mad at myself for not sticking through it. I think "Well I messed up once, might as well just eat this too."
I am trying to break free of this addiction and I could use as much support as possible :)

Thank for reading this and I hope to meet some of you great people soon!

Replies

  • l0sing_it
    l0sing_it Posts: 67
    So, my journey is going to start tommorow. My short term goal is to lose 30 lbs in 3 months. That's 10 lbs a month, 2.5 lbs a week.
    I will be doing 1 hour of cardio x 6 days a week. In addition, I will be doing the classic version of P90X, x 6 days a week. I will be eating between 1200-1500 calories, with day a week to have a free dinner of my choosing, not to exceed 3000 calories for the whole day. This is my reward to myself for the hard work, it seemed to work well last time, so I plan to incorporate this again. :)
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Why not start today?

    And remember while it's great to choose healthy food, you don't have to punish yourself mentally by avoiding the stuff you like.

    Good luck. We're here if you need advice. :)
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    Hi, welcome, and I love the title of this thread!

    I've been here on and off for a couple of years, but finally got serious last winter. I log in and log food and exercise daily, so feel free to add me.

    I'm a grazer, but have been having a horrible time giving up smoking, so I understand that part of it...especially the "crap I just blew it, may as well smoke another one" concept.

    Soooo much easier (and fun) with friends along the way!

    :flowerforyou:
  • bound4beauty
    bound4beauty Posts: 274 Member
    I too have yo-yo dieted most of my adult life so I'm going to be brutally honest with you. The reason you fail is because you have unrealistic expectations and you're trying to make drastic changes that you hope you can live with.

    1) Be realistic about how much cardio you're really going to do 6 days a week. I think you're biting off way more than you can chew and it's not necessary.

    2) If you do actually do that much cardio, 1200 - 1500 calories day is not going to be enough to adequately fuel those workouts and you're just going to end up tired, hungry and discouraged.

    3) 2.5 pounds a week is very aggressive. Why the rush? If you don't want this to be another failed attempt, SLOW DOWN!

    Figure out your TDDE.
    Make a 20% cut.
    Don't kill yourself with cardio
    Start a beginner strength training program like Strong Lifts
    Read, read and read some more until you become an expert on how how to safely and effectively lose weight
    Don't get sucked in by pseudoscience. There is no magic pill, potion or shake that is going to be effective in the long term

    Join a group on here that has like minded people with goals similar to yours.

    You can do this!
  • Teenalove912
    Teenalove912 Posts: 18 Member
    Most likely the majority of us who find this site have lost....gained....lost....gained over and over again. Me too! This is and will continue to be a life long issue for me. Each time I'm finding though that I learn something new about myself and my relationship to food. I've found some useful tips on this site and look forward to making new friends and read encouraging entries. I'm open to being a friend. Have a great week.
  • scubabetty
    scubabetty Posts: 22 Member
    I too have yo-yo dieted most of my adult life so I'm going to be brutally honest with you. The reason you fail is because you have unrealistic expectations and you're trying to make drastic changes that you hope you can live with.

    1) Be realistic about how much cardio you're really going to do 6 days a week. I think you're biting off way more than you can chew and it's not necessary.

    2) If you do actually do that much cardio, 1200 - 1500 calories day is not going to be enough to adequately fuel those workouts and you're just going to end up tired, hungry and discouraged.

    3) 2.5 pounds a week is very aggressive. Why the rush? If you don't want this to be another failed attempt, SLOW DOWN!

    Figure out your TDDE.
    Make a 20% cut.
    Don't kill yourself with cardio
    Start a beginner strength training program like Strong Lifts
    Read, read and read some more until you become an expert on how how to safely and effectively lose weight
    Don't get sucked in by pseudoscience. There is no magic pill, potion or shake that is going to be effective in the long term

    Join a group on here that has like minded people with goals similar to yours.

    You can do this!

    This!

