• Have you been on and off diets for most of your life?
  • Struggling to lose weight and then can’t get it back?
  • Do you lack motivation, responsibility, and consistency?
  • Do you want to end emotional eating, toxic guilt, and negative self-talk?
  • Would you like to achieve and maintain a healthy weight for life, but don’t know how?

If you answered “Yes” to the questions above, then you are what I have called a serial dieter. Serial dieters are people who have been dieting for years and even decades, but are still unable to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. For serial dieters, cooking and eating do not feel like a source of pleasure at all, but rather a source of complex decisions and emotions that cause confusion, anxiety, fear and doubt. The good news is that there is a way to lose yo-yo weight, get back to enjoying food, and living healthy for the rest of your life. While some aspects of reaching your goals vary for each individual, here are three steps that each serial dieter can take to begin the process of ending the serial dieting cycle right now.

1-Take responsibility

As a former serial dieter, I can tell you that healthy changes in your life and your relationship with food and exercise won’t happen until you take responsibility for your actions. Not the actions that have gotten you where you are, but the actions or inaction that keeps you there. Yes, it is easier to eat processed and fast foods, yes, it is difficult to exercise 3-4 times a week and yes, it is challenging to eat healthy most of the time. No one said that the path to a healthy life would be easy. Stop making excuses, take responsibility and do it. It’s not about quick fixes, but about a real commitment to change for the better for life. Think of all the years, even decades, that you have been overweight, unhappy, and frustrated. Aren’t you tired of it? Not ready for a real change? Stop making excuses and finally take responsibility for your health, weight, and well-being.

2-Stop “going on a diet”

I remember being taught in elementary school the definition of the word diet as the foods that a person normally eats on a daily basis. I am a vegetarian, so my diet consists of fruits, vegetables, and grains. But for most people, the word diet has become synonymous with a calorie restrictive diet in which we reduce the number of calories we consume or eliminate total food groups from our daily regimen. Being on a calorie restrictive diet is a self-limiting surface level change because when you reach your goal weight, you stop the diet and go back to the unhealthy eating habits that you started the diet with, the weight returns, and the cycle begins again. The goal is to stop dieting and instead learn how to make healthy weight management part of your daily life with a plan and strategies that vary as priorities, environment, circumstances, and needs change.

3-Have a plan and get support

Let’s be honest, most of us spend more time planning a special night than planning our wellness goals. And for most of us, telling others about our efforts is just another avenue for criticism and disappointment. How many times have you declared “From tomorrow I will start or stop …” without a clear plan and without support or responsibility. I say this with respect, but if you know how to lose weight and become healthy by improvising and without support and responsibility, you would not be in the unhealthy cycle that you are currently in. Having a plan may consist of restocking your kitchen with healthy food options, journaling your progress, and working with a personal trainer. Support can come from hiring a friend with similar goals, joining a weight loss group, or working individually with a wellness coach. The journey to success must be planned and supported and accountable. Honestly, there is no other way.

Breaking the serial dieting cycle isn’t easy and won’t happen overnight, but you can do it by taking responsibility, eating healthy, and having a plan and support. Don’t let another week, year, or even decade (s) go by with you being overweight, unhealthy, and unhappy. Take action now to end your serial diet cycle.