Yo-Yo Dieting

The following is an excellent article by nutrition expert Robb Wolf; http://robbwolf.com/?p=78. Robb has always been tremendously generous with his time and deciphering the world of nutrition for both myself and my athletes. I can't recommend Robb's expertise or his blog highly enough. - Coach Sommer

Yo-Yo Dieting by Robb Wolf

"Sue left the following question which I think is important and offers some interesting insights:

Thanks for the great post. It made me think and stop acting like such a victim because of my weight gain. What do you say to the yo-yo dieters out there like me?

Sue

The dieting merry-go-round is an interesting thing. So much information and good intention, so few favorable results. One result is a sense of failure on the part of dieters that takes on the likeness of a relationship gone bad. Promises are made, only to be broken and a sense of betrayal ensues. Instead of the dynamic describing two lovers this is the personal hell that many people face. Rosy picture isn’t it!

Part of what makes this situation so difficult is that people are facing tough biological, social and psychological issues when attempting to alter eating habits. All of these issues end up stuck together and the glue, not surprisingly, is carbs. WHOA! you might be saying…that’s a lot to lay on a piece of toast or a plate of potatoes…but in my experience this is exactly the issue. Lets take these apart one at a time:

Biological- When folks mention they are yo-yo dieting they are NOT having a problem eating meat, veggies, nuts and olive oil to excess. Whatever the clueless Mcdougalites may say, it’s not being ON the low carb diet that’s a problem, it’s going off the rails and eating every carbohydrate in site down to the bark on trees! Calorie restriction doesn’t work and just feeds into neurosis. It sounds great and plays into our puritanical leanings but it is a failed venture. I’m not sure why but everyone from the government to doctors to theologians LOVE this whole calorie restriction thing…â€

Great post coach,

I have stuggled with my dad for years about his weight, but im going to read him thing article and hopefully he will see the light.

wade

True that, this article doesn't give you a diet but simply the way you should look at dieting and nutrition, hell I've trying to cut down on some crap food, but since it's always around me it makes it even harder, I exercise daily, but my exercise and eating habits are exponential the more I work the more I eat, I have a bag of protein to cut down on all that fatty stuff and those carbs, I get more than 8 hours of sleep every night I have my fish oil with omega 3 acids, and my multivitamin everyday, but it seems I can't stick to the gun. But I tried sticking to my mind for 1 week and lost an easy 5 pounds, and yes I ate 5 meals a day, they were balanced meals with slimmed carbs and sugars to control insulin like many diets state, normal exercise, I did feel a little more tired because I didn't have my 5 pieces of bread like I usually eat.

have you ever noticed that no one says a word to the folks who eat a bag of chips and a coke for lunch but if you have a piece of grilled meat, a bag of nuts and a salad you can sell tickets to your lunch hour as a circus side show?

And I notice a lot if you do seem slim and people see you dieting they take it personal, they say wow your trying to loose weight look at me; I starve myself and I loose no weight, well we should take it more personal then them because we want to treat our bodies right.

After reading this article among many, I'll try to stay close to my lil dieting plan because I noticed I'm the second tallest kid in gymnastics and the second heaviest and still I perform nearly as well and I think how much it would help to loose 5 or 6 pounds of fat because I know I safely could and gain more in performance.

I’m not sure why but everyone from the government to doctors to theologians LOVE this whole calorie restriction thing…â€

Robb Wolf, the author, has graciously consented to occasionally drop by the forum and provide help and assistance to all of us lost in the wilderness of nutrition. In addition, follow the link above that I posted to Robb's original article, and you will find a plethora of great information pertaining to nutrition.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer!

Thanks for the kind words! I'll help out here any way I can.

Hey, Robb.

Nice to see you around here, man.

I've used this great post of yours on yoyo dieting and emailed it to everyone that I know.

Keep up the good work.

Hello to all! This kind of article i was looking for.. trying to motivate my brother, to make him believe there is way, but he is pretty stubborn and doesn't believe someone can help him to lose weight permanently... :?