    I've finally gotten it through my thick skull that this is the only way to do it. Feel free to add me!
  • Flawlesscube
    Flawlesscube Posts: 4 Member
    WTG on the motivation but knowing this is my first week also, an hour a day is going to feel like forever on day 5, I am tackling about 30-40 minutes a day with cardio as I am just starting back out, Not sure your daily routine but if you can do an hour I applaude you. Can add me also if you want.
    Ann
  • larodriguez02
    larodriguez02 Posts: 106 Member
    Feel free to add me, I am very similar, I am a working mother, started at 260, so far I am down 27 lbs, struggled for quite some time. what is working for me, is changing my habits, but not depriving myself. I am incorporating healthy eating into my lifestyle, the journaling helps tremendously!! just be careful about starting off too aggressively like others said. I am losing fairly slowly because I want this to be something I am going to stick with for the rest of my life. :)
  • Eshathediva
    Eshathediva Posts: 49
    I hope you are doing well in your journey and figured out what is healthy and works well for you. Im in the sameeee boat. Of and on. I'd love to hear of your progress.
  • mistyblu13
    mistyblu13 Posts: 71 Member
    I too have yo-yo dieted most of my adult life so I'm going to be brutally honest with you. The reason you fail is because you have unrealistic expectations and you're trying to make drastic changes that you hope you can live with.

    1) Be realistic about how much cardio you're really going to do 6 days a week. I think you're biting off way more than you can chew and it's not necessary.

    2) If you do actually do that much cardio, 1200 - 1500 calories day is not going to be enough to adequately fuel those workouts and you're just going to end up tired, hungry and discouraged.

    3) 2.5 pounds a week is very aggressive. Why the rush? If you don't want this to be another failed attempt, SLOW DOWN!

    Figure out your TDDE.
    Make a 20% cut.
    Don't kill yourself with cardio
    Start a beginner strength training program like Strong Lifts
    Read, read and read some more until you become an expert on how how to safely and effectively lose weight
    Don't get sucked in by pseudoscience. There is no magic pill, potion or shake that is going to be effective in the long term

    Join a group on here that has like minded people with goals similar to yours.

    You can do this!



    Well said and I couldn't agree more- I think you will find that most people here have food addictions and poor discipline- that's why we are all here-- to learn how to cope and make healthy changes we can deal with on a daily basis for the rest of our lives! No crazy diets or severely cutting everything out...its making thoughtful concentrated efforts to choose wisely every moment of every day....and if you mess up one day -big deal -get back on the wagon that very moment you realize don't compound it by digging the hole deeper--you can do this- and while everyone here has different needs to stay focused....get healthy...stay healthy don't be afraid to pick their minds for ideas and pick what you think will work for you --don't forget this isn't a DIET its a lifestyle change :):) now go gettem! You got this!!
  • albionjen
    albionjen Posts: 86 Member
    I too have yo-yo dieted most of my adult life so I'm going to be brutally honest with you. The reason you fail is because you have unrealistic expectations and you're trying to make drastic changes that you hope you can live with.

    1) Be realistic about how much cardio you're really going to do 6 days a week. I think you're biting off way more than you can chew and it's not necessary.

    2) If you do actually do that much cardio, 1200 - 1500 calories day is not going to be enough to adequately fuel those workouts and you're just going to end up tired, hungry and discouraged.

    3) 2.5 pounds a week is very aggressive. Why the rush? If you don't want this to be another failed attempt, SLOW DOWN!

    Figure out your TDDE.
    Make a 20% cut.
    Don't kill yourself with cardio
    Start a beginner strength training program like Strong Lifts
    Read, read and read some more until you become an expert on how how to safely and effectively lose weight
    Don't get sucked in by pseudoscience. There is no magic pill, potion or shake that is going to be effective in the long term

    Join a group on here that has like minded people with goals similar to yours.

    You can do this!

    I agree with all of the above.

    OP, please try to start with realistic changes that you think you will be able to stick to for months and years. If you want to keep the weight off you will need not to go back to your old habits and instead keep the new healthy habits. I don't know about you, but there is no way I could do that amount of exercise every day for the rest of my life!

    Have a read of the below link that was very helpful to me when I started - and good luck

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

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