any yo yo dieters out there?

We are in the exact same boat!!! I am at the realization where its just going to have to be apart of life. I slip up but get right back on track. If I can do it ANYONE can do it! Good Luck!

I used to be a yo yo dieter, and it was BADDD. But now, since I can see how much sodium I am ingesting, and all my other nutrients right in one table, it's like "Woah."

You know what I did? I went out an bought a healthy living cook book (one of the best ones I have found as far as hints and tips is the Looneyspoons collections by Janet and Greta Podeleski) and seriously, you get to cook super delicious food that is really about 300 to 500 cal per serving (for the meals) and I find it fills me up. So now, I have a little bit of a hard time getting up to 1200 cal a day...

ive done slimming world on and off for years but do feel that portion control and calorie counting is the one for me and i know it works but am really struggling with keeping to 1200 cals, would be great to hear from anyone in similar position!

I've struggled with my weight since I was 11. I'm over 40 now. You could call me a "yo-yo" dieter. You'd be right.

Before discovering this site, which I really only intended to use to calculate my calories once and leave, I "dieted" by exercising more and eating less. I did this A LOT. Then the "diet" would end and I'd regain the weight! Go figure! It sounds so obvious when you're not HUNGRY!!!!! because you've been starving yourself to try to make the scale read a specific number.

I started reading about "eating exercise calories" and figured, "what the hell. What I've been doing certainly isn't working."

The first thing I did was set a 2-pound-a-week goal and let the site calculate my calories. I got hungry and frustrated. I chewed cinnamon gum and upped my exercise so I could eat more, and it got a little better. And I was losing weight. And getting lots of exercise. So that's all good. But I was still hungry a lot. It was HARD to exercise portion control when I got home at night. My wife was very supportive and helpful and actually prepared separate meals for me so I had a specific portion of something, and that was it. But I couldn't keep that up forever, and I certainly couldn't ask my wife to, and I knew it.

The second thing I did was start tracking my fats, carbs, and proteins. I found out that I was eating a LOT of healthy foods in proportions that were not filling me up properly (too many carbs, not enough proteins). I dropped a few healthy things and added other healthy things and.. *sound of Handel's Messiah!* I was more satisfied because I was satisfying more of what my body had been screaming for all along, I was just too ignorant to listen. I'm eating the same number of calories and losing weight just as fast, but with more energy and less hunger.

Now, I won't say "full". But by switching to a "constantly snacking" mode and feeding my body what it actually wanted in proportions it could use, I spend the day feeling satisfied with my food, and I can get home in the evening and exercise good portion control and make rational decisions about what I'm missing in my diet and how to fill it. Am I perfect? NO! But I'm more in control than I used to be.

I have tried not eating back my exercise calories - for 30+ years. It worked, in that I lost weight quickly.

I've been working on this for over 30 years. "Quickly" is no longer my priority. "Permanently" is. I'm going to do this slowly, I'm going to do this without being hungry, I'm going to learn how to keep up these eating habits, which means at the end of this "diet" I'm going to increase my calories by about 800-1000 a day and find the caloric intake that allows me to maintain my weight.

This "diet" ends when I die. So I'm not going to take any shortcuts or starve myself. Been there, done that, got the moobs to prove it.

Yes I have been a yo-yo dieter...

Yes I have also done 1200 calories...

Yes I have also done 1600 calories...

From what I've read, and from what I understand, your body will compensate for the reduced calories by simply lowering your metabolism.

From personal experience as well as quite a bit of reading, you'll have great success for the first 2-4 weeks, and then weight-loss will rapidly slowly down. Sometimes even stall.

You CAN eat more than 1200 calories and STILL lose JUST as much weight.

My suggestion. Start with 1600 net calories. Be active, even if it's just daily walking. Eat your exercise calories. Be meticulous about entering correct content and portions into mfp. Track your weight loss and measurements over the next 4 weeks. You'll find that you don't need to be nearly as restrictive to be successful. 1200 calories wont get you there any faster in the big picture.

i eat closer to 1400 cal a day and lose weight at a stead pace. I've always been a yo yo dieter to. Started this new healthy thing June 2011 and am still going strong, lost 73 pounds hoping i never go back to the way i was.

I've gained and lost since my pregnancy 14 years ago and am 4 stone heavier now! I prefer to set my goal here to losing half a pound per week because it means at my weight, I get to eat 2110 calories per day which for me, is way more managable than 1200. Also, starting slowly and building up the exercise helps because obviously you can eat more as you burn it off quicker. MyFitnessPal is a great tool, I love it! :O)

1200 is hard to cut not going to lie...log your exerice you get more so that my motavtor ok im hungray so better go work out withthat said i only eat back half of my calories i get for working out so if i get say 100 for working out i only eat 50 back...im a yo yo-er have been for years i range from size 7 to 16 this site helps me keep up with what im doing with my day and time...best of luck to ya if you need encouragement feel free to add me

i do the same as joniriaya. i find 1200 really hard so it motivates me into exercise, knowing that i can then eat more! most days i manage to eat 1500 and burn 300, so my net is still 1200. i find this much easier than 1200 where i really felt hungry

"Quickly" is no longer my priority. "Permanently" is.

I just stopped dead. This is the 'lightbulb' moment I've been looking for! Thanks!

If I can light but one bulb a week, I have accomplished something worthy. Thank you.

ME.

I gained tons of weight in college, then lost 40 pounds and got thin... gained it all back PLUS 10, then lost about 60.... then gained all that back and another 20... now back to losing. Ugh.

I am an ex yo yo dieter. I have tried every diet in the book and tried calorie counting. For me it often didn't work because I felt so restricted. I actually use MFP to make sure that I am getting enough food. My weight would go up and down though the years and for the first time in my life I have been able to keep the weight off and I am not really couting calories as much. I am just learning how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Most of the time it is all about food choice. If you are restricting your calories but not giving the body the nutrients it needs your body will not function how it needs to. I would say start with 1200 calories, but if you find you are starving listen to your body...it probably needs the fuel. Also try incorporating more veggies and whole grains into your routine. Like some other people have mentioned incorporating exercise into your routine will help a lot.

Yo-Yo away...walk the dog and around the world. But I am getting two old to do it anymore 18 mos till the big 4 - 0. So I have to make the "life change" that everyone keeps telling me about! haha :bigsmile:

I've been Off and on for the last 10 years... I have struggled through 3 kids and major health issues and the 1200 Calorie intake is very restricting. The best advice I can give is find a few foods that you really like that are lean and easy for you to eat and incorporate them into your daily life... Before you know it you won't even notice the calorie restriction..... Try light popcorn and peanut butter with banannas they are filling and kinda tasty too!!

i have yoyoed sience i was 42 when i thought i was fat. now i am at 63, this is the tops for me. easy to stay with.

Here! Honestly, don't try to control yourself. If you feel like eating 1200 cals one day, then awesome! If you feel hungry another day and eat 2000, then awesome, as well! As someone who's struggling out of my EDNOS, I try to tune into what my body needs. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat. If I'm hungry, I eat... And I don't feel guilty about going over my daily limit of 1200 because I believe that my body is craving food for a reason. Because it needs it! The thing is, watch and pay attention to what you're fueling your body with. Don't fill it with junk! And don't mindlessly indulge (or emotionally eat). If you restrict yourself, you're just going to end up binging ("yo-yo"ing). Which has often happened with me.. So it's easier said than done.
But it's all a process of ultimately listening to yourself and doing what's best for your body.