Stopping the yo-yo for good!!!

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nickelpickle
nickelpickle Posts: 55
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I have previously had a ton of success using MFP to count calories and lose weight, but then when I achieve my goal, I stop and resort back to not thinking about eating and exercising less and gain it all back in the blink of an eye. I need to understand what I'm doing wrong to stop this yo-yo cycle and lose it for good.

I've read a lot (from this page http://Facebook.com/metaboliceffect) about how dieting (AKA eating less exercising more) fails because your metabolism adjusts and slows down due to calorie restriction, and you also end up having to maintain the same level of exercise that you did to lose the weight for however long you'd like to keep it off (which contradicts everything I'd thought before about exercise making your metabolism speed up).

I don't want to think about food forever. I just want to lose all of this fat and maintain. My plan is to track my calories to get back down to my goal (again), but exercise very little in the process, as working out for 1h/day forever isn't something I want to do. Then maintain using hunger directed eating (to control my overeating).

Does anyone have any experiences similar to mine? If so, what worked for you?

Replies

  • joneallen
    joneallen Posts: 217 Member
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    I used to eat the same *kitten* day in and day out. That ultimately resulted in weight loss, however it also put my weight back on at times due to the fact that I had much more urges to binge. MFP helped me tremendously to give me much more variety in my diet, and thus minimizing my "cheating."

    Check out Layne Norton when you get some time. Very informative about metabolism and yo-yo dieting.

    All the best on your journey!
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    You don't have to formally go to the gym and exercise for an hour!
    You should keep moving for the sake of your health, but you can play your favorite sport. Walk whenever possible, climb stairs instead of taking the elevator and dance!
    There was an article in the paper (NYTimes) a couple of days ago about a study of cyclists 60 and over who's bodies were as it as 30 year olds! Who wouldn't want to be healthy and fit as they grow older?
    Then just adjust your calories to fit your day!
    Where's the problem?
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    First not all exercise increases metabolism. HIIT and lifting weights do.

    Likke the person about. You change and adjust to the new lower calories needs that 100% happens with weight loss.
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Come join us at Eat More 2 Weigh Loss. I think our philosophy will be one that fits what you want.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    losing weight in general means you don't need as many calories as you did at a heavier weight. Exercise is just a way to be able to eat more. If you want to be able to eat more exercise. If you want to lose weight (not just fat) lower calories, don't exercise and end up at a lower weight but possibly not happy with what you see.

    The key is to find an exercise that you love...barring that you at least like.

    For me spending countless hours doing cardio was not it. Lifting weights is. Now mind you I still walk (spring/summer/fall), do HIIT and am considering starting running this spring now that I have quit smoking...
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    You're spot on with the observation that your metabolism slows down during a prolonged body fat cut. I had that happen to me. By the time I dropped my 64 lbs, I was maintaining my weight at 2000 cal/day. The best thing to do when you hit your goal is called a reverse diet. This involves slowly adding calories back into you diet over time so that your metabolism can then adapt to the increased intake. I've been doing this for the last 6 months have have gotten my maintenance calories from 2000 cal/day to over 3000 cal/day. It makes it MUCH easier to maintain your results. Check this video out for more info on the reverse diet.
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3gTGLulLnI
  • nickelpickle
    nickelpickle Posts: 55
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    @joneallen‌ I've liked Layne Norton's FB page, thanks for that input!

    @mymodernbabylon‌ I joined that group, thank you!

    @terbusha‌ thanks for that input on a reverse diet. That's exactly what I will do once this weight comes off. I just find that it's totally not sustainable to have to eat like 1,600 calories forever (I mean, I can drink that many calories in alcohol on a Saturday night!), so if my RMR was more around 2,000 or something it would feel much more normal and definitely maintainable.

    As always, thank you MyFitnessPal community for the feedback and support!!! <3

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