The Cure for Yo Yo Dieting 
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,
Yo Yo Dieting is “the practice of repeatedly losing weight by dieting and subsequently regaining it“…aka..you are always on a diet and always wondering why it isn’t working or sticking or lasting. I know this is no way to live! If you have been controlled and devastated time and time again by a diet gone wrong, then I wrote this for you! I am adamant about this subject for many reasons. No, I am not a perpetual yo yo dieter myself (and you’ll find out why..just keep reading), but I do get messages from people on a daily basis that struggle and try and try and try and get nowhere. My mission is to help you conquer this thing once and for all and to, not only, love yourself and be proud of that person in the mirror, but love food and have a healthy relationship with it. IT IS POSSIBLE!
Demolish the word DIET
First things first, perpetual yo-yo dieter or not, diets suck. I’m not asking you to go on a diet EVER. I’m actually asking you NOT to. Here’s the thing. Think about what happens the moment you decide to go on a “diet”…you start by setting a date. You set the start date far enough away (blame it on Monday) to provide you the opportunity to eat every single thing in site that you won’t be able to eat on this “diet”. And this is supposed to be a HEALTHY idea?? You eat every cupcake, ding dong and twinkie you can find in your pantry, no matter how old it is. You hit up every single restaurant that has some form of junk food you might crave and have several final food funerals. My last blizzard..sniff, sniff..my favorite pizza..oh, how I’ve loved our time together. Since yo yo dieting is your thing, you’ve had several final food funerals, some only weeks or months apart.
Leading into your “diet”, you’ve now gained even more weight and caused your body to feel even more deprived when you finally cut these foods out. And this “diet” is to get healthy right? Now you proceed to torture yourself by only eating grapefruit or cabbage soup or 500 calories a day or no carbs for an extended period of time. Most diet’s have an end date that takes place either at a pre-determined time or when you finally lose your mind and end up eating a whole pizza as a reward…yo yo dieting has commenced.
It’s Time for a Change
To end the yo yo dieting once and for all, I have some recommendations for you to live by:
1. Commit to a lifestyle change. Proper nutrition will leave you feeling amazing not deprived, ravenous or daydreaming of donuts. Commit now. I guarantee in a few short weeks you will feel free and slimmer!
2. Focus on substitutions. That’s right! I’m not asking you to give up your favorite foods. Rather, I want you to focus on finding alternatives that nourish your body while satisfying your cravings! I eat a shakeology cookie every single day of my life..okay, okay..MORE than one cookie! Ha! And I have abs. Proper nutrition does not mean your life is over.
3. Treat don’t cheat! Allow yourself a treat! The moment you tell yourself you CAN’T have something, it becomes all that you think about! Treat your body right! Eat right! Exercise! But every now and then have a splurge! There’s nothing wrong with that! Just don’t make it a habit and make it worth it! If you don’t love it, don’t eat it! This will also keep you from beating yourself up. We are wanting a long term, SUSTAINABLE plan and you WILL eat a piece of pizza or cake again at some point in your life. It’s okay. It’s a treat. It doesn’t mean that you need to throw in the towel and eat the rest of the pizza and fall completely off the wagon. Accept it as a treat and celebrate it!
4. Plan ahead. Stock the fridge with the healthy foods you enjoy! I’m not suggesting you force feed yourself rice cakes and kale, but find the healthy foods you like and keep them easily accessible. When you buy fruit and vegetables, cut them up immediately where they are ready to eat. Put them on the top shelf in the fridge or on the counter, if possible. Cook in bulk. Portion the meals away and put them in the freezer. Planning is a huge part to long term success and will eliminate the “no time” excuse. It IS an excuse.
Digging Deeper, Jessica Bowser Nelson
P.S. For extra help in quitting the yo yo dieting roller coaster, message me to join my private challenge group at jessicabowser77@hotmail.com.