How have you broken the yo yo diet chain?

foxy06

I have been yo yo dieting since before I was a teenager. All I have ever wanted was to feel fit and healthy but all I seem to do is gain weight. How do you break the chain?

Imposter

You realise that the new diet is for life not just until you lose the weight you want. That is why it is recommended that you lose the weight gradually so that you can realistically keep the 'diet' up for the long term.

ali.c

foxy06 wrote: »

I have been yo yo dieting since before I was a teenager. All I have ever wanted was to feel fit and healthy but all I seem to do is gain weight. How do you break the chain?

I pretty much managed to stop gaining weight though the losing of the extra fat is still a work in progress tbh.

Now i had a couple of bad months food wise over the summer and i just couldnt get my ass back on track. I just had to relax and start enjoying my excercise and what i was eating again and it seemed to do the trick.

Part of the problem though is the diet mentality, if you start of with an attuide of i must not eat this or that ever again i think it makes you crave it more.

Another thing that i have found is that before when trying to curtail my eating i would go hell for leather and undereat. Being starving (or fairly hungry) alot of the time is a sure way towards defeating your goals. Logically it takes a small amount will-power at times to abstain from certain foods, to abstain from those when your really hungry is a whole different ball game.

foxy06

ali.c wrote: »

Another thing that i have found is that before when trying to curtail my eating i would go hell for leather and undereat. Being starving (or fairly hungry) alot of the time is a sure way towards defeating your goals.

Thats me all over! I have lost weight in the past and have been very fit. Before I had kids I had won many martial arts comps but was never thin always heavy and never happy with my weight. If I was the weight I was then now, I'd feel like all my Christmas' had come at once! The fact is though, I'm very over weight now and can't seem to get my head in order. Every day (seriously) a new diet starts and I can't break the chain.....thinking of hypnosis, but is this another fad I'm going to go on?

ali.c

foxy06 wrote: »

Thats me all over!

yeah, tbh i still miss meals here and there but since last april or so i have gotten alot better at it. Also since then i have gotten stronger have more energy and lost some* fat. Also my immune system is alot better and i have been less sick than usual. Eat well and your quality of life improves dramatically. Also i think the letting yourself miss meals and get too hungry thing and then beating yourself up about eating afterwards is completely directing your energy in the wrong direction. Put it this way if a child wasnt fed all day and then eat junk food would you blame him? So for me anyway getting the source of the problem (not eating enough at the right time) sorted, helped immensely with the over-eating that resulted.

foxy06 wrote: »

I have lost weight in the past and have been very fit. Before I had kids I had won many martial arts comps but was never thin always heavy and never happy with my weight. If I was the weight I was then now, I'd feel like all my Christmas' had come at once! The fact is though, I'm very over weight now and can't seem to get my head in order. Every day (seriously) a new diet starts and I can't break the chain.....thinking of hypnosis, but is this another fad I'm going to go on?

Eh on the hypnosis thing, AFAIK its just a method of communication. If the right information is communicated it works correctly, if not then it doesnt. So if its a road you go down i would recommend getting a personal recommendation.

Now if you start a new diet everyday (and dont stick to it) then prehaps you are trying to change too much all at once? You could start by keeping a diet journal (on here or just in a notebook if you dont want to share) for a couple of weeks. Log what you eat and how hungry your were general mood etc.

Rather than trying to force it just observe and see how you get on. chances are you will see stuff that you can cut on and improve on and start from there. G'em has loads of information in the stickies so maybe have a good read through them. Tbh its all the you need to get a handle on your nutrition.

Honestly though the big thing for me was taking responsibility for my food intake and weighing up what i was eating. If i messed up with it, i looked at the situation to see if there was anything i could learn from it and not beat myself up over it. i.e. I let myself get too hungry, or i wasnt prepared from the night before.

*admittely not as much as i would of liked but well i could have been better with my diet. Finding a middle ground has been hard but slowly and surely i am getting there.

Edit: Also you need to have a bit of patience with yourself. You didnt wake up one day overweight and its not going to go away overnight either. The eating habits that got you into the situation you are in were also not built overnight so again it will take a while to get used to it. After a while though you will find that making good food choices is almost automatic rather than effort

Bottle_of_Smoke

Get a low Glycemic Load(sp?) diet. It's very healthy & you'll get in good shape.

Also in my opinion doing intense exercise is much better dieting. No harm in doing both/

neuro-praxis

You sound like me, an emotional eater. As soon as you start to address the issue (by going on a diet!) you probably get overwhelming cravings and every day your resolve is broken! I am sure you have lots of head-knowledge - it's just APPLYING it that's so tough, right?

I feel I have broken out of this cycle. Maybe this might help:

1. You must accept that there are no quick fixes. When you have gained a serious amount of weight, it is going to take a serious amount of time to get it off. If you really struggle with food it might take years. It is taking me a long time, but I am getting there. FORGET losing 4lbs a week. Try to think of 0.5 lbs a week. If you have 50lbs to lose that might take you 2 years! But so what? You are reforming yourself for life.

2. Get help. I tried for years to do it on my own and failed. I have now started attending Weight Watchers meetings. I go every single week without fail, even the weeks when I have binged on rubbish and had my dinner out of McDonalds! As a result, some weeks I lose, some weeks I gain, but at this stage, both results motivate me! Weight problems need to be MANAGED, long-term.

3. Exercise. Even if it is a walk once a week, it is a start. You can build up as your confidence builds.

The main thing is to just keep trying. Not giving up is the key. At every corner make the best choices you can. Being determined will get you there eventually. Good luck.

rubadub

Lift heavy weights to maintain muscle and possibly grow some more while on a calorie deficit.

Find foods you like to eat, never eat food you do not enjoy.

Do not aim for more than 2lb loss per week, infact I would suggest 0.5lb- adjust your caloires accordingly.

Calculate your calorie intake which requires a accurate scale.

Measure FAT loss, not weight loss.

EileenG

Don't think in terms of diet, think lifestyle.

Start by planning to eat twice as much vegetables as you do right now. Deliberately planning to eat more of something makes it easier not to feel deprived.

Eat enough. Eat regularly. Carry snacks (nuts or seeds are good).

Set yourself some limits. For instance, I don't eat sugar, or any food containing sugar, which cuts out lots of junk. But if I'm hungry, I'm quite happy to eat extra of non-sugary foods.

Stop eating when you are not hungry. Most of us eat because the food is tasty, or because it is time to eat, or because we are with people who are eating. It's getting rare to actually eat because you are hungry, and even rarer to stop when you are not.

Eat slowly. Put down your knife and fork between bites. Pay attention to your food. Don't watch tv while you are eating.