It’s not that you planed this yo-yo dieting. Did you? But every time you successfully lost some weight you gain it back on in no time. What are tips that help keep the pounds off for good?
The most important tool to stop yo-yo dieting sits behind these two beautiful eyes of yours – your mind. Get clear. What is the reason you are yo-yo dieting?
#1 – You don’t know. It just happens.
Cool! That can be fixed. My assumption is, that you don’t spend much time thinking about nutrition. You just eat whatever looks delicious and you cook whatever your parents would have cooked.
It’s time to get some structure. You should know that your body is a big, complex chemistry lap. Everything you put into your mouth matters and causes a reaction in your body. The YouTube video that comes to my mind is that where a mint-Mentos is dropped into a Cola bottle and literally creates a soda explosion.
Anyway, in order to stop the repeated expansion and contraction of your body you have to learn the basics of your body’s chemistry. What are macronutrients? What are micronutrients? What is needed to keep my personal chemistry lap running smoothly?
Don’t worry. It sounds harder than it is. You don’t actually have to learn about chemistry. But if you don’t want to get wet when it rains you have to know how to use an umbrella.
You may also read:
#2 – You try to lose weight but get discouraged quickly and eventually drop the whole thing until you decide again that it’s time to lose weight.
Classic I would say. One day your motivation is super high and you go all in. You think you kind of know what you have to do in order to lose some weight. But a couple days or weeks in you find that the results are not really worth the effort.
The stuff you’re eating is bland and not satisfying at all and leaves you with a grumbling stomach. To top it off a super skinny lady comes along indulging in delicious gelato.
Suddenly the whole world appears pretty mean to you. The only thing you can think off that may fill the big void you are feeling is to destroy a super big mac combo. And you are right. It feels pretty darn good but to make it perfect you also need an ice cream sundae, a doughnut, and maybe because you can’t quite remember how a snickers bar tastes one of those too.
Don’t give up! You have shown tremendous willpower to reach your goal. You are just like a little bird that doesn’t understand glass and keeps powering forward toward an invisible enemy.
For you it is time to take it to the next level and that is to learn to use your superpower efficiently. Losing weight is about finding the balance between all macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) in combination with nutrients like vitamins and minerals. A weight loss diet can be delightful and satisfying.
Get some help to set you up on the right track.
#3 – There are periods in you life, when you simply can’t stop eating followed by periods where you hate food.
Oh Oh! Your way of eating is not driven by the up’s and down’s of willpower but by emotional power. Your thoughts and lifestyle trigger if you’re into food or not. Maybe your life is very busy at times, so that you simply forget to eat? Other times you are bored, so food comforts you? Or maybe the opposite is true? Life is super stressful and to combat stress you need to (over) eat?
Anyway, you already might know all the in’s and out’s of a healthy diet. So gaining nutritional knowledge might not be the key. Do some digging and investigating how outside events influence your life and mindset. How about starting to write a stress or thoughts journal and see if there are situations in your life that you can connect to a change in the way you eat.
#4 – Sometimes you actively restrict eating in order to build up an allowance for other times.
This is not good. Basically we restrict eating for a while in order to celebrate binge eating? In that case our relationship with food is absolutely out of whack.
Unfortunately food is often associated with guilt and obsession. If we allow ourselves this sin, we have to suffer another time to make it even. Some days we practice self-control beyond all means, just to have no self-control on other days. Impulsive eating leaves us powerless and with an out of control feeling.
When we eat we should feel like the French. Food should be a pleasure. Eating should be a joy and celebrated with friends and family. Treats are allowed every day in the right serving size.
Unfortunately there is not easy fix to this. Seek professional help immediately.
