Has years of yo-yo dieting doomed me?

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ChrissyS067
ChrissyS067 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been exercising, even if it's a little, it's more than I was doing. I am almost always under my calorie goal for the day. I'm drinking water, which I NEVER did before. Haven't dropped a pound. Not one.

I'm seriously wondering if my years and years of starvation dieting to NOT dieting at all have doomed me for any type of real, successful weight-loss. I thought the eat less, move more equation always worked. Doesn't feel like it to me.

Replies

  • Syntax_Error
    Syntax_Error Posts: 77 Member
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    Your body may need time to adjust to whats going on
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    No. I crashed and yo-yo'd and starved myself and binged and did all kinds of amoral things. I had my metabolism tested recently and it is in much better shape than MFP gave me credit for.

    I have misgivings about "permanently damaging" your metabolism although you do see that bantered about here.
  • luvgreen25
    luvgreen25 Posts: 202
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    No, I don't think you're doomed - you just have to give your body time to adjust. It takes some time to reprogram your metabolism, so just keep drinking your water, keep eating your recommended calories, and keep exercising and you'll have success.
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
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    You are not doomed, but it will take time for your metabolism to catch on. Hopefully it will sooner rather than later, but be patient with yourself because it isn't going to be right away.

    There is hope! I know this firsthand.
  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
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    Unless you have a serious thyroid condition, you cannot "permanently damage" your metabolism. When you change your diet/exercise/lifestyle routine, it does take it a few weeks to "reprogram" itself, so to speak. Give it some time, and give your body some more credit! It won't fail you that easily!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    It's highly doubtful. I see that you joined this site in Aug. If that is when you started your diet then you just need to give it a little more time. It will likely kick in soon and you'll start losing at a steady pace.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    No - I've been a Yo-Yo dieter for years. I can always lose the weight ..... I just can't seem to get the hang of maintenance (doh!). As previous posters have said ... just give it time. The older we get the harder weight loss becomes (hormones or something). I lose SLOWLY... but I still manage to lose.
  • ruststar
    ruststar Posts: 489 Member
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    If you've been damaging it for a long time you may need to "rev it back up" by eating more for a while. Your body adjusts to the amount of food you've been giving it and if it hasn't recevied enough for a long period it will slow down to conserve energy. If you're ready to fuel it properly now you may need to get your body back to its normal levels before you can cut your calories and achieve weightloss. In the meantime continue exercising, especially weight training, because muscle burns more calories.
  • moushtie
    moushtie Posts: 371 Member
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    Please remember, this isn't just about the number on the scale. If moving more today and tomorrow means you can slowly do more next week, isn't that a good thing? If you're feeding your body the right foods so you get ill less and are less likely to break, isn't that a good thing too?

    If you're making this a lifestyle change for good, then you WILL lose some of the weight as you continue with good habits.

    If you want to be a healthy person, try to think and act like a healthy person. Healthy people don't starve themselves or yo-yo diet!
  • PrairieRoseNE
    PrairieRoseNE Posts: 265 Member
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    Please remember, this isn't just about the number on the scale. If moving more today and tomorrow means you can slowly do more next week, isn't that a good thing? If you're feeding your body the right foods so you get ill less and are less likely to break, isn't that a good thing too?

    If you're making this a lifestyle change for good, then you WILL lose some of the weight as you continue with good habits.

    If you want to be a healthy person, try to think and act like a healthy person. Healthy people don't starve themselves or yo-yo diet!


    Very well put - I agree!!!
  • Tegan74
    Tegan74 Posts: 202
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    I know EXACTLY how you feel ~ I've lost 1 size an no more since June ~ I've changed diet and I'm exercising my tail off (or not, but it feels like I am) its extremely frustrating. The one thing I've been told over and over an over is to eat more good calories ~ If you've been yo-yo dieting or starving yourself there is a good chance your body has gone into starvation mode and EVERYTHING you eat your body tries to turn to fat. Thats my issue (I think) sooo my solution to that is to eat lots of veggies, some meat and zero fat or sugars this week. I'm supposed to eat 1200 calories a day, this week i'm going to try to eat 1500 - 2000 an see if that wont help me start dropping. when I do start to drop then I'll drop back to 'normal' amounts.
    No idea how well this is going to work but thats all I know to do :/

    Oh plus I am going from 2 sets of 10 reps per machine at the gym to 4 sets of 10 reps ~ and walking for an hr instead of 30 mins
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
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    Chrissy, you are not doomed, and methinks Moushtie has hit the nail on the head.

    It's not about what the scales say, it's how you feel in yourself. Do you feel - even on a small scale - that you have more energy? Do you clothes feel any looser?

    You might also need to up your daily calories a bit to give your body a bit of a jog. It might be that it's used to a certain amout of calories a day and it in maintenance mode. Have a litte extra of something you enjoy and try not to stress too much.

    The days of yoyoing are behind you. Say it, believe it. It might take 10 weeks, it might take 10 months, but you will see some changes for the better :flowerforyou:
  • ChrissyS067
    ChrissyS067 Posts: 5
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    Thanks everyone!! I love all the moral support that is here and we're all here for the same reason! Lose weight and feel better about ourselves! I DO feel better, I have more energy, especially in the afternoon when I tend to have an energy plunge. That's when I used to binge "to give myself energy". Of course, all it did was pack on pounds and make me feel worse the next day!

    I'm eating breakfast now, even if it's just a light yogurt. Before, I wouldn't even have my first bite of food til noon or later! I've done horrible things to my body...lol!!

    I won't give up, I'll keep plugging along! Hopefully next week will show some improvement. :)

    Oh, by the way, I was dieting about 3 weeks before I joined this site, so this isn't just going off of 1 week. It's been a month now. But I'll keep going!! :)

    Thanks everyone!
  • samiam321123
    samiam321123 Posts: 38 Member
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    Please remember, this isn't just about the number on the scale. If moving more today and tomorrow means you can slowly do more next week, isn't that a good thing? If you're feeding your body the right foods so you get ill less and are less likely to break, isn't that a good thing too?

    If you're making this a lifestyle change for good, then you WILL lose some of the weight as you continue with good habits.

    If you want to be a healthy person, try to think and act like a healthy person. Healthy people don't starve themselves or yo-yo diet!

    Every time I stall and don't lose any weight I remind myself that the alternative is to go back to bad habits and that is not the point. Perhaps you should be patting yourself on the back right now that you are not gaining any weight instead of feeling bad for not losing any.

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