Any advice on stopping yo-yoing?

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Tweakfish
Tweakfish Posts: 93 Member
edited February 2017 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey!

I'm a 26 year old female. I was pretty consistently just on the edge of overweight of as younger person but was never really obese. As a full grown person (I'm 5 8, for reference) my weight has fluxuated between 130 pounds and 185 pounds. I think that my natural body weight usually would hover around 150 but now that I'm a little older I would guess I'm hovering closer to 160 as a natural body weight.

I've consistently been on diets and struggled with eating disorders since I was 16. I've done weight watchers, atkins, 100 gram carb, raw, vegetarian, and a variety of different diets based off of "rules" for myself. For example, I've not eaten past 4 pm, experimented with intermittent fasting, etc. I've also used myfitnesspal and consistently weighed my food/monitored my calorie intake to lose weight. I've successfully lost weight with low carb diets once or twice but more recently I haven't had as much success with them, and I'm kind of sick of them. I'm sick of making decisions like not eating raw carrots and hummus because there's too many carbs. I am thinking that I should try to stick to reasonable calories and closer to 100 grams of carbs just in order to limit processed foods/refined sugars.

I will routinely jump from about 150 -170. Last year around June I probably weighed 170 and over about 3 months I lost all of that weight and was back down to 150ish. I had a family accident happen and completely stopped dieting around October. Right now, honestly, I refuse to weigh myself. But- I'm certain that I may weigh 180 again or at least 175. (Just to avoid confusion - I am certain about this. None of my clothes fit. I'm spilling out of clothes that I could fit into when I was 165.. it's there.. I'll just weigh myself after a week or two of starting to take control of this again :) )


I know how to lose weight. I can successfully lose weight. But, I'm just frustrated with myself for the cycle of ups and downs, and I don't think it's healthy. I'll have 6 month or so spans of keeping weight off but don't seem to keep it off much longer beyond that.

Struggling with eating disorders complicates things for me. While I know I'm overweight right now I definitely need to keep some boundaries.

Do any of you have advice? I'm wondering if seriously incorporating weight training into my routine could help. I've always had the motto that "abs are made in the kitchen" .. Is that bad? Is that just another rule I've made for myself that's making me miss out from some good things? If anyone feels that they have comparable stories I would love to hear them. I'm looking for any insight or advice - thanks for listening! :)

Edit: I realize I posted this in a fitness forum while my post above is mostly related to diet. I did this because I was sort of looking for a viewpoint from someone who has a more fitness geared perspective, and thought that might be helpful. Since I've generally focused on dieting to lose weight. I have used cardio to help with weight loss but not much beyond that. Just wanted to point this out :)

Replies

  • ABabilonia
    ABabilonia Posts: 622 Member
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    I'm not expert, but I don't think that you need to focus too much on dieting and shift your focus to have a more balanced diet and lifestyle. Nothing wrong with carrots and hummus if you like them. I was super obsessed with weight loss and some days I would eat just a salad and fruits, go to the gym, and my expectations were that I was going to drop weight fast (my goal was to lose 50 lbs in six months), but that lifestyle would just last a few days into the week, and then I binge ate again. Now I'm more focused on having a balanced diet, keeping track of my macros, and incorporating some exercise (yes, you should incorporate exercise to your life). Having a healthy weight is actually a lifestyle, and I've decided no to yoyo diet anymore. If this means just to lose a couple pounds a month, that still something positive. Good luck to you...
  • Valkmer2
    Valkmer2 Posts: 12 Member
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    I'm going to agree with what ABabilonia said. Dieting is a temporary thing - once you're done with it, you go right back to the habits that made you unhappy in the first place. For me, what's been working is more of a sort of 80/20 paleo lifestyle (basically, avoiding most processed foods). I've been amazed at how protein and veggies (and yes, I LOVE carrots and hummus!) will keep me a LOT fuller throughout the day than breads and sugars.

    As for your exercise, weight training is always a good idea but the most important thing is to do something - anything - regularly. Take your dog for a walk every day or go to the gym three times a week, whatever works for you. Just get up and be active.

    I'm going to close with one last bit of advice - incorporate change into your life, don't change your life to what you think you need it to be all at once. You are who you are. Be who you are. Love who you are.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    Get a food scale to weigh your food, learn how to log accurately (great posts on the main forum), and eat what you desire while remaining in your calorie goal. I, too, did the whole 'diet' thing and ended up miserable because I was cutting out too much stuff.

    Now I can eat what I like, in more reasonable portions.

    As for the strength training, it would be beneficial to do so while you lose as you will retain more muscle as you lose weight. Muscle is hard to gain so it is better to retain what you have than lose it and try to gain it back. I like Stronglifts 5x5 for a beginner - it's easy to follow, only 5 lifts to learn, and takes less than an hour.

    Set a reasonable deficit - don't try to lose 30lbs in a month - and you're less likely to fall off the wagon.

    Good luck.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    Consistency. Eating in a way you find sustainable. Understanding there is nothing wrong with carbs and refined sugars. Make fitness goals alongside weight goals.

    But the first thing is the most important thing and that is to be consistent. Hopping on and off restrictive "diets" is what's causing the you, you don't learn anything other than how to diet but return to old habits as soon as you get to goal because you weren't taking care of your food related psychological needs too. Eat the cake if it fits. Eat the chips if they fit. Learn how to eat in a way that satisfies you mentally and physically, fuels your fitness and is a way of eating you can live with for the rest of your life.

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