Life after yo yo dieting?

[shwarner]

I have yo-yo dieted since I was 12 (I’m 42 now) and I’m still overweight. Has anybody got experience of historic weight loss/weight gain, to eventually succeed and keep the fat off long term? What strategies did you use? Thanks in advance 😊

[Tiggerr]

Hi shwarner and welcome.

Many of the people here that have succeeded, probably have stories of a life of yo-yoing before finding this forum.

Have a look at this month's Maintainers' Club... healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

I know for a fact that some of the posters there have been maintaining for years.

It's not necessarily easy as I fell off the wagon after maintaining for a year but I'll take the blame for that because I stepped away from this forum and didn't stay focused.

As for strategies... there are a plethora of them and it tends to be down to the individual but maybe start off with the NHS 12 week plan which many here are using to good effect and which I've gone back to.

Other than that, my tip would be to make this forum a regular part of your life. Great bunch of helpful, caring and knowledgeable people who only have your best interests at heart.

Best of luck!

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, shwarner

I was a yoyo dieter for over 40 years and went from the upper end of healthy BMI, to morbidly obese. Then the penny dropped and I realised that dieting doesn't work, especially when restricting calories and following a high carb, low fat way of eating. I switched to low carb high fat and the weight dropped off. That way of eating was tasty and sustainable and I've been able to maintain the weight loss.

Have a look at these for further explanation healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and phcuk.org/wp-content/upload... There's also a forum for others that have done the same healthunlocked.com/lchf-diet

Follow this link to our chat thread and a list of all the activities we run. We've found active participation to be key to success, especially with our weigh-ins and Daily Diary.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

To make navigating the forum easier, we've put all the information you'll need in a newbie pack and here's the link

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Please take the time to read it carefully, so that you're able to enjoy everything that we have on offer.

We ask that you also read this important information about internet privacy and security.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Wishing you all the best

[Equi-geek]

Hi there shwarner! 🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️ 35 years of yo-yo dieting here led me from being slightly overweight to chronic obesity and low muscle mass - and I’m still trying to find the answer myself too. I expect we’ve been victims to similar ‘healthy dieting’ advice over the years (I’m 50).

I sure I can’t tell you anything about calories or diet composition you probably don’t already know. But what I have discovered just recently is the value of balancing nutrients in combatting my feelings of hunger, and the impact of eating less processed food. It has been an eye-opener that when all the micro-nutrients are complete I have almost zero cravings for sugar and snacks and fewer overeating episodes (that used to be full-on binge eating but are now more controllable). No willpower required.

Also I’ve been working on the mental health side of my food consumption - asking myself why did I feel the need to eat what I did, when I did, when I knew it wouldn’t help me in the long term. What was eating ‘helping’ me deal with in that moment and were there better strategies? Not so much trawling over the past, just noting what was happening and being aware. My food diary also contained an emotion log. I realised I shut down emotionally around food, and life in general.

Finally I’ve been trying to find a way of eating and exercising that will allow me to lose weight without feeling deprived until I plateau at a healthy point and won’t feel a need to stop. It’s been slow, and frustrating, but dieting hasn’t worked for my family - my mum is in her late 70’s and still dieting and gaining it back and going to the gym. I’ve repeated that same pattern all my adult life and I’m tired of it.

You’ll notice I’ve lost a measly 3lb since January when so joined the forum. But since this time last year I’ve lost over 2st and it doesn’t feel like I’ve dieted. Just tried to work out my deeper issues with food, understand why some end up obese and others stay skinny, and be healthy. Good luck- I have my fingers crossed for us both 🤞🏻

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to Equi-geek]

Lovely reply Equi-geek and I agree totally,😊. Get your head in the right place to accept permanent changes to eating behaviour, eat enough food of a decent quality and accept slow and steady weight loss.

Ps 18kg lost, maintained almost 3 years 😊

[Equi-geek in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Thanks IB61. Well done on your loss - brilliant! In some ways it is a simple thing to lose weight, but keeping it off is the trick, isn’t it? And willpower only gets you so far 🤣

[WendyKathleen]

I m also a chronic yo yo dieter. and I am still obese.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to WendyKathleen]

See moreless's reply, above, and have a go at that approach

[Eleanorba Maintainer]

Yup, me too, started when I was 13, only just sorted it out (I hope!) now I’m 54! I didn’t put on too much weight until I was in my 30s (went back to studying and spent three years sitting on my bum eating biscuits...). But even when I looked like everything was fine I was constantly starving and bingeing, really unhealthy both physically and mentally. This past year, though, I got to a healthy weight before Christmas, maintained over Christmas for the first time ever, and am still maintaining- cross fingers! Basically I’m doing it by planning my day’s eating on the Daily Diary here, which is really motivating and helps you stick to what you say you’re going to do- and by never getting too hungry (particularly by never eating far too little to try and ‘make up’ for overeating). Look forward to seeing you here!