Trouble with Yo-Yo Dieting! Any Suggestions?

The most common cause of yo yo dieting is people making the diet too difficult to stick to in the first place, and also this goes with all-or-nothing thinking......

you don't need to be perfect to lose weight, you don't need to lose weight quickly, you don't need to torture yourself with exercise that you hate, you don't need to give up *any* of your favourite foods.... you don't have to make this difficult at all.... all you need to do is burn more calories than you eat. Change your focus... don't try to lose weight fast... aim and plan instead for not regaining the weight you lose, i.e. your long term goal is to get to your goal weight and stay there for life - it really does not matter how long it takes you to get there, so long as you stay there. Try to find the highest number of calories you can eat and still lose weight, slowly but steadily. Pay attention to getting all the nutrition your body needs (protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, fibre, etc) and then with the remaining calories, eat what you want so long as you don't go over your calorie goal. Plan your eating so you can have all the foods you want to eat, and log your food carefully so you know just how much you can have without going over goal (you'll be surprised how much you can actually fit in)...... with regards to exercise, anything that gets you moving is fine... pick something you enjoy and won't find it hard to stick to and get into the habit of doing it regularly.

For goals, instead of setting goals like lose x lbs by whatever date.... set compliance goals, i.e. 1 month 2 month 3 month etc goals sticking to it... long term ones would include 1 year, 2 years, 5 years.... if the thought of sticking to the same lifestyle changes that long freaks you out....... well that's why you have to make sure what changes you make to lose weight are ones that you *can* stick to and *don't* feel like torture or deprivation, because you do have to stick to it for the rest of your life.... and you can lose weight and keep it off for life without any of it feeling like torture or deprivation because you just have to burn a little more off than you eat. Aim for long term compliance.... don't worry about how long it takes to get to goal, aim to stay there for life when you do.

I too work 2 jobs, am a full time graduate student, in addition to family.

The key? Find ways to multi-task and work activity into things you do already. Some of my textbooks are available as online versions, so I read while walking on the treadmill (slower and uphill incline are better for reading real books though). Jogging in place while watching tv. Doing active things with family, friends. Walking to the store instead of driving.

The big key to weight control is making your food choices/amounts reasonable based on what your body needs. Avoid mindless eating. Eat for nutrition, fuel. You can & should enjoy your food also, and that can fit into the nutrition/fuel aspect as well.

In theory, you should be able to manage your weight simply through controlling your calorie intake.

It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate right now, and it'll make things a lot easier if you figure out a preparation strategy. One thing I've learned is that the majority of successful users on here have figured out a way to bulk cook/do meal prep for the week on Saturday or Sunday. It's a lot easier to eat more fruit if you've got a bowl full of cut-up watermelon in the fridge.