I've been fat for my entire life, but I've only thought about weight loss last year.
Ever since I decided to lose weight, I've been on nothing but yo-yo diets. I usually start off pretty healthy; eating fruit and veg, less carbs, and excercising an hour a day. I lose 1-2 pounds a day, but then after a few days, it all goes downhill and i go back to my original weight.
I am 5'4" and 198.4 pounds (90kg), so I'm classified as obese.
My goal weight is 120 pounds (a drastic weight loss of 78 pounds) and I'm planning to achieve it in a year or less. Is that reasonable?
What should I do to avoid yo-yo dieting and actually lose weight continuously? Especially when I'm a busy student and can't fit healthy eating and excercising as easily as I did back in the summer.
[English is not my first language, so I'm really sorry.]
Written by
-fugly
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Hello, and welcome to the forum, -fugly Your English is excellent.
It sounds as though you start off at a rush in a way that couldn't possibly be sustainable, if you're losing 1-2 lbs or up to 1kg a day. I'm sure you want this to be a change for good, so set out that way. Eat real food, eat enough, eat well and enjoy it. Find an eating plan you can enjoy and see yourself sticking with for good, not one to get you to a goal weight so you can then go back to eating "normally". Find a new "normal".
As for exercise, do whatever you enjoy, for general fitness and wellbeing rather than for weight loss. It's what, and how, you eat that will make the difference to your weight.
It seems you recognise the problem carbs cause. Have a look at this, and explore the site it comes from as it is full of information and ideas that could suit you
The forum is a busy place so we have put together a Welcome post that will help you find your way around healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... I recommend joining a weekly weigh in on the day of your choice, and using the Daily Diary for planning your meals.
As you're student, I guess finances may be tight sometimes. Have a look at Hidden 's posts on The Cost of Healthy Eating. And as for making the time - there are few things more important than eating well and caring for your health: it may take planning but it's worth it.
Finally, please read the post about online privacy and security that came with your welcome message, especially as you have left your post unlocked.
I hope you'll become an active member of the forum and we'll see you around
Hi your English seems perfectly good to me. You've made a good start by coming on here will get lots of support. Read the info and see what seems good for you and join in a weigh in if you can. As for what to eat might seem daft but make sure your eating enough otherwise body goes into starvation mode. Good luck
Welcome -fugly your command of English as a second language is much better than a lot of people I know who have it as their first! Please do not feel at all apologetic about it.
You are right that in the beginning it can be hard to get past those first few days. Often that is because we try to change too much at once and lose our motivation quickly.
Take your time to read through the links your have been given. Find out what your calorie intake should be and do not go too low. If you eat too little you will be unhappy, unable to stick with it and you may actually end up putting more weight on. Many of us have been there and how to guide others way from it.
Try to think of sugar as the enemy and not fat.
Ask questions and people in this forum will run to your support.
After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting, I decided in 2012 to have one last ditch attempt to lose weight and be as fit as I could for my 50th (2012).
I’ve used many ways throughout my 7 years to keep my journey interesting and to learn what works best for me - I am very short (4ft 8"), 56 years old and don't move very much on account of my disability (I use a wheelchair outside of the house).
One thing that has remained constant throughout is logging everything I eat and weighing out portions. If I have ever stopped doing that for any length of time, the weight starts to creep up again.
I have used 5:2 successfully and done a few rounds of the 8 week Blood Sugar Diet.
I now mostly try to avoid refined carbs (well, at least limit them!) so rice, pasta and bread. I eat them occasionally (about once/twice a week, always small portions - 50g dry weight, always wholewheat and ALWAYS measured).
I bulk out my meals with lots of vegetables - eat about 4-7 portions a day (home made soup or a salad for lunch, lots of veggies with dinner).
Through choice, I eat just two meals a day, that's been for the past 2+ years. I eat lunch and dinner. I try to keep my eating to between 12 noon and 6pm. Outside of those times, I do drink tea and coffee and plenty of water. That's a way that works for me, and I'm happy with this arrangement - not eating breakfast won't work for everyone though. I used to LOVE breakfast and could never have imagined a few years ago that I'd skip it!
I don't view exercise as a way to earn additional calories to eat - I use it as a way to remain flexible and independent. It's important not to be reliant on exercise to lose weight as firstly it only accounts for about 20% of weight loss (80% is achieved through food intake) and also if you injure yourself or are unable to exercise for any period of time, you suddenly have to reign back on the amount you are consuming.
I do a stretch and bounce seated routine around 4-7 times a week which lasts around an hour.
I try to do cardio exercise as often as possible, but because of my disability, it's quite a challenge. For that I walk and run (HIIT) on a special treadmill called an Alter G which is able to support a percentage of my body weight as I walk and run - currently I exercise at 80% of my body weight. I do this for 30 minutes every other week. I'd love to do it weekly, but I need assistance to get into the machine and can only get this support fortnightly.
I keep on going.... as it's what works for me.
I don't deny myself anything in terms of food - however, I have changed over the course of my weight loss to eat much more mindfully - considering "Do I really want to eat this?" ahead of eating food that is particularly calorific or not very healthy.
If I want to east a slice cake - I've worked out the calories beforehand and if I chose to have a slice then it DEFINITELY has to be worth it! If making cake, I slice and freeze any remaining cake in packs of two so that myself and my husband can enjoy it on other days rather than knowing it's there and needing to be consumed to stop it going off.
I have reduced the number of times I eat out as it's impossible for me to stay within my low (1100 calorie) limit by eating out regularly - even if I choose wisely. But to be honest, I am very happy cooking my own meals and eating those, as I know precisely what's in them - and I love, love LOVE my vegetables. I hardly ever get a takeaway (perhaps 1/2 times a year - usually at others instigation when I am visiting friends). I used to resent these things, but I now accept and embrace them. I no longer view this as a tortuous journey but more a new way of life
I view my way of eating as keeping myself as healthy as I can in order to minimise the risk of developing middle aged illnesses (diabetes, stroke, heart attack...)
I don't judge my success by what others achieve - I just try to do the best that I can for myself and in a way that works well for me.
It does help that I have an extremely supportive husband who's happy to eat the same as I do - even though he doesn't need to lose weight.
Why did your yo-yo? ...I think you were being too ambitious and getting hungry?
Eat enough sustaining food (including fat) at mealtimes.
You might lose seven pounds in the first fortnight - but, after that, I suggest that you limit your weight loss to a pound (or, initially, two) a week.
Cutting down on carbs is a key strategy... you could try the Low-Carbohydrate, High Fat (LCHF) diet, see the forum here on Health Unlocked, and Not Eating All Day aka Intermittent Fasting... See:
I may have been too ambitious back then. I actually thought that losing 78 pounds in a month was sane and I went down as low as 850 calories to lose weight that fast.
Usually, it's after that 7 pound point where I start gaining weight again, and now I think I know what I've been doing wrong..
we fall into bad eating habits over many years and associate food with many occasions,it can take time to retrain yourself and cant always change overnight. like bridgegirl said ,take your time, you can do it and everyone on here is great at supporting one another, good luck with your weight loss
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Your English is excellent. 
Hi I'm new!!
Hi all, I'm new here! 
I'm new here
I'm new here and need advice.
HELP!!! I'm heading towards self destruct.....as usual!
