Former Yo

Kelsey Kunik is a registered dietitian, writer, nutrition consultant, and food and wellness blogger at Graciously Nourished. Her work focuses on educating and inspiring people to live well and develop a healthy mindset around food, nutrition and wellness. She’s been featured as a nutrition expert in a variety of national outlets, including Women’s Health, Verywell Health, Shape Magazine and Sports Illustrated. Her food, nutrition and wellness writing can be found in a variety of online publications, including Healthline, Verywell Health, Parents, Well+Good, Taste of Home and Women’s Health, among several other top-tier health and wellness outlets.

Karen Ansel, M.S., RDN, is a nutritionist, journalist and author. In her 20-plus years of experience, she has written hundreds of health-focused articles about food, nutrition, fitness and wellness. Her work has appeared in EatingWell, Women’s Health, Weight Watchers, Men’s Health, Shape, Woman’s Day, Prevention, Fitbit and other publications and websites.

If you’ve been on one diet, chances are you’ve been on another. And likely a dozen more before that, with a roller-coaster ride of weight loss and weight gain following each one. It’s not just you. Research reveals that yo-yo dieting—or what nutrition experts call weight cycling—can lead to swings in weight from as little as 5 pounds to as many as 50 pounds.1 These repeated ups and downs can also take a serious emotional toll, leading to feelings of depression and failure.2

The good news is that there are strategies that can help you break the cycle. If you’ve been caught up in the exhausting cycle of dieting and are ready to take steps toward sustainable weight loss, it can be helpful to see what’s worked for others. And while we don’t recommend going to Reddit for all your nutrition advice, sometimes it can be a surprisingly helpful source of inspiration. Like in this Reddit thread, where former yo-yo dieters share the habits that helped them finally put an end to the fruitless cycle of yo-yo dieting and finally find sustainable success.

Read on to learn the seven habits that helped these Redditors break the cycle, and why dietitians say these strategies can help you say goodbye to yo-yo dieting for good.

The first thing you do in the morning helps set the tone for your day, and rehydrating after a long night is a great place to start. Starting your day with a big glass of water helps to rehydrate your body after waking and may be an easy way to support weight loss. “Sounds simple, but it woke up my system, helped with digestion, and honestly made me snack less during the day,” says the Redditor who started the post.